November/December 2011 saudiaramcoworld.com

42350araD1R1.indd 1 10/18/11 11:02 PM 2 Gaza’s Food Heritage Written and saudiaramcoworld.com photographed by Laila El-Haddad and November/December 2011 Maggie Schmitt Published Bimonthly Vol. 62, No. 6 Through decades of conflict, families in the Gaza Strip have held to foodways for comfort, November/December 2011 saudiaramcoworld.com In the Gaza Strip as elsewhere, the month of Ramadan is time for pleasure and pride. holiday foods, including a street Often unable to control vendor’s stack of syrup-soaked much else in their lives, Aleppo fingers. Made of semolina Gazans are renowned dough, they are often flavored for lavishing care and with olive oil, anise or mahlab, and they are part of the food history attention on food and

42350araD1R1.indd 1 10/18/11 10:55 PM Gaza shares, in part, with the family. Visiting kitchens Levant and Egypt. The photo on the cart shows awama, and talking to women fried balls of raised dough, also doused in syrup. Photo about food offers many a by Maggie Schmitt. lesson in the vital arts of getting by with grace. Publisher Assistant Editor Saudi Arabian Oil Company Arthur P. Clark (Saudi Aramco) Administration Dhahran, Saudi Arabia Karim Khalil President and CEO Sarah Miller Khalid A. Al-Falih Circulation Executive Director Edna Catchings Saudi Aramco Affairs Design and Production Khalid I. Abubshait Herring Design General Manager Printed in the USA Public Affairs 12 RR Donnelley/Wetmore Nasser A. Al-Nafisee Address editorial Manager correspondence to: Nouvelle Public Relations The Editor Tareq M. Al-Ghamdi Saudi Aramco World Vogue Editor Post Office Box 2106 Robert Arndt Houston, Texas in the Mideast 77252-2106 USA Managing Editor Dick Doughty ISSN Written by 1530-5821 Alex Aubry

From Paris to Beirut, Back Cover Kuwait and Riyadh, Following lines traced on flat, soft young fashion designers plaster with a stencil, a craftsman from Fez, Morocco chisels an and buyers are arabesque pattern under an arch rethinking “what it in the Metropolitan Museum of means to make Art’s new Moroccan Courtyard. a garment,” and Photo by Walter B. Denny. the world of haute couture is watching Saudi Aramco, the oil company born as an international closely. enterprise more than seventy-five years ago, distributes Saudi Aramco World to increase cross-cultural under- saudiaramcoworld.com standing. The magazine’s goal is to broaden knowledge 42350araD1R1.indd 2 of the cultures, history and10/18/11 geography 10:59 PM of the Arab and Muslim worlds and their connections with the West. Saudi Aramco World is distributed without charge, upon request, to a limited number of interested readers.

42350araD2R2.indd 1 10/24/11 6:51 PM 17 2012 Calendar: Word For purposes of devotion, ornament or both, the art of calligraphy has been esteemed in every Muslim culture for some 14 centuries. Its masterpiece expressions are as diverse as the cultures—- and the gifted hands—that produced them.

Word 2012 “I put my trust in God” (“Tawakkaltu ‘ala ’illah”) —Arabic calligraphy in nasta’liq script on an ivy leaf

42350araD5R2.indd 1

10/24/11 8:15 PM Through the Black Arch 33 Written by Arthur Clark

Widely praised as poetic, emotionally evocative and universally metaphorical, “The Black Arch” by sisters Shadia and Raja Alem represented Saudi Arabia’s debut at the world’s top art festival.

36 The Met Resets a Gem Written and photographed by Walter B. Denny

To finish up 15 new Islamic galleries, opening in November, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art tapped global talent, from the effervescent Moroccan craftsmen who brought Fez to Fifth Avenue to a slightly reluctant Massachusetts art historian, who quickly found himself knee-deep in hard and heartfelt work, with a story to tell.

44 Classroom Guide Written by Julie Weiss

46 Events & Exhibitions

42350araD2R2.indd 2 10/24/11 8:16 PM Written and Photographed by Laila El-Haddad and Maggie Schmitt

says Um Ramadan, as she peels“I purple always garlic cloves watched by her kitchen my window, mother which cook,”looks out on a Gaza City street teeming with early-evening activity. “But I didn’t really learn to cook until I married and my mother-in-law taught me.” Her husband’s family, like her own, were fishing-people from the Palestinian port of Yaffa, exiled before either he or she was born. Yaffa—now part of the Tel Aviv–Yafo conurbation—is no longer what it was, but we can still taste it. From generation to generation, its sophisticated style of seafood cookery has been passed along, a thread of memory preserved in the deft gestures of hands, the precision of palate. As home to the largest concentration of refugees within historic Palestine, Gaza is an extraordi- nary place to encounter culinary traditions, not only from hundreds of towns and villages that now exist only in memory—depopulated and destroyed during the Palestinian exodus of 1948—but also from the rest of Gaza’s long history. Through decades of conflict, families in Gaza have held to recipes and foodways as sources of comfort, pleasure and pride. Unable to control much else in their lives, Gazans are renowned for lavishing care and attention on food and family. Visiting kitchens up and down the Gaza Strip, talk- ing to women about cooking and about life, offers lessons in the vital art of getting by with grace. Indeed, it seems that, in Gaza, everyone is delighted to talk about food. Approached for an interview, most Gazans brace themselves to explain one more time—gen- tly, patiently—the impossi- ble political situation of the Strip. When they discover that the subject is not politics but peppers and lentils and the way grandmother made maqluba, there is a moment In a kitchen in Gaza City, Um Ramadan begins preparation of zibdiyit of astonished delight before gambari (see page 5), part of the sophisticated coastal culinary they rip into the topic. Pass- heritage of the Gaza Strip. Quite different in style and taste are the ers-by crowd around, each hearty peasant foods of the region’s interior, like fogaiyya (right).

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42350araD3R2.indd 2 10/24/11 7:02 PM Fogaiyya

450 grams (1 lb.) lean stewing beef or lamb, trimmed of fat, cut into small chunks ½ c. chopped yellow onion 5 whole allspice berries, 4 cardamom pods, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 cloves, 1 bay leaf, 2 pebbles mastic, 1 small piece of cracked whole nutmeg (or to taste) 8 c. cold water ½ c. medium-grain rice, rinsed 2 tsp. salt, divided ½ cup dried chickpeas, soaked 8-12 hours or overnight, or one 14-oz. can 1 bunch chard, thick stems removed (approx. 8½ c.) 5 cloves garlic 1 Tbs. olive oil ½ c. lemon juice, fresh-squeezed

Wash chard well, chop finely and set aside. Place meat and water in a stockpot and bring to a boil, skimming any froth. Lower heat to medium. Tie spices in a piece of gauze or disposable tea filter and add with onions. Cover and let simmer on medium-low heat for 1½ to 2 hours, or until meat is tender. Stir in rice, 1½ tsp. of the salt and canned chickpeas. (If using dried chickpeas, add them to the meat halfway through cooking.) Cook until rice is soft, approximately 10 minutes. Add chard by handfuls, stirring after each addition. Decrease heat to low. Meanwhile, in a zibdiya or mortar and pestle, mash the garlic and remaining ½ tsp. salt. Fry the garlic in olive oil until lightly browned, 1-2 minutes. Add to stew and mix well. Just before serving, stir in lemon juice. Pour into bowls, garnish with thinly sliced lemon wedges, and serve with flatbread.

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42350araD3R2.indd 3 10/24/11 7:02 PM proffering a hometown recipe: “No, no—it’s much better if you add the onions at the end!” We went to Gaza to seek these conversations, because cuisine always lies somewhere at the intersection of geogra- phy, history and economy. It is a cultural record of daily life for ordinary people. Where reci- pes come from and how people learn to cook them reveal much about family histories and places of origin. Where food comes from, what it costs and what can and cannot be obtained reveal much about Gaza’s labyrinthine economy. And the recipes them- selves are a glimpse into history. A sliver of green between the desert and the sea, Gaza Gaza and its environs have prospered since antiquity as a hub along essential transit routes—on the Salad one hand, between the Levant (dagga or salata gazawiyya) and Egypt and, on the other, between Arabia and Europe. ½ tsp. salt While it is part of the greater 2 cloves garlic Mediterranean food-universe 2 hot chile peppers (jalapeño, Thai chile of olives, fish, rice, chickpeas or serrano), roughly chopped and garden vegetables, it is also 2 very ripe tomatoes, chopped a bridge to the desert culinary ½ c. fresh dill, minced worlds of Arabia, the Red Sea 2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil and the Nile Valley. When we speak of modern In a Gazan clay bowl or zibdiya Gaza, we are referring to the (though any mortar or curved-bottomed present-day Gaza Strip, which bowl will do), mash garlic and salt into a is some 40 kilometers (25 mi) paste using a pestle. Add chiles and con- long and four to eight kilome- Among the many uses of Gaza’s signature chile-and-dill tinue to crush. Add tomatoes and mash ters (2 1/2–5 mi) wide, within the combination is zibdiyit gambari, or “shrimp in a bowl,” until the salad reaches a thick, salsa-like borders set in 1967. Historically, shown above amid stuffed sea bream (left), chile-roasted (top) (right) consistency. Mix in dill. Top generously however, the greater Gaza Dis- crabs and calamari spiced rice . Zibdiya is the name of the Gaza Strip’s ubiquitous clay bowl, used for with olive oil. Serve with flatbread on the trict—one of the administrative cooking, serving and eating. Right: Um Ramadan shops side for dipping. districts of British Mandate Pal- at Gaza City’s fish market. Variations: estine and, before that, the Otto- • Substitute finely chopped onions for man Empire—comprised a much larger region to the north and east. In culinary terms, the the garlic and add 1 Tbs. lemon juice. Gaza region was both a coastal one of seafood and an interior farming one, rich in vegetables • Add chopped cucumbers and 1 Tbs. of and legumes. This division between coastal and interior cuisines persists today. tahini. (This variation is from the old vil- The founding of Israel in 1948 divided the historic Gaza District and separated today’s Gaza lage of Beit Jirja, north of the Gaza Strip.) Strip from the rest of historic Palestine, and the 1967 Israeli occupation cut it off from both • If fresh dill is not available, substitute Egypt and the West Bank. This geopolitical fact, combined with the frequent closure of Gaza’s 1 Tbs. of dill seeds. (Crush them thor- borders over the past two decades, has resulted in isolation and uncertain political and economic oughly with the pestle, using a circular circumstances, within which Gazans have had to adapt their cuisine as much as all the other motion, along with the salt, to be sure aspects of their lives. “They make something like this in the rest of Palestine,” cooks we inter- to release their natural oils.) viewed would say, showing us a favorite dish, “but we add hot chiles and dill.” • A small food processor may be used in Hot chile and dill: This is the quintessential modern Gazan spice combination. Whereas place of a mortar and pestle. Make Lebanese cooks have no tolerance for spicy heat, and cooks from other parts of Palestine use it sure to “pulse” the ingredients—don’t in moderation, Gazans take pride in making you sweat, whether using fresh green chile pep- purée them. pers crushed in a mortar with lemon and salt or else filfil mat’houn, ground red chile peppers preserved in oil and sold as a condiment and ingredient, resembling North Africa’s popular harissa. The ubiquitous tabikh bamia, okra stew with oxtail, and molukhiyya, mallow soup, are both served with green chile and dill seeds crushed with lemon, cutting their dark tastes with

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42350araD3R2.indd 4 10/24/11 7:03 PM Zibdiyit

Gambari(Shrimp Stew)

1 kg. (35 oz.) fresh shrimp, peeled 3 Tbs. olive oil 3 small onions, chopped (approx. 1½ c.) 2 green chile peppers, with type adjusted to taste 3 Tbs. tomato paste 6 tomatoes, peeled and diced (approx. 3½ c. or one 26-oz. can) 2 Tbs. dill, minced 6 cloves fresh garlic 1½ tsp. ground coriander 1 tsp. ground cumin ¾ tsp. ground cardamom ½ tsp. each of allspice and black pepper 1½ tsp. salt, divided 1 c. water ¼ c. pine nuts, slivered almonds or raw cashews 2 Tbs. sesame seeds 2 Tbs. chopped parsley

Cook peeled shrimp in a dry pan for about three minutes, until the liquid they release has evaporated and shrimp are pink. Skim off any foam. Set shrimp aside. Coarsely chop the green pepper, and crush it with ½ tsp. of the salt. Chop a blaze of brightness. Chiles are dill and garlic finely and rub together by ground with meat to make kofta hand. In the same pan the shrimp were kebab and they are mashed, in the cooked in, sauté onions in olive oil. When uniquely Gazan clay bowls called onions are transparent, add tomato zibdiya, to make Gaza’s signature paste, and stir well. Mix in tomatoes, tomato salad, dagga. Sun-dried, spices, crushed chiles, water and the dill the same peppers are used in win- and garlic mixture. Stir well. Simmer for ter dishes such as maftul, the Pal- 10 minutes on low heat, and then stir in estinian version of couscous, in shrimp. Meanwhile, toast the nuts and which the chile is called “the bride sesame seeds, or fry them until golden in of the maftul” (arusit al-maftul) for 1 Tbs. olive oil and set aside. Pour the the modest and delicate way it per- shrimp mixture from the pan into the zib- fumes the grains as they steam. diya. (An ovenproof earthenware dish or After shopping with her at individual ramekins will also do.) Cover the Gaza fishing port, we learn with sesame seeds, nuts and parsley. a few other memorable uses of Bake for 10 minutes covered with alumi- chile-and-dill from Um Ramadan. num foil, then remove the foil and bake Gaza used to be famous for fish: another few minutes until the top is Nine nautical miles off its shores, crusty. Serve with bread. there is a deep channel used by great schools of fish as they migrate between the Nile Delta and the Aegean Sea. But the Israeli navy limits Gaza’s fishing fleet to

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42350araD3R2.indd 5 10/24/11 7:03 PM Hand-shaped and sun-dried cakes of a mixture of yoghurt and grain or flour, called kishik and known throughout the Middle East, exist in numerous personal and regional varieties throughout Gaza, especially in the central part of the Strip.

(traditional)Kishik 1 kg. (35 oz.) soft wheat berries or fine bulgur 1 c. homemade yoghurt, or commercial buttermilk left unrefrigerated overnight to sour; more as needed 4 Tbs. salt 3 Tbs. dill seeds (optional) 2 Tbs. red chile pepper flakes (optional)

With a mortar and pestle or a food processor, coarsely grind wheat ker- nels. Knead softened kernels with sour yoghurt or buttermilk. Leave to ferment for three days, preferably outdoors or by a window indoors, kneading the mixture daily. Once fermented, add salt, dill seeds and red pepper flakes, if desired. Divide into patties, dust with wheat bran or all- purpose flour, and then leave to sun-dry thoroughly on clean cheesecloth.

(modern urban variation) 1 kg. (35 oz.) soft wheat berries, just three nautical miles from the coast. Though inland fish-farms attempt to compensate by fine bulgur or all-purpose flour producing tilapia, Gazans still prefer what they’ve been eating for centuries: red mullet and sea 2 c. buttermilk, more as needed bream, sardines and sea bass, as well as an exuberant diversity of crabs, shrimp and other shell- 4 Tbs. salt fish. Having carefully selected several medium-sized red mullet and some tiny shrimp, Um 3 Tbs. dill seeds (optional) Ramadan leads us home. 2 fresh green chiles (optional) Her plan is to prepare a Yaffan recipe for spicy fried fish stuffed with dill, along with zibdiyit gambari, the typically Gazan dish of shrimp with tomatoes, spices and peppers stewed in a zib- diya, which functions as mortar, cooking pot and serving bowl in one. Soft-spoken, precise and Grind and mix bulgur, buttermilk and unflappable, Um Ramadan effortlessly navigates her kitchen as she tells her family’s history, spices as above. Mixture should be loose interspersed with an encyclopedia of recipes. and liquid. Adjust buttermilk to achieve These recipes Um Ramadan shares belong to the grand repertoire of Gazan seafood cui- this consistency. Cover and leave to fer- sine, the culinary heritage of the coastal cities. Most are elaborate and urbane, requiring sev- ment in a large bowl for several days. eral stages of preparation. They also make much use of protein, a clear sign of the prosperity When well fermented, divide into seal- and sophistication of the community from which they emerged. Other dishes in this repertoire able storage bags and freeze. Defrost for include caramelized rice with calamari rings; small squid stuffed with rice and spices; oven- use as needed. roasted crabs stuffed with ground red chiles; stingray soup (a lemony delicacy beloved in Yaffa winters); and sayadiyya, “fishermen’s delight,” with layers of spiced rice, caramelized onions and marinated sea bass. In general, larger fish are often grilled and smaller fish are fried. Sardines— once wildly abundant during their migrations in spring and fall—are often baked on a tray with a spicy tomato sauce or ground to make fish kofta. Even in so small a territory as the Gaza Strip, food customs vary greatly from one region to another. Almost a world away from the urbane heritage of the coast, people with roots in south- ern Palestine’s agrarian interior enjoy ingredients and tastes that are completely different—but no less charged with memory.

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42350araD3R3.indd 5 10/25/11 6:39 PM District Center Railroad Expressway Other Road

50 Km

50 Miles Especially in the damp chill of Gaza’s winters, rural people and their descendants crave the hearty, one-dish stews unique to Gaza, often made with original combinations of humble, inexpensive ingredients. These, too, are often regional: A native of southern Gaza is unlikely to know how to prepare sumagiyya, a slow-simmered stew of chard and meat flavored with red tahini and an infusion of sumac berries that is a traditional holiday dish in Gaza City. Other popular stews include fogaiyya, made with small chunks of beef or lamb, chard, rice and Yaffa aza Strip and WESTchickpeas BANK and generously doused G aza District with lemon juice and fried garlic, and rumaniyya, a late-summer dish G efore 1948 of eggplants and lentils cooked with sour pomegranate juice and thick- B ened with tahini. Qidra Spices a Isdud e Rural areas also make broad and Use the freshest spices available. Mix S

n original use of wild greens in dishes well and store in an air-tight container: a e ½ Tbs. ground nutmeg n such as hamasees, in which sour a r r greens are stewed with lentils, and ½ Tbs. ground red pepper e Beit Tima Iraq Al-Manshiyya t i 1 Tbs. ground cinnamon d Beit Jirja khobayza, which is mallow cooked e M Beit Hanoun with tiny dumplings. Rijla (or baqla)— 2 Tbs. ground cardamom Gaza City purslane—is found all around the 2 Tbs. ground cloves PALESTINE Mediterranean growing in the urban 2 Tbs. ground dried lemon (BRITISH MANDATE) Deir al-Balah wild, through cracks in sidewalks and ½ c. ground allspice Garara in abandoned lots. This small-leafed ½ c. black pepper Khan Yunis Former (pre-1948) succulent is a favorite of peasants ½ c. garlic powder towns/villages Rafah from the Gaza District, either raw or 1 c. ground turmeric Present-day Gaza Strip stewed with tomatoes and chickpeas. Gaza District (1918-1948) EGYPT Bou x Um Ibrahim, 86, remembers eat- ing rijla during the exodus of 1948: Traditionally slow-cooked in sealed clay pots, 15 30 km “We would find it growing between qidra (below) is a festive dish that dates back to 10 20 mi the courts of Persia. In it, a standard mix of map design by linda quiquivix the bushes where we hid, and for spices (above) and abundant cloves of unpeeled garlic perfume a mix of meat and rice.

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42350araD3R2.indd 7 10/24/11 7:03 PM Maqluba (Zeitun Women’s Cooperative recipe) Meat: Vegetables: 1 medium chicken, cut into 8 pieces, 1 large onion, julienned skin removed, or 700 gr. (25 oz.) 1 head of garlic, each clove separated lean beef or lamb, cut into large chunks and peeled 2 Tbs. light olive oil 2 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced Water to cover meat in pot 2 large tomatoes, sliced 1 sweet red pepper, seeds and veins Flavoring for Broth: removed, cut into large strips 1 onion, chopped 3 carrots, peeled, cut in half, then cut again 1 celery stalk, with leaves, cut in half lengthwise 1 bunch parsley stalks, tied together 2 lbs. eggplant or cauliflower florets, fried with string or oven-roasted (recipe below) 1 sprig rosemary (optional) 1 c. chickpeas, pre-soaked and cooked 1 bay leaf (or one 14-oz. can) 2 small pebbles of mastic, crushed Remaining Ingredients: with salt 3 tsp. salt 5 cardamom pods ½ tsp. cinnamon 1 cinnamon stick 2 Tbs. qidra spices (recipe below) 1 dried lemon or ½ lemon rind 3 c. medium-grain rice, rinsed and soaked (omit if using beef or lamb) for 20 minutes 4 Tbs. olive oil ¼ c. pine nuts or slivered almonds, fried in 1 Tbs. ghee or butter parsley a long while, it’s all we survived on,” she Brown the meat or chicken in olive oil. Add water and bring to a boil, removing any froth. recalls. In her home in the Deir al-Balah ref- Reduce heat to medium and stir in all the items under “Flavoring for Broth.” Simmer for an ugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, she is hour or so (more if using beef or lamb) until tender. Cool, drain, and reserve the broth and one of the few who remember pre-1948 life— the meat separately. (While the broth is simmering, prepare the eggplant or cauliflower.) In a and as for many of her generation, it is for separate bowl, add salt, cinnamon and qidra spices to the rice and mix well. Set aside. Fry the her often more vital than the present. onions and garlic in a separate pan in 2 Tbs. of the olive oil until caramelized. Remove from heat. “I am telling you about how we would In a large non-stick pot, add remaining olive oil and arrange potato slices in a circular, cook and eat in the past, but here everything overlapping pattern, followed by tomato slices, sautéed onions and garlic, red pepper, carrots, is unwholesome. It is bad food. In the past, we reserved meat, roasted eggplant or cauliflower, and chickpeas. Add the rice mixed with spices ate very heartily and were very healthy.” Her on top of the arrangement in the pot. Ladle the broth over the rice until just covered, using eyes gleam as she describes the wild greens approximately 2 cups of broth for every cup of rice. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and handsome squashes of Beit Tima, her to low and cover tightly for approximately 40 minutes or until rice is cooked. If necessary, ladle a home village, where her father had been little bit more of reserved broth, half a cup at a time, and leave to simmer until rice is cooked. mayor before they were driven out in 1948. Remove pot from heat and let rest, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and place a It’s clear from how she talks that, since large round tray, serving side down, on the pot. Hold on carefully and flip the pot and tray that day, everything else has been a shadow, a upside-down. Gently lift off the pot, allowing the maqluba to slide out, as out of a mold. Adorn long wait. If she is to talk about food, she will it with toasted pine nuts or almonds and parsley. Serve immediately with salad and yoghurt. talk about food before the exile. Since then it has all been un-provided rations: flour, beans, Grilled eggplant or cauliflower for maqluba: sugar, salt, powdered milk. While Palestin- Peel eggplant in alternating vertical strips (one strip peeled, the next strip with peel), then ians have adapted to this reality, creating cut crossways into finger-thick slices. Soak these slices in salted water for 15 minutes. Drain innovative dishes with what ingredients are well and toss or brush with olive oil. Arrange slices on an oiled baking pan or cookie sheet available, for Um Ibrahim, as for many elders, and bake until brown on the bottom, then broil for 5 to 10 minutes. For grilled cauliflower food—real food—is always in the past tense. florets, follow same procedure but skip the salt-water bath. Toss with olive oil and proceed Many who have grown up in Gaza’s ref- with oven roasting. Sprinkle with 1 tsp. cumin. ugee camps and towns, she explains, have never had full access to the foods of their

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42350araD3R3.indd 7 10/25/11 6:39 PM Left: With its layers of meat, vegetables and rice simmered in broth and spices, maqluba is a demanding special-occasion recipe that showcases both the generosity of the host and the skill of the cook. Lower: Um Ibrahim holds a cake of kishik, which she learned to make in Beit Tima, long before refrigeration was widely available.

Beit Tima

Kishik½ kg. (17 oz.) boneless muttonStew or beef, cut small 8 c. water 1 medium onion, chopped 5 disks of kishik, soaked overnight in water Whole spices, such as cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, allspice and bay leaf, tied in a piece of gauze or disposable tea filter ½ c. medium-grain rice, rinsed 1 c. chickpeas

Place meat and water in a pan and bring to a boil, skimming any foam. Reduce heat. Add chopped onion and parents and grandparents, because of the general whole-spice in bag. Cover partially and unavailability or high prices of fruit, vegetables, dairy cook until tender. Meanwhile, mix kishik and meat. As a result, they don’t know or don’t appreci- with its soaking water in a blender until ate some of the traditional preparations. For example, smooth. Strain to remove any remaining she says, her children don’t like kishik. Says Um Ibrahim: lumps. Set aside. When meat is tender, “Ah! Kishik! It was one of our most favorite foods. It was strain and reserve the broth. Discard cooked with chickpeas and meat. Beautiful!” spices. Cook rice. When it is cooked, add Before refrigeration, throughout the Middle East broth, chickpeas, meat and the strained and Central Asia, kishik was a way to conserve the kishik. Bring to a boil, stirring continu- nutritional value of dairy products by fermenting ously. Serve. and drying a paste of milk and grain. In her native Khan Yunis kishik: Grind soft kishik Beit Tima, Um Ibrahim learned to make kishik from in a food processer or with a mortar and wheat kernels, which she ground coarsely in a heavy pestle, and mix with olive oil, lemon juice mortar and left to ferment with yoghurt or butter- and 1 Tbs. crushed dill seeds to form a milk. She then would shape disks that were dried in paste. Serve with flatbread. the sun, which allowed their long-term storage. When winter came, the disks were reconstituted with water, Garara kishik: Crumble kishik over blended until smooth, and then cooked with mutton, oven-roasted or grilled tomatoes. Top with chickpeas and rice. mashed garlic and chopped fresh dill. Just south of Deir al-Balah in Garara, however, women prepare kishik today with plain flour, and they flavor it in characteristically Gazan style with crushed dill seeds and flakes of red chiles. When dried, this kishik is crumbled over skewered grilled tomatoes and dressed with mashed garlic and minced dill. A few kilometers still further south in Khan Yunis, kishik is ground to a powder and mixed with olive oil, lemon juice and crushed dill seeds, and the moist paste is eaten with flatbread or crumbled on top of salads. Gaza’s everyday inland foods tend to favor spicy-sour one-dish meals based on vegetables and legumes, but its celebratory festival foods are heavier on meat and richly spiced rice. There

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42350araD3R2.indd 9 10/24/11 7:04 PM is history to this: Throughout Pal- estine, meat-based meals have his- torically been reserved for special occasions: holidays, family visits and important life events. Some of these dishes, such as fattah or mansaf, are based on the old peninsular Arab cus- The Flavors of Gaza tom of dousing bread with broth and eating it with roasted meat. Other < Dill seed (‘ayn jarada): Both feathery fresh dill and dill seed are dishes trace their ancestry to the commonly crushed with a mortar and pestle to release the natural spiced rice dishes of the courts of Per- oils. (The name in Arabic means “locust eye.”) sia and Baghdad: notably qidra, spiced rice with meat and whole cloves of Sour plums (qarasiya): Dried plums lend sourness to broths unpeeled garlic cooked slowly in a and stews. Fresh, these small greenish-purple fruits are boiled sealed clay pot, and maqluba, in which whole with sugar into a thick, tart jam much sought after in Gaza. meat and vegetables are layered with With only a one-week harvest season in summer, the plums are a spiced rice, then turned upside-down costly rarity. before serving; the resulting vege- table-studded dome is adorned with > This brick-red Gazan variety Red tahini (tahina hamra): almonds or pine nuts. of tahini is made by roasting sesame seeds. (The more familiar These dishes, which require elab- white tahini uses steamed seeds.) It thickens stews and deepens orate preparation and spices from all flavors; it is also drizzled on chopped salads. As a substitute, over the world, for centuries show- a half cup of white tahini can be mixed with 1 Tbs. roasted cased both a host’s generosity and sesame seed oil. a cook’s acumen. In Gaza, there is a < Sour pomegranates (rumman hamed): Distinct from their standard mixture of spices used for familiar ruby-red cousins, these have a pistachio-green exterior, them, known simply as “qidra spices,” and their seeds are pressed for their juice. that includes cinnamon, turmeric, nutmeg, dried lemon, ground red Chile peppers (filfil harag): Green or red, fresh or dried, chiles and allspice. Cooks vary both pickled, ground, mashed or whole, chiles set Gazan cuisine apart. the ingredients and the proportions, of course. As these are demanding Garlic: The key here is—lots! The prized baladi (“native”) variety has small purple cloves, recipes, many urban families today and it can be seen hanging in pantries for winter use. Rural Gazans, however, prefer have them prepared by professionals, onions to garlic. some to save time, others to save > Chard: The tender leaves of this mellow green are often stewed, on cooking fuel. This is where but also chopped and stuffed into savory pastries along with Um Hamada and the women of onions, sumac and minced meat. the Zeitun Women’s Coopera- tive step in. Cumin: Along with garlic, cumin deserves its own mention Tired of the helplessness because Gazans do not lump it in with mixes such as qidra. Most many Gazan homemakers feel in legume dishes include cumin, which is appreciated both for flavor an economic situation of nearly and for its reputation as a digestive aid. universal male under- and unemployment, caused by the closure D ukka: This is a hearty mixture of spices and legumes that varies widely by family. It is of borders and subsequent collapse of traditionally roasted at home and sent to be ground at a mill. The powder is then mixed industry in Gaza, Um Hamada and with toasted sesame seeds and eaten with olive oil as a dip for bread, or spread onto thin her neighbors in Gaza City’s historic dough and baked for an easy meal. Zeitun neighborhood decided to put their cooking skills to work to support 4 kg. (8 lbs. 12 oz.) wheat berries ¼ kg. dill seed their families. They take orders for ½ kg. (18 oz.) cumin seed 1 kg. (35 oz.) brown lentils festive foods and—in a tiny but aston- ½ kg. whole sumac berries or 20 dried red chiles ishingly efficient kitchen—prepare ground sumac 1 c. salt great vats of stuffed vegetables called ¼ kg. (9 oz.) coriander seed 1 tsp. citric acid mahshi, towering mounds of maqluba ¼ kg. caraway seed and all manner of pastries and sweets for all kinds of special events. All the Toast the wheat berries until they are a deep brown. Toast the spices individually until women learned slightly different fam- fragrant. Mix and grind to powder in small batches. Store in airtight containers. When ily versions of the dishes, so debates ready to use, add 1 Tbs. toasted sesame seeds per cup of dukka. flourish in the kitchen, but without Bedouin variation: Add chickpeas, sun-dried basil and cloves. slowing the six or seven pairs of hands that deftly chop, slice, measure and stir in harmony.

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42350araD3R2.indd 10 10/24/11 7:04 PM The Zeitun Women’s Cooperative of Gaza City, above, cooks fresh local Laila El-Haddad (Laila.Elhaddad@ recipes to order for weddings, holi- gmail.com) is a freelance journalist days and other occasions. Right: The and the author of Gaza Mom: supreme dessert of the Gaza Strip, Palestine, Politics, Parenting and knafa arabiya, is made more often in Everything in Between. She travels bakeries than at home. frequently between her home in Columbia, Maryland and Gaza City, her hometown. Gazans from all backgrounds Maggie Schmitt (mschmitt@ generally finish ordinary meals with mailworks.org) is a translator, sweet sage tea, followed by seasonal researcher, freelance writer and fruits and crisp summer vegetables photographer based in Madrid. She like cucumbers and peeled carrots. has worked on a number of Special occasions, however, call for scholarly and documentary projects in and around the Middle East. dessert pastries. Of the many made in Gaza, none is as splendid—nor as Related articles from past issues can be uniquely Gazan—as knafa arabiya. found on our Web site, www.saudiaramco While knafa is a broad category of world.com. Click on “indexes,” then on the dessert made throughout the region, cover of the issue indicated below. knafa arabiya is the jewel of Gaza history of Gaza: S/O 94 and only Gaza: a rich, buttery sheet spices: M/A 88 of layered walnuts and toasted sem- couscous: N/D 98 olina breadcrumbs perfumed gener- flatbread: S/O 95 ously with cinnamon and nutmeg, soaked in warm syrup. Rougher and more rustic than other knafas, it is also richer, and its fla- The writers are coauthors of the forthcoming book The Gaza Kitchen, to be vors run deeper—a metaphor perhaps for the women like Um Ramadan, Um Ibrahim and Um published in 2012 by Just World Books. Hamada, whose daily creativity in the resilient kitchens of the Gaza Strip give Gazan cuisine its true heart.

November/December 2011 11

42350araD3R2.indd 11 10/24/11 7:04 PM in the mideast

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42350araD4R2.indd 12 10/24/11 7:11 PM Written by Alex Aubry

ver the last decade, a new generation of designers has emerged to reshape the Middle East’s fashion scene. Despite a reputation for producing only extrava- gant ball gowns, a handful of emerging Arab talents are explor- ing an edgier and more modern approach to design. Inside the former Paris theater where Samuel Beckett’s Wait- ing for Godot premiered in 1953, 38-year-old Rabih Kayrouz is showcasing avant-garde creations of a different kind. After years of working just under the fashion industry’s radar, Kayrouz was voted into the notoriously choosy Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture Parisienne (the Paris fashion industry’s governing body) in 2009, making him only the second Arab designer, after Elie Saab in 2003, to receive this distinction. During October’s round of Paris ready-to-wear collections, Kayrouz’s light-filled showroom buzzed with international buy- ers and editors. Among them was hh Princess Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz, founder of D’NA, a retail store and gallery in Riyadh. “I first met Rabih on a visit to Beirut,” recalls Abdulaziz. “When you entered his studio, you imme- diately got the sense that this was a designer very different from Seeking what he calls the others. There “a place where the wasn’t a bead or technical discipline of a ruffle in sight. haute couture is adapted to our modern-day world,” Instead, his clothes Rabih Kayrouz’s designs showed a modern and refined approach to luxury that have been widely praised was rare among Arab designers.” by fashion critics from Pitching the glamorous side of a country long associ- Paris to Beirut and Riyadh. ated with war, the Lebanese capital has positioned itself at the center of the creative movement that is chang- ing the way Middle Eastern fashion is perceived both within the region and abroad. “Beirut has a unique magic,” explains Heba Elkayal, style editor for The Daily News Egypt and The Interna- tional Herald Tribune. “It’s home to one of the region’s most liberal and cosmopolitan societies, and that creates the conditions for new ideas to take root.” “Lebanon’s fashion circles are pretty small,” explains Milia Maroun, who designs out of Beirut under the label “Milia M.” “As a group, we are very close-knit and supportive of each other, because we’ve shared similar experiences. It’s a feeling of camara- derie that’s not easily found in the wider fashion world.” According to Carole Corm, an editor at ELLE Arab World in Beirut, this young group of designers inevitably invites compari- sons to the generations that preceded them—“established design- ers, such as Elie Saab, George Chakra and Zuhair Murad, who paved the way when their clothes appeared on Paris runways and the red carpet.” The difference, she adds, is that while the older designers “tended to take a formulaic approach to glam-

(3) maison rabih kayrouz courtesy our,” Kayrouz, Maroun and others “are part of a new generation

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42350araD4R2.indd 13 10/24/11 7:11 PM reacting to this esthetic by producing clothes from a different refer- ence point. They are Lebanese, but they are also very European in the way they view luxury. Where one group built its fame on glitz, the other prides itself on a very subdued idea of dressing. It also feels a bit more intel- lectual with Rabih and Milia. More thought seems to be put into what it means to make a garment, into the choice of materials and the craftsmanship,” observes Corm. This evolution in taste also marks a shift in the way fashion consumers—women—in the region are approaching Arab designers. “For years there was this notion that European This page: “It’s not and American designers were better,” says only about how good one is at Elkayal. “The Lebanese designers were really pattern making or responsible for breaking that perception by sketching, but also showing abroad, and producing collections how intellectually that were not only well made but deserved engaged they are the same price points as their western in the process of creation,” observes counterparts.” Beirut designer The change in tastes, asserts D’NA’s Milia Maroun, Abdulaziz, is hardly restricted to Lebanon. founder of Milia M. “There also seems to be this perception in the West that women in the Gulf tend to go for gaudy or over-embellished gowns. In reality, pool,” explains Haj- my Saudi clients have very sophisticated tastes and jar, who served as respond well to Kayrouz’s understated elegance.” Kayrouz’s market- Maroun, who trained in Paris, returned to Beirut in 1999 ing manager for intent on launching a career in ready-to-wear. “When I estab- three years before lished my label, I wanted to create beautifully made and feminine devoting herself clothes that women could wear every day. My collections attract full-time to Starch. women who are assertive, self-confident and comfortable in their “Through his own skin,” says Maroun, who also travels to Istanbul to teach a sharp eye, creative fashion course at Bilgi University. direction and cru- Kayrouz too has turned his attention to the region’s next cial contacts, he’s generation of creative talent. In 2008, he joined Tala Hajjar to been able to give these young designers a platform.” co-found the Starch Foundation as a “laboratory for new ideas.” Hajjar also believes that Kayrouz sets a good example. “He not Every six months, aspiring designers submit portfolios to only encourages individual expression, but provides them with Kayrouz. With the help of a committee, he makes selections and marketing and financial advice that’s overlooked by many fashion guides them through the development, presentation and promo- schools,” she continues. tion of their first collection at the Starch boutique in Beirut’s One young designer who has benefited from Starch is Ronald Saifi Village. Abdala. “Starch has had a positive effect on my career, helping “There is a lot of talent in Lebanon, but they are somewhat me gain a better understanding of the local market and introduc- lost when it comes to setting up their own labels. I’ve acquired all ing me to a new clientele,” explains Abdala, who still sees chal- this experience in the industry over the years, and felt a responsi- lenges facing the region’s young designers. bility to share it,” explains the designer. “It’s difficult to find high-end stores willing to stock young “Rabih understood early on that in order to create a sustain- Lebanese talent, which leaves many to fend for themselves by able fashion industry in the Middle East that could compete at either opening boutiques or selling out of their showrooms.

an international level, we first needed to build our creative talent Another challenge is the cost of sourcing large enough quantities mohammed ashi (3) milia m (3); opposite: courtesy courtesy

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42350araD4R2.indd 14 10/24/11 7:12 PM he produces capsule collections that have earned him a following both within the region and internationally. “Ashi takes a post-modern approach to old-school couture,” notes Confashions from Kuwait, one of the region’s most influential (and anony- mous) fashion bloggers. “He doesn’t do those over-the-top looks that are synonymous with Middle Eastern fashion. Instead he finds beauty in imperfections, which is why his clothes are rough and refined at the same time. There is a handcrafted appeal to his creations that often come in muted tones, with an emphasis on interesting textures, exposed seams and sculptural forms,” she continues. Ashi’s work also points to a shift in the way young Arab designers address cultural heritage. For his lat- est effort, the Saudi designer didn’t reference Arabian themes, but rather This page: “They expressed his inspiration through don’t feel pressured to create collec- Emily Dickinson’s poem “A Bird Came tions based on Down the Walk.” The result was a set Oriental clichés,” of 15 gravity-defying pieces featuring says blogger undulating silk organza collars and Confashions from ball skirts rising dramatically off the Kuwait in reference to Beirut-based floor on layers of sculpted tulle. Saudi designer “What’s interesting about design- Mohammed Ashi. ers such as Ashi is that they don’t of high-quality fabrics to feel pressured to create collections based on Oriental clichés or produce a ready-to-wear col- variations on the kaftan,” explains Confashions from Kuwait. “In lection, let alone manufacture it,” he explains. a sense they are citizens of the world, and they want to estab- Some in the region’s fashion media are keenly aware of these lish their own individual voices. When they reference Oriental challenges, and they are working to promote these talents to themes, it’s done in a very subtle manner, such as a particular wider audiences. “It takes a number of factors for designers to method of construction or an embroidery technique.” emerge on the international scene. It’s not simply talent and luck, Ronald Abdala, who moved back to Lebanon in 2004 after but also major financial backing and, quite often, the endorse- graduating from London’s Central Saint Martins, says this ment of others in the industry, whether through direct promo- approach is “changing the perception of Arab designers as one- tion or by placing their pieces in magazine articles or on covers,” trick ponies.” Having grown up in London, Paris, Lagos and says style editor Elkayal. Beirut, he says, “I always try to balance my designs in ways that Like Paris, which is a magnet for aspiring designers from reflect my multicultural background.” around the world, the Lebanese capital is luring young Arab tal- These are thoughts echoed by others as they try to address ent from across the region. Mohammed Ashi, a Saudi designer a global audience while maintaining a unique identity. “I don’t based in Beirut, is known for his unconventional approach to design specifically for a Middle Eastern customer, but for a mod- running his label: Instead of following a strict pattern of seasons, ern woman of today,” explains Kayrouz. “I spend a lot of time observing how women walk or put their hands in their pockets. All of these observations influence my design process.” “Rabih once told me that his clothing is made so a woman can gather it easily around her and hop into a cab—minimal fuss, everyday use. I love that. In an age of excess and pretension, Kayrouz celebrates the woman wearing the dress rather than the dress wearing the woman,” adds Elkayal. For Maroun, collaborating with artists of the Lebanese dias- pora has provided further inspiration. For her winter 2010 collec- tion, she created a dress using a print of a photograph by Fouad Elkhoury that depicted a blown-out concrete wall, one of the Lebanese photographer’s many images documenting Beirut’s destruction during the civil war. “There is something hauntingly beautiful about his photographs, so I decided to have them blown

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42350araD4R2.indd 15 10/24/11 7:12 PM up and printed on fabric, which I graduating from London’s Central then made into a dress. I think this Saint Martins and then working notion of seeing beauty in destruc- for John Galliano at Christian Dior. tion is very true to a city like In addition to becoming a resi- Beirut, which has been destroyed dent designer at London’s Browns and rebuilt over the centuries,” store, he also caught the attention explains the designer. of Vogue magazine “as the next The emergence of new design big thing in knitwear.” Yet when schools in Beirut, Doha and Riyadh it came time to launch his own is strengthening business, the designer decided to the larger trend, but Above and left: return to his native Kuwait. “To merely having four “Extreme knitwear” establish my label in the Middle walls is not enough, by Tahir Sultan. East made a lot of sense, because Lower: Kayrouz poses says Maroun, who with Starch Founda- the global recession wasn’t as has also taught at the tion winners. “To severe here,” explains Sultan. Ecole Supérieure create a sustainable Tala Hajjar expects that the des Arts et Tech- fashion industry in impact of today’s young Arab niques de la Mode in the Middle East,” talent will eventually extend far says Starch manager Damascus. “We need Tala Hajjar, “we first beyond the region. “Considering to nurture intellec- need to build our how far the fashion industry in tual curiosity among creative talent pool.” the Middle East has come in a students, so that they can think outside the box in terms of design,” observes Maroun. “It’s not only about how good they are at pattern mak- ing or sketching, but also how intellectu- ally engaged they are in the process of creation.” The emergence relatively short time, it’s not hard to envision a day when of Arab names on Arab designers will influence and mark fashion history— the global fash- similar to the way the Antwerp Six and the Japanese did ion scene has also during the 1980’s. As for how long it will take—it may changed perceptions about a profession that, until very recently, happen faster than anyone expects,” she says. “What is certain is “wasn’t a career families encouraged their children to go into,” that we are on the right track.” writes Confashions from Kuwait. “But as we see success stories emerge, it’s becoming more acceptable.” Mohammed Ashi, born in 1980, admits his journey into fash- ion was anything but straightforward. “Although I come from Architect, artist, curator and editor Alex Aubry (alex.a.aubry@ a family of textile dealers and manufacturers, they didn’t want gmail.com) is particularly interested in design and culture me to go into design initially. My father wanted me to focus on produced by a new generation in the Middle East and its diaspora. His articles have appeared in Paris-based Unfair

the business end of the family company. I studied marketing at magazine, Brownbook magazine and the London arts yrouz St. Michael’s College in Vermont, but the urge to design always publication Muraqqa. He lives in Chicago. remained with me. I was determined to create my own brand, so I took fashion courses in Paris and Beirut,” he says. Later, he / rabih ka

worked for Givenchy, Elie Saab and Beirut’s Milia Maroun before Related articles from past issues can be found on our Web site, ARCH ST setting up his own label. www.saudiaramcoworld.com. Click on “Indexes,” then on the cover of the issue indicated below. Others of this new generation have often had training further Orientalist fashion: M/A 77 abroad than Beirut. “In the last few years we’ve begun to see grad- Adnan Akbar: M/A 90 uates from prestigious fashion schools, such as New York’s Par- Joseph Abboud: J/A 95 sons School of Design and London’s Central Saint Martin’s, who have won coveted internships with some of the biggest names www.starchfoundation.org/ in the business. Many of them have returned home to influence www.maisonrabihkayrouz.com local fashion trends,” explains Heba Elkayal. www.miliam.com/ One example is Kuwaiti designer Tahir Sultan, who has www.ronaldabdala.com/ www.dnariyadh.com/ become known for an extreme approach to knitwear that www.confashionsfromkuwait.com/ incorporates bold colors and volumes that are best described as http://creativespacebeirut.com/

architectural. Indeed, he initially studied architecture before http://the-polyglot.blogspot.com (2); above: courtesy sultan tahir top: courtesy

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42350araD4R2.indd 16 10/24/11 7:12 PM “I put my trust in God” (“Tawakkaltu ‘ala ’illah”) Word 2012 —Arabic calligraphy in nasta’liq script on an ivy leaf

42350araD5R2.indd 1 10/24/11 8:11 PM

Geometry of the Spirit written by david james

alligraphy is without doubt the most original con- As well, there were regional varieties. From Kufic, Islamic few are the buildings that lack Hijazi tribution of Islam to the visual arts. For Muslim cal- Spain and North Africa developed andalusi and maghribi, calligraphy as ornament. Usu- Cligraphers, the act of writing—particularly the act of respectively. Iran and Ottoman Turkey both produced varie- ally these inscriptions were writing the Qur’an—is primarily a religious experience. Most ties of scripts, and these gained acceptance far beyond their first written on paper and then western non-Muslims, on the other hand, appreciate the line, places of origin. Perhaps the most important was nasta‘liq, transferred to ceramic tiles for Kufic form, flow and shape of the Arabic words. Many recognize which was developed in 15th-century Iran and reached a firing and glazing, or they were that what they see is more than a display of skill: Calligraphy zenith of perfection in the 16th century. Unlike all earlier copied onto stone and carved is a geometry of the spirit. hands, nasta‘liq was devised to write Persian, not Arabic. by masons. In Turkey and Per- The sacred nature of the Qur’an as the revealed word of In the 19th century, during the Qajar Dynasty, Iranian sia they were often signed by Maghribıi God gave initial impetus to the great creative outburst of cal- calligraphers developed from nasta‘liq the highly ornamental the master, but in most other ligraphy that began at the start of the Islamic era in the sev- shikastah, in which the script became incredibly complex, con- places we rarely know who enth century ce and has continued to the present. voluted and largely illegible to the inexperienced eye. produced them. Andalusi Calligraphy is found in all sizes, from colossal to minute, The Ottomans devised at least one local style that became We do know that such mas- and in all media, from paper to ceramics, metal, textiles and widely used: the extremely complex diwani, which was well ters of calligraphy were often architecture. It commenced with the writing down of the suited to expressing a complex language like Ottoman Turk- born to it. Once a young man’s Qur’an in a script derived from that of the Nabataeans. The ish, itself a hybrid of Turkish, Arabic and Persian. It was potential was recognized, Jalıil al-muhaqqaq early scripts were bold, simple and sometimes rough. The used much in official chancery documents and firmans, or he would be apprenticed to scripts used from the seventh to the 11th century had origins decrees, which often began with the most imposingly ornate perfect the basic hands, learn in the Hijaz, the region of Makkah and Madinah in western calligraphic invention of the Ottoman chancery, the imperial ink-making and perhaps study Saudi Arabia. Historians group these into three main script tug˘ra, or monogram. paper-making and illuminating. Jalil al-thulth families: hijazi, Kufic, and Persian Kufic. We do not know when the idea of a freestanding composi- When he was considered good Hijazi is regarded as the prototypical Qur’anic script. It is tion based on a word, phrase or letter first arose. The first enough to work on his own, a large, thin variety with ungainly vertical strokes. Kufic devel- separate such calligraphic composition was perhaps the phrase he would receive an ijazah, or Jalil al-tawq¡‘ oped in the eighth century, and of all the early scripts, it is the bismillah al-rahman al-rahim (“In the Name of God, the license. Although in Europe the most majestic—a reflection of the stability and confidence of Compassionate, the Merciful”), which begins every chapter of scribal profession disappeared the early classical period of Islam. It was much used through the Qur’an but one. Due to the imbalance of the letters, this soon after the arrival of the the 14th century from Islamic Spain all the way to Iran, where turns out to be an awkward phrase to write well, and to this printing press at the end of the Riqa‘ around the 10th century calligraphers developed Persian day can be a test of the calligrapher’s skill. The separate cal- 15th century, in the Middle Kufic. The system of marking Arabic’s normally implied short ligraphic composition reached its ultimate development in the East printing did not become vowels and employing distinguishing dots, or points, is essen- 18th and 19th centuries, at the hands of Iranian and especially firmly established until the 19th Naskh tially that used today in modern standard Arabic. Ottoman calligraphers. century, and thus the profes- Western scholars and students have often used the term Such calligraphic composition became particularly impor- sion of the calligrapher largely “cursive” to distinguish later, less angular scripts. However, tant when calligraphy departed from paper to appear on func- endured until then. medieval Muslim writers on calligraphy and the development tional objects. Some of the finest examples of this occurred Today, calligraphy contin- Rayhan of writing classified scripts other than Kufic into categories on 10th-century ceramics from the Samarkand area. Simple ues as a religious and artistic based not only on shape, but also on function: murattab, inscriptions in classical Kufic, always in Arabic, were applied practice. Outstanding calligra- meaning curvilinear, primarily comprised scripts for courtly to the rims of plates and dishes, usually pure white in color. phers live throughout the Jali diwani and secular uses, including thulth, tawqi‘ and riqa‘; yabis, or The results, to western eyes at least, represent some of the world, and their works bring rectilinear scripts, comprised styles for Qur’anic and other most esthetically pleasing and exciting examples of applied the attention of the global pub- sacred calligraphy, including muhaqqaq, naskh and rayhan. calligraphy. lic to the supreme art of Islamic These are often regarded as the six major “hands” of classical But perhaps the most important application of calligraphy calligraphy. Arabic calligraphy. to objects is in architecture. Throughout the Islamic world, Shikastah (Adapted and edited from “The Cover: Before gilding this ivy leaf with a mixture of gold ink and gum arabic, the anonymous calligrapher painstakingly removed Geometry of the Spirit,” by David its dermal tissue until only the leaf’s skeleton remained. Dating to the 19th century, this piece is from Ottoman Turkey and mea- James, originally published in Aramco 7 8 sures 12.8 x 12.5 centimeters (5"x4 / "). Photo courtesy of the Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art. World, September/October 1989.) of the nour foundation of the pen (london, 1996), courtesy reprinted from the art calligraphy samples by mohamed zakariya, Jali nasta‘lıiq

42350araD5R2.indd 2 10/24/11 8:11 PM It is he who made the sun to be a shining glory, and the moon to be a light (of beauty), and measured out stages for Patterns of Moon, Patterns of Sun her, that ye might know the number of years and the count (of time). —The Qur’an, Chapter 10 (“Yunus”), Verse 5 written by pa­ul lunde

The Hijri calendar This gives the lunar year 354 days, 11 days fewer than he created a solar calendar in which one day was added to In 638 ce, six years after the death of the Prophet Muham- the solar year. ‘Umar chose as the epoch for the new Mus- February every fourth year, effectively compensating for the mad, Islam’s second caliph, ‘Umar, recognized the necessity lim calendar the hijra, the emigration of the Prophet Mu- solar year’s length of 365.2422 days. This Julian calendar of a calendar to govern the affairs of Muslims. This was hammad and 70 Muslims from Makkah to Madinah, where was used throughout Europe until 1582 ce. first of all a practical matter. Correspondence with military Muslims first attained religious and political autonomy. The In the Middle Ages, the Christian liturgical calendar and civilian officials in the newly conquered lands had to hijra thus occurred on 1 Muharram of the year 1 accord- was grafted onto the Julian one, and the computation be dated. But Persia used a different calendar from Syria, ing to the Islamic calendar, which was of lunar festivals like Easter, which where the caliphate was based; Egypt used yet another. named “hijri” after its epoch. (This Though they share 12 falls on the first Sunday after the first Each of these calendars had a different starting point, date corresponds to July 16, 622 ce full moon after the spring equinox, or epoch. The Sasanids, the ruling dynasty of Persia, used on the Gregorian calendar.) Today in lunar cycles—months—per exercised some of the best minds in June 16, 632 ce, the date of the accession of the last Sasa- the West, it is customary, when writing solar year, the hijri calendar Christen­dom. The use of the epoch nid monarch, Yazdagird iii. Syria, which until the Muslim hijri dates, to use the abbreviation ah, uses actual moon phases 1 ce dates from the sixth century, conquest was part of the Byzantine Empire, used a form of which stands for the Latin anno hegi- to mark them, whereas the but did not become common until the Roman “Julian” calendar, with an epoch of October 1, rae, “year of the hijra.” Gregorian calendar adjusts the 10th. 312 bce. Egypt used the Coptic calendar, with an epoch Because the Islamic lunar calendar The Julian year was nonetheless of August 29, 284 ce. Although all were solar calendars, is 11 days shorter than the solar, it its nearly lunar months to 11 minutes and 14 seconds too long. and hence geared to the seasons and containing 365 days, is therefore not synchronized to the sy­nchronize with the sun. By the early 16th century, due to the each also had a different system for periodically adding seasons. Its festivals, which fall on the accumulated error, the spring equinox days to compensate for the fact that the true length of the same days of the same lunar months each year, make the was falling on March 11 rather than where it should, on solar year is not 365 but 365.2422 days. round of the seasons every 33 solar years. This 11-day March 21. Copernicus, Christophorus Clavius and the In pre-Islamic Arabia, various other systems of measur- difference between the lunar and the solar year accounts for physician Aloysius Lilius provided the calculations, and in ing time had been used. In South Arabia, some calendars the difficulty of converting dates from one system to 1582 Pope Gregory xiii ordered that Thursday, October 4, apparently were lunar, while others were lunisolar, using the other. 1582 would be followed by Friday, October 15, 1582. months based on the phases of the moon but intercalating Most Catholic countries accepted the new “Gregorian”­ days outside the lunar cycle to synchronize the calendar The Gregorian calendar calendar, but it was not adopted in England and the Amer- with the seasons. On the eve of Islam, the Himyarites The early calendar of the Roman Empire was lunisolar, icas until the 18th century. Its use is now almost universal appear to have used a calendar based on the Julian form, containing 355 days divided into 12 months beginning on worldwide. The Gregorian year is nonetheless 25.96 sec- but with an epoch of 110 bce. In central Arabia, the course January 1. To keep it more or less in accord with the actual onds ahead of the solar year, which by the year 4909 will of the year was charted by the position of the stars relative solar year, a month was added every two years. The system add up to an extra day. to the horizon at sunset or sunrise, dividing the ecliptic into for doing so was complex, and cumulative errors gradu- 28 equal parts corresponding to the location of the moon ally misaligned it with the seasons. By 46 bce, it was some Paul Lunde ([email protected]) is currently a senior on each successive night of the month. The names of the three months out of alignment, and Julius Caesar oversaw research associate with the Civilizations in Contact Project at months in that calendar have continued in the Islamic cal- its reform. Consulting Greek astronomers in Alexandria, Cambridge University. endar to this day and would seem to indicate that, before Islam, some sort of lunisolar calendar was in use, though it is not known to have had an epoch other than memorable local events. Converting Dates There were two other reasons ‘Umar rejected existing he following equations convert roughly from Gregorian to hijri and vice versa. However, the results can be slightly solar calendars. The Qur’an, in Chapter 10, Verse 5, states Tmisleading: They tell you only the year in which the other calendar’s year begins. For example, 2012 Gregorian that time should be reckoned by the moon. Not only that, begins and ends in Safar, the second month, of Hijri 1433 and 1434, respectively. calendars used by the Persians, Syrians and Egyptians were identified with other religions and cultures. He therefore Gregorian year = [(32 x Hijri year) ÷ 33] + 622 Hijri year = [( Gregorian year – 622) x 33] ÷ 32 decided to create a calendar specifically for the Muslim Alternatively, there are more precise calculators available on the Internet: Try www.rabiah.com/convert/ and community. It would be lunar, and it would have 12 www.ori.unizh.ch/hegira.html. months, each with 29 or 30 days.

42350araD5R2.indd 3 10/24/11 8:11 PM Parchment leaf from a Qur’an The so-called “Blue Qur’an” is notable for its regal blue sheepskin parchment as well as North Africa (probably Tunisia) its script in gold, outlined in black, and its verse markers in now-decomposed silver. The Late ninth or early 10th century Kufic script, however, is difficult to read because the calligrapher spaced some letters 28.6 x 38 centimeters (11¼" x 15¼") and words equally. To spread the text uniformly across the page, he lengthened certain 2012 Courtesy of The David Collection letters, a practice known as mashq. This page shows chapter (sura) 2, verses 187-190.

42350araD5R2.indd 4 10/24/11 8:12 PM January february SAFAR — RABI‘ I 1433 RABI‘ I — RABI‘ II 1433

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 9 10 11 12

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42350araD5R2.indd 5 10/24/11 8:12 PM Opening folios of a Qur’an This Qur’an was written in naskh by the calligrapher Qasim Ali al-Hirawi, Iran or Herat, Afghanistan and its earliest illuminations were created by Yari Mudhahhib. (Others ah 925 (1519 ce) were added around 1600.) Originally produced in 30 parts (ajza), it resided 3 each page 23.8 x 15.8 centimeters (9 /8" x 6¼") in the library of the Qutb Shahis in Golconda. In 1687 it passed into the 2012 Courtesy of The David Collection hands of the Mughal emperors when Aurangzeb conquered Golconda.

42350araD5R2.indd 6 10/24/11 8:12 PM MARCH APRIL RABI‘ II — JUMADA I 1433 Jumada I — Jumada II 1433

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

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42350araD5R2.indd 7 10/24/11 8:12 PM Earthenware bowl “He who believes in a reward [from God] is generous with gifts,” reads the interwoven, Eastern Iran (perhaps Nishapur) or Samarkand knotted Kufic calligraphy on this bowl of earthenware covered with a white slip and painted 10th century in a brown and red slip under a transparent glaze. Pottery of this type was made under the 5 27 centimeters diameter, 10 cm height (10 /8" x 4") Samanids, who were Persians known for their revival of the Persian language. For whom the 2012 Courtesy of The David Collection anonymous Samanid calligrapher painted this Arabic masterpiece remains a mystery.

42350araD5R2.indd 8 10/24/11 8:12 PM MAY JUNE Jumada II — RAJAB 1433 RAJAB — SHA‘ABAN 1433

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 10 11 12 13 14 11 12

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42350araD5R2.indd 9 10/24/11 8:12 PM Commissioned under Marinid Sultan Uthman ii ibn Ya’qub, the “School of the Perfumers” Detail of wall cladding was named for its location near the perfumers’ market. Its courtyard walls are clad in Attarin Madrasa, Fez, Morocco polyhedral mosaic zillij tiles, above which appears ornamental calligraphy in a sgraffito tech- 1323–1325 ce nique: Known as taqshir, or “peeled work,” the black glaze of each nearly square tile was 2012 Photo by Gerard Degeorge / akg-images scraped off negative areas, leaving the shiny letters in low relief against a terra-cotta base.

42350araD5R2.indd 10 10/24/11 8:12 PM JULY AUGUST SHA‘ABAN — RAMADAN 1433 Ramadan — shawwal 1433

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 13 14 15 16

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42350araD5R2.indd 11 10/24/11 8:12 PM Petition to the Sultan Seven lines in Ottoman Turkish ta’liq, cut from paper colored either gold or white, Ottoman Turkey, 18th century against either brown or gold appliqué scrollwork, comprise this undated request 5 10.9 x 14.2 centimeters (4¼" x 5 /8") signed by “the wretched Nafsi Harid-zade,” who sought to study in the palace of Courtesy of the Nasser D. Khalili the unnamed sultan. The roots of calligraphic decoupage go back to 15th-century 2012 Collection of Islamic Art Iran, where qatis (paper-cutters) were at times nearly as esteemed as calligraphers.

42350araD5R2.indd 12 10/24/11 8:12 PM SEPTEMBER OCTOBER SHAWwAL — Dhu-al-qa’dah 1433 Dhu-al-Qa‘dah — dhu al-hijjah 1433

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

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42350araD5R2.indd 13 10/24/11 8:12 PM Mashq i Washington, D.C.-based calligrapher Mohamed Zakariya produced this model United States, 2011 of jali ta’liq script using yellow ink on paper dyed blue and burnished with 60 x 51 centimeters (24" x 20.1") ahar, a mixture of egg white and alum that for centuries gave calligraphers a Courtesy Mohamed Zakariya / Linearis perfectly smooth and archival surface. The text is a poem commemorating an 2012 Institute / Frank Wing Ottoman victory, originally calligraphed in 1895 by Sami Efendi.

42350araD5R2.indd 14 10/24/11 8:12 PM NOVEMBER DECEMBER Dhu al-hijjah 1433 — muharram 1434 muharram — safar 1434

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 3 1 16 17 18 17

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42350araD5R2.indd 15 10/24/11 8:12 PM September/October 2011 saudiaramcoworld.com

For My Children

1949 1952 1986 1992 2011

n November 1949, the Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco) launched an interoffice Subscriptions to the print edition of Saudi Aramco newsletter named Aramco World. Over the next two decades, as the number of World are available without charge to a limited number IAmericans working with Saudi colleagues in Dhahran grew into the tens of thousands, of readers. Multiple-copy subscriptions for seminars Aramco World grew into a bimonthly educational magazine whose historical, geographical or classrooms are also available. Subscriptions may and cultural articles helped the American employees and their families appreciate an be requested at www.saudiaramcoworld.com or as unfamiliar land. follows: From Saudi Arabia, send to Public Relations, Saudi Aramco, Box 5000, Dhahran 31311; from all other The magazine is now published by Aramco Services Company in Houston, Texas on behalf of countries, send a signed and dated request by mail to Saudi Aramco, which succeeded Aramco in 1988 as the national oil company of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco World, P.O. Box 2106, Houston, Texas In 2000, Aramco World changed its name to Saudi Aramco World to reflect this relationship. 77252, usa, by e-mail to [email protected] or by fax to +1 (713) 432-5536.

Today, Saudi Aramco World’s orientation is still toward education, the fostering of The texts of all back issues of Aramco World and Saudi Aramco World can be found on cooperation and the building of mutual appreciation between East and West, but for the our Web site, www.saudiaramcoworld.com, where they are fully indexed, searchable and last four decades the magazine has been aimed primarily at readers outside the company, downloadable. Articles from issues since the end of 2003 include photographs. In addition, worldwide, as well as at internal readers. Its articles have spanned the Arab and Muslim many photographs from past issues are available at www.photoarchive.saudiaramcoworld. worlds, past and present, with special attention to their connections with the cultures of com, and licensing for approved uses is royalty-free. the West.

A searchable, indexed reference disk containing pdf scans of all print-edition articles, from 1950 through 2010, is also available upon request, 1950—2010 without charge, from the addresses above. PDF Archive

www.saudiaramcoworld.com ISBN 978-0-9776600-7-0 www.aramcoservices.com www.saudiaramco.com

42350araD5R2.indd 16 10/24/11 8:12 PM Through the Black Arch Written by Arthur Clark

From the early Middle Ages, the Arsenale was where Venice built and outfitted the ships that for centuries brought this city-state fabulous wealth and influential contact with far-flung peoples. Now, the echoing chambers of the Arsenale open every two years to the Venice Biennale, the world’s top contemporary-art festival. This year, from June to November, art from a record 89 countries brought people and ideas from around the world to Venice. One room’s exhibit in the Arsenale didn’t look like much at first. From the door, all that appeared of the installation titled “The Black Arch” was a flat, solid black ellipse some seven meters (23') long, nearly blocking the path in. But slipping out from around its lower curves were glimmers of light and color from images projected onto the floor. And, in the distance, murmurs of voices in Italian and Arabic stimulated the viewer’s curiosity to find out what lay on the other side. There, the view was transformed: The black ellipse became a mirror of stainless steel. On the floor in front of it stretched a pool-like array of 3257 polished silver spheres, each the size of a grapefruit, arranged in curves that echoed the ellipse. In the pool of spheres, toward its left side, a mirrored cube, balanced on a corner, stood about shoul-

andrea avezzù der-high. Its lower sides reflected the spheres; cut into its top corner was a cubical niche

November/December 2011 33

42350araD6R2.indd 1 10/25/11 9:45 PM casual visitors tended to be “really amazed” proved to be the key, right at their fingertips: at the Alems’ installation, those who lin- There were powerful links among the 13th- “It’s like a seashell that gered were “even more amazed at the work. century Venetian after whom the airport was It’s not just beautiful. They see it also has a named, their own childhood in the holy city opens and lets you in.” deeper meaning.” of Makkah and the Biennale itself. The project began, explains Shadia, It was, says Raja, “this act of traveling,

that held a few handfuls of peb- bles. The sounds of Italian and Arabic voices were louder on this side, and the images on the floor proved to be colorful frag- ments of Renaissance mosaics and views of pilgrims at prayer in Makkah. “It’s very sensitive,” said vis- itor Eric Guérin of Joinville, France. “There are so many things that tease my eyes and my ears. It’s like a seashell that opens and lets you in.” “The Black Arch” was cre- ated for the Biennale by artists Shadia and Raja Alem, sisters born in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. It marked the first-ever exhibit by Saudi Arabia at the show, whose 2011 theme was “ILLU- MInations”—art as a way of deepening human connections across boundaries and borders of all kinds. “Only when you go round the back of [the ellipse] do you become aware of its other face … in which when the Saudi Pavilion’s co-curators, Mona what Marco Polo represents,” combined your own milky reflection mingles with Khazindar, director of the Institut du Monde with the realization that it was also, at that ghostly photographic projections of pil- Arabe in Paris, and Robin Start, a London- moment, the Hajj season, when Muslims grims praying in Makkah and Arab mer- based art consultant, named Shadia among come to Makkah from around the world— chants taken from Venetian paintings,” The six Saudi artists to compete for the honor of often after long waits in airports. This, they Financial Times reported, calling the Saudi producing the kingdom’s exhibit at the 2011 also realized, spoke to the theme ILLUMIna- presentation “a ground-breaking move.” Biennale. Shadia at once spoke to Raja, and tions: travel—both physical and symbolic—is The Alem sisters, who divide their time together with four other artists, the Alems both a means of communication and a deeply between Saudi Arabia and a shared flat in shared human experience. Paris, agree. “The kingdom joining the Ven- They quickly also ice Biennale with the work of two women “s It’about exchange—learning from the Other, invoked the name of Ibn is breaking the wall between us and the rest Battuta, the Moroccan of the world,” says Raja. “It is a revolution in enriching the Other and being enriched from Tangiers who set itself,” adds Shadia. by the Other. It’s enlightenment!” out on travels to Makkah The sisters are independently successful: and on to India, China Raja is an acclaimed writer whose novel The and more in 1323, the Dove’s Necklace won this year’s International visited the Arsenale room assigned to the year before Marco Polo died. The two never Prize for Arabic Fiction; Shadia is a visual art- Saudi exhibit: 350 square meters (3770 sq ft) crossed paths, says Raja, but they shared the ist whose work has been widely exhibited of emptiness; a high, beamed ceiling; worn, calling of travelers. internationally. From time to time, the sisters burnt-orange brick walls; five windows, all The sisters, too, have journeyed as chil-

join forces, and at the 2009 Biennale, their on one side. “The space was horrible,” Shadia dren and adults, and “the act of traveling has thur clark joint work was part of a private Saudi group remembers. “We thought, ‘What can we do made a difference in our lives,” says Raja. She exhibit called “Edge of Arabia.” with that?’” explains that, when she was a child, every “The Black Arch” marks their most As they were leaving Venice, awaiting year at the time of Hajj her family turned the high-profile collaboration so far. Cinzia De their flight at Marco Polo Airport, they strug- lower floors of their seven-story home over to age and above: ar Bei, who holds an art degree from Ven- gled to find a way “to conquer this space.” It pilgrims. The Alems moved upstairs, afford- p ice’s Ca’ Foscari University and who helped was, Shadia recalls, only when their flight ing the sisters, who were born just more than

staff the Saudi Pavilion, observed that while was delayed that the sisters found what a year apart, almost literally a bird’s-eye view Previous

34 Saudi Aramco World

42350araD6R2.indd 2 10/25/11 9:15 PM of the kaleidoscope of cultures that gathered Co-creators of “The Black Arch,” in the city. sisters Raja and Shadia Alem (left and right) called it “a remix or They also recalled a particularly memo- a dialogue of sounds and light, rable story from their paternal grandmother. woven of the two cities’ mosaics There once was a queen, says Shadia, who as and ornaments.” a bride in her husband’s many-roomed pal- ace, was told “she could open any door except recorded evocative sounds the black door.” Eventually, of course, she from Makkah and Venice. did open the black door—and discovered a Her images of mosaics from new world. St. Mark’s Basilica and other “Black is like a prohibition to cross over buildings in Venice show something. So it is a challenge,” says Raja. links with the Middle East “If you allow that black to prevail,” you are as well as with the city’s local left without knowledge, and “it creates war religious history. Her photo- and [other] problems.” Often, the metaphori- graphs from Makkah portray the textures of reflecting the visitors themselves, literally cal “crossing” is less difficult than one fears it that city, mainly through mosaic-like images show “people everywhere.” The importance, will be, she continues, “like ‘The Black Arch,’ of pilgrims. Her soundtrack is as varied as the sisters explain, lies in the mixing and where one face is black and the other face is the adhan, the call to prayer, in Makkah, the sharing that is continuous, and of which the reflective and full of light. Between them is noises of a marketplace and a wedding, and, viewer is a part. only a very thin barrier.” from Venice, the song of a gondolier, the chat- Co-curator Mona Khazindar agrees, They further experienced the mystery ter of a crowd in St. Mark’s Square—and an saying “The Black Arch” makes a lasting associated with black, Raja says, in the kiswah announcement of a flight at Marco Polo Air- impression. that is draped over the Ka’bah in the Great port, much like the one that triggered the Many visitors “were taken by surprise,” project’s conception. she notes. “They were not expecting to see They also realized that water was an ele- such artwork from Saudi Arabia and from In the cube’s niche sits a mix of pebbles from Venice, shaped by the sea, and from Muzdalifah ment that both linked and distinguished the Saudi women.... I think it has changed the in Makkah, shaped “by people’s hands, sweat two cities: While Venice and Makkah share perception of Saudi art in the West. and desire over centuries.” a history of maritime travel (Venice directly “It’s a very cosmopolitan artwork. It’s about and Makkah by way of nearby exchange—learning from the Other, enrich- ports), Venice is built in the sea ing the Other and being enriched by the and endures the historic threat of Other. It’s enlightenment! Such artworks are floods, while Makkah is built in very important because they teach you to look the desert and endures the his- at the Other through a different window.” toric threat of droughts. Between Saudis, too, have been surprised. the 10-minute projections of “Within Saudi Arabia, you have lots of art- images from each place, the sis- works that tackle more traditional or local ters created an interlude in which themes. ‘The Black Arch’ is very concep- abstract images of waves rippled tual, very modern and very poetic,” Khazin- along the floor to the sounds of dar says. “We never thought of Makkah as lapping water and seagulls. having any resemblance to Venice, yet it does. A further metaphor lies with Makkah is also a mosaic of people, of culture the pebbles held in the niche at and colors.” the top of the cube. Some of the Shadia and Raja hope “The Black Arch” pebbles Shadia gathered from can tour other cities. Then, they say, even Muzdalifah, where pilgrims rit- more people might find themselves only “a ually throw small stones at pil- black door” apart from each other—and be Mosque in Makkah, where they attended lars representing the devil, or, as Raja puts able to step through to meet. prayers every Friday with their mother. it, “visualizing a negative moment in your “When we look at the Ka’bah covered in life and aiming a stone at it.” She calls the Arthur Clark (arthur.clark@ black,” she says, “there is something unimagi- pebbles “miniature sculptures shaped by aramcoservices.com) is assistant nable behind it.” people’s hands, sweat and desire over centu- editor of Saudi Aramco World and A few weeks after their visit, the sis- ries.” Mixed in with those pebbles are others editor of Al-Ayyam Al-Jamilah, the ters had sketched what became “The Black from Venice. semiannual magazine for Saudi Arch.” Fuad Therman, director of Saudi While the work is rich in symbolism, the Aramco retirees. He lives outside Houston. Aramco’s King Abdulaziz Center for World Alems insist that “The Black Arch” is “not Culture and a member of the Saudi selection specific to any single place, culture or time,” Related articles from past issues can be committee, said the committee “appreciated and that it is open to personal interpreta- found on our Web site, www.saudiaramco world.com. Click on “indexes,” then on the the emotional depth and visual strength” of tion. For example, says Shadia, the cube, “may cover of the issue indicated below. the Alems’ proposal. represent the Ka’bah” at the center of the Ibn Battuta: J/A 00 The sisters worked with fabricators Great Mosque, and the spheres may repre- Makkah: N/D 91, J/A 92, J/F 99 in France to construct the installation, sent pilgrims, but the cube could no less effec- Venice: M/A 08

above: andrea avezzù; top: blaise adilon above: andrea avezzù; and Shadia herself took photographs and tively represent “your city” and the spheres, kiswah: N/D 74, S/O 85

November/December 2011 35

42350araD6R2.indd 3 10/24/11 7:45 PM The Met Resets a Gem Written and photographed by Walter B. Denny

n November, after an eight-year, $50-million renovation, name that omits the word “Islamic,” reflects an evolving emphasis 15 galleries devoted to “The Arts of Arab Lands, Turkey, on the diversity that exists within a vast field that includes not only Iran, Central Asia and Later South Asia” will open in New religious art by Muslims, but also much secular and luxury art by York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. In what is almost a new Muslims, as well as art by Muslims for non-Muslims and vice versa. museumI within the museum, visitors will view some 1200 of the Among the new cases and spaces are three displays that promise to Met’s nearly 12,000 Arab–Islamic works arranged not chronologi- be especially striking: the Spanish Ceiling, an elaborately carved, cally from past to present, but rather as a kind of geographical tra- painted and glazed wooden ceiling probably made in the 14th, 15th or verse across places and cultures. 16th century by Muslim artists for Christian patrons; the Damascus This new way of organizing the exhibits, reflected in the long Room, an early 18th-century reception room (qa’a) from a Damascus

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42350araD7R2.indd 1 10/24/11 7:46 PM merchant’s mansion; and the Moroccan Central Park is legally limited, so “building a combination of excitement and dread. I Courtyard, the Met’s newest jewel, created from within” has been both the Met’s motto also knew I was going to have to learn the art The Met Resets a Gem this year inside the museum in authentic and its burden for years. Although the reno- of skillful compromise.” (She learned as well 14th-century style by contemporary artists vated and renamed galleries offer nearly 40 that at times compromise was not enough: Written and photographed by Walter B. Denny from Fez, Morocco who used materials and One major donor tools of the era. withdrew upon It’s fair to ask, however, why the Met learning that the has bothered—and why the renovation took new galleries eight years—when the museum was already would displace long renowned for the world’s largest display the Damas- of what was, perhaps too sweepingly, called cus Room from “Islamic art.” In a world where such cities as the front of the Toronto and Doha are building entirely new exhibit hall.) museums, and the Louvre in Paris has added The final a major expansion for arts from Islamic cul- consensus was tures, the Met is different: It can’t expand. that the times Its “footprint” on the east side of New York’s were ripe for change. The old Islamic Gal- leries had been designed in the early 1970’s, and they had become Left: In a dramatic finish to eight years of too small for a growing collection. They effort, 11 masters of traditional Moroccan were particularly limited in the way they interior arts spent nearly a year in residence could showcase carpets and textiles, and it to create the Moroccan Courtyard in the authentic style of the 14th century, the era was in this regard that in 2007 I received a that produced the masterpiece mosques, call from Stefano Carboni, then the depart- madrasas and palaces of North Africa and ment’s managing curator, who asked if southern Spain. Above: Fifth Avenue, New I might know a student or a protégé—“a York, viewed from the temporary elevator junior Walter Denny,” he put it—who might that ferried materials to the 15 new galleries. be available to help. After some thought, percent more space, they remain where the I had to respond that, to my knowledge, original ones were, on the second floor. The the only Walter Denny with the combina- story behind these new exhibition spaces, tion of expertise he sought was the original, where I had the privi- 65-year-old one. And so lege to both work and it was that I committed observe over nearly four The Met staff myself, without knowing years, is one of diplo- quite what I was in for, melted my misgivings. macy and drama but, to a weekly five-hours- above all, of hard work I had made the best each-way commute from and hard choices. professional decision Amherst to spend one In 2003, the museum of my life. seven-hour day a week closed its Islamic Gal- at the Met. Quickly, Car- leries to accommodate boni, Haidar and the the long-planned renovations. Because the superb Met staff melted all of my misgiv- mission of a museum is to find new ways to ings. I realized I had made the best decision interpret and display art, and thus to pro- in my professional lifetime. duce new knowledge, the Met took this as an opportunity to rethink and renovate ne of the challenges for which its Islamic-world displays—an opportunity my advice was sought lay in made all the more important, even urgent, Gallery 10, where the 10-by- by post-9/11 interest in Islamic cultures. But O9-meter (33' x 28') Spanish Ceil- the opportunity came at a time of inter- ing was to hang: That gallery would also be nal transition at the Met, and so it was only the major showcase for the Met’s collection after some false starts that in 2005, director of almost 800 Islamic carpets. But the ceiling Philippe de Montebello appointed Navina left the gallery’s walls too short to hang more Haidar, a promising young associate curator, than small rugs, and while the floor was to direct the renovation project. expansive, how could we illuminate carpets “I knew right away I would need to con- on it without the ceiling-mounted spotlights front major questions of what ‘Islamic art’ normally used in museums? I soon learned meant,” she says. “And I viewed the task with that this challenge was modest compared to

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42350araD7R2.indd 2 10/24/11 7:47 PM the fundamental one facing the pro- posed Moroccan Courtyard: Since such a space would be a new con- struction in an old style, did it legiti- mately belong in a museum devoted to art from earlier times? And if so, who would construct it, and where? In Morocco, and then ship it in pieces? Or build it right there in the museum? And then there was all the work going on deeper behind the scenes. The museum had to resur- vey its entire Islamic-lands col- lection, which had grown much recently—had to rephotograph it, generate digital records and deter- mine which objects would be dis- played in which new galleries and on what kinds of stands and cases— and take into account as well the rotations, planned years in advance, that would keep individual light- sensitive objects from being exposed too long. To prepare for construction, the old galleries had been stripped to bare brick. To move debris out and new materials in, the museum had secured approval from the city’s Landmarks Commission to punch a hole in the great Beaux-Arts façade, raise scaffolding and install a tem- porary exterior elevator on Fifth Avenue. There were architectural drawings, and there was, over all of it, the whopping price tag for both the construction and the scholar- ship that the renovation required. Like champion hot-dog-eaters, art museums have seemingly insatia- ble capacities to devour money, and

The opportunity for “creative curating” brought Sheila Canby, left, to head the Met’s Islamic department. She is talking with Florica Zaharia, far left, head of textile conservation at the museum. Above: Inch by inch, panels of the Spanish Ceiling were raised into position.

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42350araD7R2.indd 3 10/24/11 7:47 PM Crouching on the catwalks that wind among the Spanish Ceiling’s hangers, one pair of technicians, left, winches up the ceiling’s central ornament while another pair, below, guides it into its final position.

craftsmen for a Chris- tian client—possibly a monastery. When it was dismantled in its origi- nal gallery at the Met in 2004, Baumeister and other specialists grad- ually discovered that it had been enlarged by as much as 60 percent from its original size and oth- erwise extensively fid- dled with—but by whom, where and when remain one of the museum’s mysteries. “We had to clean up an historical mess, and in this, as in so much else, the Met is second infrequently, their physical strength. yet give the overall impression that nothing to none. With the teams in place, and a schedule had changed,” says Baumeister. Dismantled, My place, it turned out, was amid an aiming at a late-2011 opening, hundreds of the heavy pieces of the ceiling were stacked ever-shifting team of more than three dozen decisions, small and large, awaited us. Like around a temporary conservation laboratory art historians and scholars from around the a group comprising both expert and nov- in one of the gutted former galleries, where world whom Carboni, Haidar and chief ice skydivers, it seemed that everyone took a she and her team studied and conserved the curator Michael Barry convened to research deep breath, and leaped. literally tons of wood. the collections, write labels and explanations Meanwhile, in Gallery 10, steelworkers and prepare a monumental commemorative Rehanging the Spanish Ceiling constructed a massive, shell-like frame from catalog. As a result, the Islamic department Mecka Baumeister is the Met’s conserva- which the Spanish Ceiling could hang anew. was packed tighter than downtown Cairo tor for objects (as distinct from paintings, Renfro Associates, the museum’s lighting with some of the world’s brightest young works on paper or textiles). An exemplar consultants, helped us develop fiber-optic experts, and their cramped workstations, of no-nonsense German expertise, often wands projecting from the walls and con- surrounded by piles of books, made it all look dressed in her famously flamboyant trou- cealed in the railings around the carpets on much like an updated vision of a medieval sers, she specializes in architectural orphans. the floor. Those railings would surround scriptorium. The wooden Spanish Ceiling, a carved mas- the floor-display carpets, and the idea of a Throughout the process, Mimi Lukens terpiece of geometric strapwork, gilded and marble platform there on which to show Swietochowski, who had helped lead the elaborately painted, came to the us in 1931 the largest carpets was scrapped in favor of building of the 1970’s galleries, stood out when William Randolph Hearst bought it a modular wooden platform that could be as a priceless resource and guide, working from an art dealer. closely with Haidar and all the staff during Hearst never the entire project. Tragically, she succumbed installed it, and to leukemia in September, less than two it was donated to months before the opening. the Met in 1956. In one way, the massive effort behind the Its origins have so new galleries seemed to resemble a pyra- far eluded schol- mid balanced on its tip: After all the experts ars, but its style and specialists have weighed in, the actual resembles some work of putting art physically in place is works found in done by only three people: collections man- the Castile–Leon ager Annick Des Roches and art handlers region, and it was Tim Caster and Kent Hendrickson. Every probably built object moved, stored, crated, uncrated or between the 14th repositioned—in the right sequence, at the and 16th centu- right time—depends on their skill and, not ries by Muslim

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42350araD7R3.indd 4 10/25/11 6:51 PM adapted to various lengths and widths as dif- York’s Kevorkian Foundation, it, too, came remains unknown despite efforts to learn its ferent carpets rotated through the gallery. from an art dealer who acquired it, no doubt precise source. Once Baumeister’s team finished, it was with considerable physical effort, from an Extensively decorated in the style fash- then up to Jim Boorstein’s five-person crew original location thought to have been in the ionable in Ottoman Syria in the early 18th to hang the ceiling. Boorstein runs Tra- Nuraldin neighborhood of Damascus—but century, the room consists of a two-level ditional Line, which specializes in period which, like the home of the Spanish Ceiling, marble floor, the lower level adorned with rooms for museums and other institutions. The installations at the Met, he says, are “not really a story, but the better part of a novella.” Using hand-operated winches, his crew meticulously lifted each of the ceil- ing’s 21 main trapezoidal sections a centime- ter at a time. Once they were in place, the crew bolted the ceiling’s joists to U-shaped hangers on thick steel rods that hung from the sup- port frame. To accom- plish this, workers had to crawl through a trap- door built into an office above the room, climb down and then crawl along the shell’s narrow, fiberglass catwalks. As a curatorial deci- sion, filling the gallery with a star-studded geo- metric ceiling above and geometric carpets below seems, to the experts, like a great one. Will the public like it? We’ll find out in November.

The Damascus Room Since its installation near the front of the Ettinghausen Galleries, the Damascus Room has been one of the best- known, most-visited parts of the Islamic collection. A gift to the museum from New

Its panels of Persian verse now set in proper sequence, the Damascus Room was pieced together on a steel cage frame. Opposite: Assistant curator Navina Haidar in the fully assembled Damascus Room.

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42350araD7R2.indd 5 10/24/11 7:47 PM a playing fountain and the upper rimmed To clean and by low, sofa-like diwan seating. The walls restore the many pieces of both the are decorated with paintings of flowers and Damascus Room a long poem in Persian, and the ceiling is and the Spanish elaborately carved and delicately gilded. Ceiling, the Met During its time in the dealer’s storeroom, gave over nearby tobacco heiress Doris Duke bought two of galleries to serve as temporary its wall panels, which she installed in Shan- conservation labs. gri-La, her orientalist mansion in Hawaii, and today the Met uses photographs to take their place. of 18th-century The Damascus Room’s dismantled houses still pieces were arranged in another gutted standing in old gallery made into a temporary lab. There neighborhoods of they received the attentions of Baumeis- the city. ter’s conservators. The wood panels, cov- Once the ered with fragile layers of gesso, glue and design decisions paint, each had to be cleaned and stabilized. were made, again it was Boorstein who took require public parts of buildings to include Abdullah Gouchani, the museum’s epi- over installation. A steel exoskeleton behind traditional arts, and, on the other, the deep graphic consultant from Tehran, helped to the Damascus Room’s walls would provide roots that craft traditions still enjoy within solve what proved to be a giant jigsaw puz- anchor points, support, and “backstage” the country’s economy and culture. There, zle, reassembling the rhymed Persian cou- stairs and catwalks for ongoing mainte- the Met team interviewed companies spe- plets in their proper sequence. Renfro nance and lighting. (The next time a hur- cializing in historic restoration and tradi- provided an improved illusion of daylight ricane or earthquake hits New York, the tional architecture. They chose Moresque, a coming in the windows by using new led safest place in the city might be the Damas- firm from Fez run by three brothers of the panels. Just before reassembly, the conserva- cus Room.) Bit by careful bit, using hydrau- Naji family. tion and design team flew to Damascus and lic lifts, Boorstein’s crew raised each precious One of the Najis, Adil, is a slight man spent several weeks studying the interiors piece of 18th-century wood and poetic wis- who bubbles over with the energy of a dom into place. When Moroccan fountain. Given to big smiles and they were done, oth- even bigger hugs, he is the perfect extrovert, ers laid the under-floor a logical front man for his firm. By Decem- electrical wiring and the ber 2010, he and the first of 10 other crafts- plumbing for the foun- men had arrived in New York and settled tain. And at the entrance, into two condominiums in Queens that Adil video screens and signage persuaded the Arab owner to rent out for the were designed to be use- greater good of Arab–American relations. ful but unobtrusive. By With them also came stuff—all heavy, midsummer, all that was tons of it. There were bags and bags of tiny left was for Des Roches, monochrome-glazed tiles, cut into stars and Caster and Hendrickson triangles, angled strapwork and polyhedral to arrange the items of darts, wedges and lozenges: Known as zillij, period-appropriate dec- these mosaic pieces would be arranged into orative art on the room’s colorful geometric panels to adorn the base walls and shelves. of the courtyard’s walls. There were sacks and sacks of powdery, straw-colored gyp- The Moroccan sum that, mixed with water, would coat the Courtyard upper parts of the walls and be carved into The courtyard was the intricate reliefs. There were paper stencils, last of the three major hand chisels of all sizes—and a portable cd projects in the new gal- player for Moroccan music. leries. In April 2009, Hai- Certainly the Metropolitan Museum of dar and her colleagues Art had not seen anything quite like Adil’s made a trip to Morocco, team in decades, if ever. For once, the art which for the past few on display was being made before the eyes decades has enjoyed of its curators: First the artisans arranged something of a renais- hundreds of zillij face down on templates, sance in the traditional then they poured grout over their backs to arts of woodcarving, mar- form solid, rectangular sheets that could be quetry, tile-mosaic and lifted and fixed to the walls, glazed side out. carved stucco. This has Next came the stucco—a traditional form of been encouraged by, on carved plaster. They sifted the dry plaster the one hand, laws that by hand and mixed it with water in shallow

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42350araD7R3.indd 6 10/25/11 6:52 PM troughs, again by hand. Gobs of soggy plas- materials—clay and gypsum from earth, ter were passed hand to hand and smeared wool from sheep, wood and base metals and smoothed on the walls—by hand. By such as copper and brass—into patterned evening, walls and workers often seemed works of meditative beauty and awe-inspir- equally coated. ing complexity. Watching a dozen virtuosos But the most amazing part was only of stucco-carving bring forth such reliefs about to begin. Using of geometry and veg- paper stencils as fine etation is an unforget- as lace, Adil’s artisans Haidar h opes visitors table experience for marked patterns on will find “we’ve those fortunate enough the dried plaster. They presented the Islamic to witness it. Adil, his then donned traditional world and Islamic brothers Muham- Moroccan jellabas and mad and Hicham and art as the confident stepped into pointy-toed the rest of the crew yellow Moroccan slip- equal of any of may have been learn- pers—Adil insisted this the world’s great ing to be New York- was traditional for doing artistic traditions.” ers by night—they had carving work, not just adapted quickly to for show—then picked their commute on the up small steel chisels, much like ones that New York subway—but in the daytime, the would have been used in the 1300’s, and 14th century lived again on Fifth Avenue. began to carve: tap, tap, scrape; tap, tap, tap, There were other Moresque artisans at scrape—each move practiced and precise. work, too, back in Fez, carving wood, the One of the hallmarks of Islamic art is third major aspect of traditional Moroc- the way it seems to almost alchemically can architectural ornament. There were transmute the most humble, elemental cedar beams, lathe-turned wooden dowels

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42350araD7R2.indd 7 10/24/11 7:48 PM By September, everyone else—we all love beauty and beau- not far from Canby’s tiful things, and appreciate the enrichment office on the muse- that beauty brings to everyday life. We want um’s third-floor to share that common humanity in the new mezzanine, plans galleries.” were under way for As for herself, she plans to “get back into November’s opening my scholarly work on Indian painting, and festivities, the vip and to rediscover myself as a scholar. In the long press previews, and term, my dream is to return to my native visits from sundry India, where I hope I can someday make a consuls, ambassa- significant contribution in the museum field dors, patrons, princes using the skills I have acquired here.” and presidents. Last- As I reflected on her comment, I saw The Moroccan Courtyard is designed to minute work on labels, wall texts, videos, again how the Met’s spectacular renova- highlight the traditional arts of zillij (tile educational programs and the catalog con- tion is but one large step in what is today an mosaic), plaster carving and woodworking. tinued at fever pitch. Team spirit was much entirely global process, one that continues in The craft team from Moresque assembled the zillij, above, and carved the plaster, opposite in evidence. Paris, Toronto, Doha, Abu Dhabi and other page, in the museum; the doors, ceiling joists When the doors open, says Haidar, she cities around the world. In their own ways, and window lattice (mashrabiyyah), visible at hopes visitors will find that “we’ve presented museums are a lot like Adil and his artisans: right, were made in Fez. the Islamic world and Islamic art as the confi- continually bringing into relief patterns dent equal of any of the world’s great artistic and beauty, sharing insight and discovery, assembled into screens (mashrabiyyah), and traditions.” With that, she believes, will come whether it’s one chisel-tap a time, one gallery carved doors. The New York crew installed better understanding that “Muslims are like at a time or one museum at a time. these, and in the square opening at the top of the court, more led lighting simulated Moroccan daylight. As a final touch, under the watchful eye of Nadia Erzini, the muse- um’s consultant on Moroccan decoration, conservators treated the wood to give it the dark patina of 700 years of oxidation. To Adil, the pride taken by his craftsmen is now all the greater for their sense of hav- ing brought their traditions successfully to one of the most prestigious art museums in North America. “We brought two very beautiful things to New York,” he says. “Our craftsmanship itself, and the results of that craftsmanship that we will leave behind.” But Haidar believes that they brought more than this. “The Moroccans were like a breath of fresh air in the galleries,” she says, pointing out that they transformed the way the staff worked as much as they trans- formed gypsum. The museum staff often brought the artisans cookies and refresh- ments, and in the camaraderie soon many of us at the museum were hugging each other just like Adil. Walter B. Denny ([email protected]) teaches art history at the University of n late 2009, as the renovation work Massachusetts/Amherst and serves, one day a week, as senior consultant in Islamic Art was beginning to show signs of frui- at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He writes extensively on the art of Ottoman Turkey, tion, museum director Thomas Camp- and has photographed the Middle East since he was 15. Ibell made an offer to Sheila Canby, who since 1991 had been curator of Islamic Related articles from past issues can be found on our Web site, www.saudiaramcoworld.com. art and antiquities at the British Museum. Click on “indexes,” then on the cover of the issue indicated below. Sensing a new opportunity for what she calls Metropolitan Museum of Art: M/J 69, M/J 98 zillij: M/J 01 “creative curating,” she accepted and came Damascus Room: M/J 93 to New York as curator of Islamic art. “In a Masterpieces from the Department of Islamic Art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. sense, I’ve been preparing for this job all my Maryam D. Ekhtiar, Priscilla P. Soucek, Sheila R. Canby and Navina Najat Haidar, eds. 2011, career,” she says. “Thanks to the way the Yale University Press, isbn 978-0-300-17585-1, $65 cloth. teams functioned, I was able to join in the work on the new galleries in a seamless way.” www.mma.org

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42350araD7R2.indd 8 10/24/11 7:48 PM November/December 2011 saudiaramcoworld.com Class Activities

This issue’s Classroom Guide is organized experiences: Which descriptions did you find around two themes: Describing Experience most evocative? In other words, which ones and Behind the Scenes. gave you the best idea of what something looked, felt, tasted, smelled or sounded like? Theme: Describing Experience What made it work for you? Which did the

42350araD1R1.indd 1 10/18/11 10:55 PM This issue of Saudi Aramco World is all least to help you imagine what the author For students about things we experience with our senses: was seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, feel- We hope this two-page guide will help sharpen fashion that we look at, made of fabric that ing? Why do you think it didn’t work for you?

Guide we feel against our skin; food that we smell Now find examples of descriptions in your reading skills and deepen your understand- and taste; art in exhibition spaces that we other sources. You might, for example, read ing of this issue’s articles. experience as entire environments. But how a restaurant review or watch a TV show that do writers put such sense-based experiences reviews restaurants. Or you might find an For teachers We encourage reproduc- into words? How do they convey the experi- advertisement for an air freshener or a laun- tion and adaptation of ence to readers? dry detergent that describes scents. Maybe these ideas, freely and you’ll read a music review: How does the without further permission How do writers use words to describe author describe the sounds? You get the from Saudi Aramco World, sensory experiences? idea. Find one brief example and share it by teachers at any level, whether working in a Writers use different techniques to describe with the class. Explain what you discovered classroom or through things. For the purposes of these activities, about how the author described whatever home study. we’ll focus on three of those techniques. sensory perception(s) he or she was experi- —the editors First, they use descriptive words to describe encing. If you liked the description, explain

Curriculum Alignments objects and actions. (In grammar jargon, you why. If you didn’t like it, how would you To see alignments with would say they use adjectives to describe describe the same thing? What do you think us national standards for all nouns and adverbs to describe verbs.) Here makes your description better for a reader, articles in this issue, click are a few examples: viewer or listener? “Curriculum Alignments” • Adjective-noun pair: red shoes; blue sky; at www.saudiaramco world.com. black-and-white dog. How can you describe something effectively? Classroom

• Verb-adverb pair: run quickly; drive cau- Now try it yourself. The authors of the arti- Professional tiously; sing happily. cles in Saudi Aramco World were describ- eiss Development Workshops

w • Adverb-adjective-noun: extremely hot ing things that they had experienced. You The Middle East Policy day; piercingly loud voice. haven’t had direct experiences with what Council, an independent, non-partisan educational A second technique for describing things they’re describing, so think about something organization, offers free is similes. If you don’t remember what a you do have direct experience with—things Professional Development simile is, find a definition. Make sure your you can see, hear, taste, touch and/or smell. Workshops to help K–12 definition has some examples so that you’ll Choose a food dish, for example (you’ll educators understand the

Written by julie be able to recognize a simile when you see probably get the most mileage if you choose geographical, political and human complexities of the one. Come up with a simile or two of your one you really like or one you really don’t region and to provide valu- own, just to be sure you’re comfortable with like), or an article or outfit of clothing, or a able teaching resources. the concept. place. Whichever you choose, be very spe- mepc will design a work- Finally, a third technique for describing cific. For example, describe your experience shop to give your school, things is to refer to something you assume as you sit at your favorite spot on a beach organization or conference innovative tools and strate- your audience is already familiar with. For you know well, rather than just trying to gies for teaching about the example, “The Met Resets a Gem” describes describe “a beach.” Write your description. Middle East and Islam. For the museum’s “Beaux-Arts façade”—which Make sure it’s at least a paragraph, but see information, e-mail Barbara is helpful for readers who know what if you can go for a page or two. Remember Petzen at bpetzen@mepc. org with your name, school “Beaux-Arts” refers to. (If you don’t, you can that your aim is to describe the sensory or organization, phone Google it and find images that show you.) experience so that someone who hasn’t number, and subject and Keeping these three descriptive tech- shared that experience can really under- grade taught. mepc has niques in mind, divide the class into four stand what you perceived. Have people read also developed a compan- groups. Assign each group one of the feature aloud their descriptions, or trade descrip- ion Web site, TeachMid east.org, with background articles: “Nouvelle Vogue in the Mideast,” tions with several other students so that you essays and lesson plans. “Through the Black Arch,” “The Met Resets can read each other’s writing. a Gem” and “Gaza’s Food Heritage.” With Julie Weiss is an educa- the members of your group, read your Theme: Behind the Scenes tion consultant based in article, and look for how the author describes Much of what we see every day is finished Eliot, Maine. She holds a Ph.D. in American studies. the clothing, artwork, exhibition space or products. If you go to a restaurant, you Her company, Unlimited food. As you read, highlight the descriptions, see only the food as it’s served: You don’t Horizons, develops social and use a different color to distinguish each usually see it as it’s being prepared in the studies, media literacy and type of description. Share a few examples kitchen. When you read this magazine, you English as a Second Lan- of each type of description with the class so see it in its finished form—all laid out with guage curricula, and pro- duces textbook materials. that you all have a good sense of how the photographs, captions, call-out quotes and authors of the four articles described sensory well-edited text. But a lot happened behind

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42350araD8R2.indd 1 10/24/11 7:49 PM of—what went on background material. As a class, discuss behind the scenes. whether you are glad you saw the back- Then think about ground or not, and why. whether or not you Now look closely at the Metropolitan want people to know Museum of Art’s new exhibition space that everything that went is called “The Arts of Arab Lands, Turkey, on during the pro- Iran, Central Asia and Later South Asia.” cess of creation. For Read the article to find out how that space example, would you came into being. After you have read the want your classmates article once, go through it again, this time to see what your hair paying particular attention to the challenges looked like before you that writer Walter Denny describes. With combed it this morn- a partner, list those challenges in the left- ing, or for them to hand column of a T-chart and the solutions see you repeatedly in the right-hand column. You might further sticking your finger organize your chart by having a section in the cookie dough devoted to each of the three major rooms the scenes to make the food or the magazine while you were baking the cookies? Write a he describes and another section about the possible. That’s what you’ll be looking at in little bit about what you would or wouldn’t overall challenges. these activities. want others to see in your behind-the- When you’re done, visit the museum’s scenes process. own website, particularly the page for the What finished products do you present? new space: With a were finished? Clearly a lot of people are fascinated by partner, describe (orally or in writing) what You may not think of yourself as someone what goes on “behind the scenes.” That’s you see in the photo the museum has placed who presents a finished product, but you what tabloid magazines and shows are on that page. Find the photos in “The Met are, and you do. For example, when you about: What is that movie star really like? Resets a Gem” that show the same space turn in a homework assignment, you’ve Are the prince and the princess really in while it is being renovated. How does seeing probably made a clean copy of it (at least love? The private lives of public people fas- and reading about the space as a work-in- your teacher hopes so). You don’t show cinate others. progress affect your thoughts and feelings your drafts or all the cross-outs you made, So does what goes into making a movie. about the finished space? Does knowing the and there is no evidence of how late you (That’s where the phrase “behind the behind-the-scenes story make you more or might have stayed up to finish it, or the scenes” comes from, after all.) Have you less likely to want to see the space in per- conversations you had with anyone while ever watched the supplemental material on son? Write an essay to answer the questions, you were working on it. You only show the a dvd? Whether you have or not, do it now. and explain your thinking. Include how your finished product—and maybe that’s just Get a dvd of a favorite movie and watch the thinking was influenced by the earlier exam- as well! director’s commentary (or interviews with ple you came up with of your own “finished Think of an example of another finished the actors or explanations of the special product” as well as how you responded to product that you present or have presented. effects). What did you find out? How does the additional material in the dvd. What con- Write it down at the top of a piece of paper. knowing it change how you think about the clusions can you reach about the value of Then think about how that product came movie? Does it make you like the movie knowing what goes on behind the scenes? into being. What was involved? What did more? If so, why? Do parts of it bother you? What conclusions can you reach about the you have to do? What was the product like If so, why? Have a few volunteers describe drawbacks of knowing it? What new ques- at different points during its creation? In for the class how their thoughts about tions come up for you about products and short, write about—or show illustrations their movie changed when they saw the situations you are in?

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42350araD8R2.indd 2 10/24/11 7:49 PM Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam is the first major exhibition dedicated to the pilgrimage to Makkah, central to the Muslim faith. It examines the significance of the Hajj as one of the five “pillars of Islam,” exploring its importance for Muslims and looking at how this spiritual and physical journey has evolved through history. The exhibition examines three key strands: the pilgrim’s journey, with an emphasis on the major routes used from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East; the Hajj today, its associated rituals and what the experience means to the pilgrim; and the origins and importance of Makkah, the destination of the Hajj. Exhibits—which include material from collections in Saudi Arabia and from the Khalili Family Trust, as well as from major public and private collections in the uk and around the world—document the long and perilous journey associated with the pilgrimage, gifts offered to the sanctuary as acts of devotion and souvenirs that are brought back from the Hajj. They also include archeological material, manuscripts, textiles, historic photographs and contemporary art. The Hajj has a deep emotional and spiritual significance for Mus- lims, and continues to inspire a wide range

Exhibitions of personal, literary and artistic responses, many of which are explored throughout the & exhibition, which also examines the social and political significance of the pilgrimage in relation to global trade and the transmission of ideas. British Museum, London, January 26 through April 15.

Events Current November changes that marked the end of the and creativity of Sirwa weavers, who Body Parts: Ancient Egyptian Fragments and Amulets fea- Pyramid Age. The development of the draw on and continuously update their tures 35 representations of individual body parts from the site of Abydos and the cult of Osiris is rich weaving tradition to produce a museum’s ancient Egyptian collection, using both fragments also a focus of the exhibition, with a great variety of textiles for the inter- of sculptures and objects created as distinct elements to illu- link to the current excavations at the national market. Visitors can watch as minate the very realistic depiction of individual body parts in Middle Cemetery where the Old Sirwa weavers demonstrate their tech- canonical Egyptian sculpture. Ancient Egyptian artists carefully Kingdom mummy was found nearly a nical skills on equipment especially portrayed each part of the human body, respecting the signifi- century ago. Carlos Museum, Emory brought from Morocco, and can try their cance of every detail. Brooklyn [New York] Museum, through University, Atlanta, Georgia, through own hand at weaving, handling spin- November 27. December 11. dles, cards and beating combs, yarns and weaving samples. An international Underground Revolution: 8000 Years of Istanbul displays Riffs features recent work by Moroccan conference on Moroccan textiles is finds uncovered in one of the most important archeologi- artist Yto Barrada, whose photographs, planned in conjunction with the exhi- cal excavations of Turkish history: the Yanikapı dig in Istanbul, films, installations, sculptures and edi- bition. Brunei Gallery, soas, London, which revealed Neolithic settlements dating back 8500 years, torial work refer to the sociopolitical through December 17. including a unique collection of 34 sunken ships. As the actual situation of her hometown, Tangier, artifacts are too fragile to move, the exhibition presents them Morocco. The title of the exhibit refers Karanis Revealed: Discovering the Past through photographs, information panels and digital demon- simultaneously to the musical term and and Present of a Michigan Excavation in strations. Istanbul Centre in Brussels, through November 31. to the Cinéma Rif, home of the Tangier Egypt is a two-phase exhibition explor- Cinémathèque, which the artist directs, ing the story of Karanis, a village south- Current December as well as to the nearby Rif mountains, west of Cairo that was inhabited during Amulet in Spirit: Contemporary Yemeni Jewelry by Suad once a stronghold of anti-colonial insur- Egypt’s Greco-Roman period and exca- Raja is a collection of Yemen-inspired contemporary silver gency in Morocco. "I’ve always been vated by the University of Michigan jewelry. Jerusalem Fund Gallery, Washington, D.C., through attentive to what lies beneath the sur- in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Part i looks December 6. face of public behavior,” says Barrada. at daily life during the early centuries “In public, the oppressed accept their under the Ptolemaic Dynasty, and Part Ayman Baalbaki: Beirut Again and Again posits that little domination, but they always question ii follows changes that came with the has truly changed in “peacetime” Beirut: No problems have their domination offstage.” Wiels, Brus- Roman occupation of Egypt and, later, been resolved, no politicians called to account, no militias dis- sels, through December 12. with Christianity. The displays include armed. Baalbaki expresses his theme in layers of paint on can- collections of Roman glass, tax rolls on vas and in colorful floral textiles that give life to his depiction Weaving the Threads of Livelihood: papyrus, and the leather breastplate of of bombed buildings, bullet-ridden façades, piles of rubble and The Aesthetic and Embodied Knowl- a Roman soldier. Kelsey Museum of snipers’ towers. Though his works pay tribute to his coun- edge of Berber Weavers centers on a Archaeology, Ann Arbor, Michigan: try’s traumatic recent history, they also reveal stirrings of hope. special 19th-century cloak, an akhnif, Part i, through December 18; Part ii, Rose Issa Projects, London, through December 9. unique to Morocco, which inspired Ber- January 27 through May 6. ber weavers of the Sirwa region to pro- Life and Death in the Pyramid Age: The Emory Old duce a new type of carpet in the 1990’s, Treasures of the Bodleian features Kingdom Mummy places the mummy—excavated at the and variants since. Many of these richly a selection of the rarest, most impor- sacred site of Abydos in Middle Egypt in 1920—in the colored, densely embellished and pains- tant and most evocative items from the context of ancient Egypt’s mummification and burial practices takingly crafted carpets are displayed, Bodleian Libraries’ nine-million-volume and the cult of the dead, and explores the social and political demonstrating the ongoing dynamism collections, from ancient papyri through abdullah al-dobais / sawdia

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42350araD9R2.indd 1 10/24/11 7:50 PM medieval oriental manuscripts to 20th- female artists about whose lives and together from small scraps of silk ikat to costly metal alloys, sculptors cap- century printed books and ephemera. work we know little and whose names and a pictorial kantha from India embroi- tured evocative, idealized and enduring Highlights include the oldest surviving are almost forgotten. Also included are dered with threads recycled from old likenesses of their individual patrons. manuscript of the Elements of Euclid, rediscovered moderns and women art- saris. Textile Museum, Washington, Analysis of each of these works con- 888 ce, re-edited in the fourth century ists who, for the last four decades, D.C., through January 8. siders the historical circumstances and by Theon of Alexandria; an illustrated have been shaping the contemporary cultural values that inform them; the 14th-century manuscript of Marco art scene with their intellectual attitude Parergon is a series of sculptural works sculptures are among the only tangible Polo’s Travels; a letter from a petulant and practical actions. Istanbul Modern, presented by Babak Golkar compris- surviving links to generations of leaders Egyptian schoolboy named Theon, writ- through January 8. ing objects that resemble interrupted who shaped Africa's past before colo- ten in the second or third century, com- or deformed frames. As the frames are nialism. Catalog. Metropolitan Museum plaining to his father for leaving him Wonder of the Age: Master Painters of not closed, the viewer is able to view of Art, New York, through January 29; behind; and a leaf from the birch-bark India, 1100–1900 presents some 220 the cross-sections and explore the dis- Museum Rietberg, Zurich, February 26 Bakhshali manuscript containing the works selected according to identifiable tinctive forms that they represent: iden- through June 3. first evidence of the concept of zero. hands and named artists, and dispels tifiable architectural silhouettes of such Bodleian Libraries, Oxford, England, the notion of anonymity in Indian art. well-known structures as Hagia Sophia Emirati Expressions showcases works through December 23. The high points of artistic innovation in and the Dome of the Rock. The works by Emirati artists that revolve around the the history of Indian painting are dem- center on iconic architectures from theme of national identity. The photo- 1001 Inventions: Discover the Mus- onstrated through works by 40 of the eastern cultures that have shifted in graphs on show, produced in workshops lim Heritage in Our World traces the greatest Indian painters, some of them context throughout history. The Third led by photographer Stephen Shore, cap- story of 1000 years of science from the identified for the first time, each rep- Line, Dubai, uae, through January 12. ture moments, places, people, sounds Muslim world dating from the seventh resented by five or six seminal works. and images that reflect the essence of century onward, looking at the social, Indian paintings have traditionally been Mysticism: Yearning for the Abso- Emirati expression. Manarat Al-Saadiyat, scientific and technological achieve- classified according to regional styles lute uses specific examples to illu- Abu Dhabi, through January 29. ments that originated in the Muslim cul- or dynastic periods, with an empha- minate the various manifestations of tural sphere. It features more than 60 sis on subject matter and narrative con- mysticism in Europe, Persia, India and Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058–1111): exhibits, interactive displays and a dra- tent. Recent scholarship, however, has East Asia. Museum Rietberg, Zurich, Celebrating 900 Years honors one of the matization showing that many mod- begun to securely link innovations in through January 15. most significant Islamic thinkers and ern inventions, spanning fields such style with specific artists and their lin- authors. Al-Ghazali, born in Tus (mod- as engineering, medicine and design, eages. Together with a careful study Gifts of the Sultan: The Arts of Giving ern-day Iran), was a prolific writer par- can trace their roots back to men and of artist's inscriptions and scribal colo- at the Islamic Courts is a pan-Islamic ticularly on philosophy, theology and women of different faiths and cultures phons, it is now possible to construct a exhibition spanning the eighth through law; his influence extended to some who lived in Muslim civilizations. Cal- more precise chronology of the devel- 19th centuries and including more of the great western philosophers and ifornia Science Center, Los Angeles, opment of Indian painting. Metropoli- than 240 works of art from three conti- even to the present day. The exhibi- through December 31. tan Museum of Art, New York, through nents: carpets, costumes and textiles, tion includes manuscripts, rare books January 8. jewelry and other objects of precious and lithographs, as well as work by al- Before the Pyramids: The Origins of metals, miniature paintings and other Ghazali’s critics and scholars who were Egyptian Civilization explores Egypt’s To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures arts of the book, mosque furnishings influenced by him. McLennan Library, Pre-Dynastic and Early Dynastic mate- From the Brooklyn Museum uses some and arms and armor. It also includes a McGill University, Montreal, through rial culture and shows how these early 100 pieces of jewelry, statues, coffins small contemporary component: new January 31. materials shed light on our understand- and vessels dating from 3600 bce to work by three artists with roots in the ing of later Egyptian culture. The most 400 ce to illustrate the range of strate- Islamic world who have been com- Current February fundamental aspects of ancient Egyptian gies and preparations that the ancient missioned to interpret the theme of Vaults of Heaven: Visions of Byzantium civilization—architecture, hieroglyphic Egyptians developed to defeat death the exhibition. Gifts of the Sultan intro- offers a glimpse into the complex and writing, a belief in the afterlife and alle- and to achieve success in the after- duces viewers to Islamic art and cul- vivid world of the Byzantine Empire giance to a semi-divine king—can be life. The exhibition explores the belief ture with objects of undisputed quality through large-scale contemporary traced to Egypt’s Pre-Dynastic era 1000 that death was an enemy that could and appeal, viewed through the univer- photographs by Turkish photographer years before the pyramids were built. be vanquished, a primary cultural tenet sal lens of gift giving—a practice that Ahmet Ertug˘. The images highlight The exhibition displays 140 objects, of ancient Egyptian civilization, and proliferated at the great Islamic courts culturally significant unesco heritage including pottery, stonework, carved ivo- explains the process of mummification, not only for diplomatic and political pur- sites in present-day Turkey, with a focus ries and objects from the tombs of the the economics and rituals of memo- poses but also as expressions of piety, on the Karanlık, Tokalı and Meryemana first kings and of the retainers who were rials, the contents of the tomb, the often associated with the construc- churches in the dramatic Cappadocian buried alongside them. Catalog. Orien- funeral accessories—differentiated by tion or enhancement of religious monu- region of central Anatolia. Pennsylva- tal Institute Museum, Chicago, through the class of the deceased—and the ide- ments. Museum of Fine Arts Houston, nia Museum of Archaeology and December 31. alized afterlife. Exhibits include the viv- through January 15. Anthropology, Philadelphia, through idly painted coffin of a mayor of Thebes, February 12. Current January mummies, stone statues, gold jewelry, In the Kingdom of Alexander the Lost and Found: The Secrets of Archi- amulets and canopic jars. Frist Center Great: Ancient Macedonia retraces the Current March medes. In Jerusalem in 1229 ce, the for Visual Arts, Nashville, Tennessee, history of Alexander’s homeland from Of Gods and Mortals: Traditional Art greatest works of the Greek mathe- through January 8. the 15th century bce to the Roman from India. In India, art is an integral part matician Archimedes were erased and period, presenting more than 1000 arti- of daily life. The importance of paint- overwritten. In the year 2000, a team Global Patterns: Dress and Textiles facts from museums in northern Greece ings, sculpture, textiles and other art of museum experts began a project to in Africa focuses on the accomplish- and from French archeological digs, par- forms comprises two basic categories, read those erased texts. By the time ments of African weavers, dyers, bead ticularly the Portal of the Enchanted one related to religious practices and they had finished, the team had recov- embroiderers and tailors, and high- Ones, a masterpiece of Greco-Roman the other to the expression of prestige ered Archimedes’s secrets, rewritten lights the continuities, innovation and sculpture. “People know that Alexan- and social position. This new installation the history of mathematics and dis- exchange of ideas that mark dress and der was Greek, but they don’t know that of works from the museum’s collection covered entirely new texts from the textile production in Africa. Through- he was also Macedonian, or that Mace- features some 28 pieces, principally ancient world. This exhibition tells the out centuries, African textile artists donia is in Greece,” says the Louvre’s representing the 1800’s to the present. story, recounting the history of the seamlessly and joyfully integrated into director of Greek antiquities. “The exhi- Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Mas- book, detailing the patient conserva- their visual vocabulary new design ele- bition presents an opportunity for visi- sachusetts, through March 1. tion, explaining the cutting-edge imag- ments and new materials such as glass tors to rediscover Alexander in the light ing and highlighting the discoveries of beads, buttons and fabrics that arrived of his origins.” Musée du Louvre, Paris, Central Nigeria Unmasked: Arts of the the dogged and determined scholars as the result of trade with places as far through January 16. Benue River Valley reviews the arts pro- who finally read what had been obliter- away as India and Indonesia. Beadwork, duced in the Benue River Valley, source ated. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, kente cloth and indigo-dyed cloths Heroic Africans: Legendary Lead- of some of the most abstract, dramatic through January 1. called adire are among the highlights of ers, Iconic Sculptures challenges con- and inventive sculpture in sub-Saha- the display. Museum of Fine Arts Bos- ventional perceptions of African art. ran Africa. The exhibition includes more Dream and Reality: Modern and Con- ton, through January 8. Bringing together more than 100 mas- than 150 objects used in a range of rit- temporary Women Artists from Turkey terpieces drawn from collections in ual contexts, with genres as varied and is centered on the position of women Second Lives: The Age-Old Art of six European countries and the United complex as the region itself—figura- artists in modern and contemporary Recycling Textiles highlights the ways States, it considers eight landmark tive wood sculptures, masks, figurative art and offers a new, alternative per- people in various cultures have inge- sculptural traditions from West and ceramic vessels, and elaborate bronze spective on the country’s sociocultural niously repurposed worn but precious Central Africa created between the and iron regalia—and explores the his- history. The exhibits range from the fabrics to create beautiful new textile 12th and early 20th centuries in terms tory of central Nigeria through the mid-19th century to our day and incor- forms. Examples include a rare sutra of the individual persons who lie at the dynamic interrelationships of its peo- porate many different media, from cover made from a 15th-century Chi- origins of the representations. Using ples and their arts. National Museum of painting to video; they are works of nese rank badge, a large patchwork materials ranging from humble clay, African Art, Washington, D.C., through close to 80 artists, including pioneering hanging from Central Asia stitched ubiquitous wood and precious ivory March 4.

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Events & Exhibitions ment tofree of ageduringtheheightmove- seven renownedpainterswhocame Painting theModerninIndiafeatures Current 24 throughJanuary6,2013. Pacific ScienceCenter, Seattle,May Fine ArtsHouston,throughApril15; ruins ofafunerarytemple.Museum Pritzker ArchitecturePrize. was thefirstwomantoreceive architects ofthe21stcentury, Hadid regarded asoneofthemostinnovative in asettingofherowncreation.Widely nities inartcentersaroundtheworld, they tookadvantageofnewopportu- century. Afterindependencein1947, of thebroadsweepartin20th styles thatareanessentialcomponent in tion tothe5000-yearhistoryofart practices internationallyandinrela- to painting,repositioningtheirownart tions andpioneerednewapproaches they organizedpath-breakingassocia- shaped bythecolonialestablishment, move fromthemarginsofanartworld (10') statueofthepharaoh King Tut everdiscovered:athree-meter the highlightsislargestlikenessof meant totheEgyptianpeople.Among and divineworlds,what“kingship” raohs, theirfunctioninboththeearthly tion exploresthesplendorofpha- over a2000-yearspan.Theexhibi- the 30dynastiesthatreignedinEgypt ated withthemostimportantrulersof lar. Also showcasedareobjectsassoci- Tut’s rings,earornamentsandgoldcol- golden statuesofthegods;andKing a goldcoffinettethatheldhisstomach; dals foundontheboyking´smummy; ankhamun—include thegoldensan- which comefromthetombofKingTut- tacular treasures—morethanhalfof States beforethistour. Thesespec- have neverbeenshowninthe than 100artworks,mostofwhich the GreatPharaohsfeaturesmore Tutankhamun: Current of Art,throughMarch25. in recentyears.PhiladelphiaMuseum objects andfootwearshehasdesigned to displayexamplesofthefurniture, all-encompassing environmentinwhich For thisexhibition,shehascreatedan contemporary architectureanddesign. gies, shehasadvancedthelanguageof digital designandfabricationtechnolo- plex, fluidgeometriesandcutting-edge British– us Zaha Hadid: 48 SaudiAramco World Dhahran 31311,SaudiArabia Saudi Aramco,Box5000 Public change-of-address notificationsto: Send subscriptionrequestsand Volume 62,Number6. Services Company, Houston, Texas. Copyright ©2011 byAramco Dhahran 31311,SaudiArabia (Saudi Aramco),Box5000, Saudi Arabian is publishedbimonthlybythe ( S exhibitiontofeaturetherenowned I I ndia. Theseartistscreatedhybrid SSN 1530-5821) a u d I raqi architect’s productdesigns May andLater April i Ar R elations Department amc I Form inMotionisthefirst

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lution. quered halftheknownworld. story oftheMongolwarlordwhocon- Genghis Khan:TheExhibitiontellsthe Coming gan, throughJuly12. National Museum,Dearborn,Michi- gious backgrounds.ArabAmerican women ofdifferentnationalandreli- ratives tellofArab–Americanmenand vice andthePeaceCorps.Personalnar- in thearmedforces,diplomaticser- the size ofAfrica—fourtimesthe his rule,theempiregrewtobe erance tomostofAsia andpartsof brought unity, stabilityandreligioustol- vative leaderandstatesmanwho Genghis isalsoreveredasaninno- at Americans haveplayedinthe fice thataffirmtheimportantroleArab– true storiesofheroismandself-sacri- icans inServicetoOurCountrytells Patriots &Peacemakers: setts, throughJune1. Essex Museum,Salem,Massachu- inspiration fromancientsites.Peabody dying inevery uting greatlytosociety, fighting and States throughoutitshistory, contrib- from thefirstexhibitionof into theirownartisticheritage,learning especially Paris, 1948 at thesametime,theylookeddeeply address theambiguityof maritime strates theemotionalbreadthof D of Modern the nections between conceptual andmaterialcon- tive onthecomplexwebof S the city’sHolyMausoleum. missionaries, nowburiedin some oftheearliestMuslim spices. for silk,porcelain,teaand S about thetracesof millennial A and transnationalmovements,theexhibitionexploreshistoriccontemporaryiconographyof multilayered historyoftheartist’shometown trade. Mathaf: experience asbymaterial passage ofideasandlived marked asmuchbythe between historiclocalities ies withcountless about theprocessofcultural,temporalandgeographictranslation. long-standing butlittle-knownrelationshipbetween international contemporaryartistsinhisfirstsoloexhibitiontheMiddle production. installation “Fragile”in Detail ofCaiGuo-Qiang’s Cai Guo-Qiang: R araab offers ilk oman Empireatitslargest.But ecember 5throughMay26. rabian Theexhibitionhighlightsservice A R November R aj BhavaninDelhiandtaking rab world,ofdynamics oad andatradehub T G he cityalsohosted us S andsymbolicjourney, ulf anditsseafaringculture,aswellthe L warsincethe A ilk ondon andNewYork; rt, Doha,

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cai guo-qiang, courtesy cai studio years. More than 300 works—sculp- array of 21 objects, including intricately the number of mummies and coffins Information is correct at press time, tures, ceramics, jewelry, frescoes—are decorated mirrors, cups and other on display. The new galleries will take but please reconfirm dates and times on display, dating from antiquity to the forms of tableware, display the high visitors on a chronological journey cov- before traveling. Most institutions listed beginning of the modern period, the levels of craftsmanship practiced by ering more than 5000 years of human have further information available at majority never before exhibited. Per- Tang dynasty artisans working in pre- occupation of the Nile Valley, present- their Web sites. Readers are welcome gamon Museum, Berlin, January 26 cious materials. Freer Gallery, Wash- ing the collections under the broad to submit information eight weeks in through April 9. ington, D.C. themes of Egypt at its Origins; Dynas- advance for possible inclusion in this tic Egypt and Nubia; Life after Death listing. Some listings have been kindly Coming March New Ancient Egypt and Nubia Gal- in Ancient Egypt; The Amarna ‘Revolu- provided to us by Canvas, the art and Love and Devotion: From Persia and leries redisplay the Ashmolean’s world- tion’; Egypt in the Age of Empire; and culture magazine for the Middle East Beyond features more than 60 rare Per- renowned Egyptian collections and Egypt meets Greece and Rome. Ash- and the Arab world. sian, Mughal Indian and Ottoman Turk- exhibit objects that have been in stor- molean Museum of Art and Archaeol- ish illustrated manuscripts from the age for decades, more than doubling ogy, Oxford, England. 13th to the 18th century as well as related editions of European literature, travel books and maps. These works come from one of the richest peri- ods in the history of the book and shed light on the artistic and literary culture of Persia, showcasing classic Persian tales and revealing the extent to which Persian language and culture influenced neighboring empires, as well as par- allels in the work of European writers dating back to Shakespeare, Chaucer and Dante. Visitors will see works by such writers as Nizami, Jami, Firdausi, Rumi and Hafiz, as well as the Rubai- yat of Omar Khayyam and The 1001 Nights. A conference on “Persian Cultural Crossroads” will be held April 12–14. State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, March 9 through July 1; thereafter Bodleian Libraries, Oxford, England.

Coming April Looking at History through a Vari- ety of Lenses is the theme of the 19th euroclio annual conference professional training and development course, spon- sored by the European Association of History Educators and the History Teachers’ Association of Turkey. www.euroclio.eu. Hotel Kervansaray Lara, Antalya, Turkey, April 1–7.

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