Category Archives: Blog

When I was photographing the ancient Nubian collection at the National Museum in Khartoum, a group of schoolboys visiting the museum on a class field-trip asked me for a photo at the entrance to an ancient Nubian temple…

Having spent the past few weeks in the Sahara at the Royal Pyramids of Meroe in Sudan, I’ve been dreaming about pyramids at night–and sometimes while I’m awake it feels like I’m seeing pyramids in every direction (like in this new video from Matmos)…

While exploring the Royal Pyramids of Meroe in Sudan–where I’ve been excavating a Nubian temple–I took a camel for a ride to get a better view…

I have been away from my computer for the past few weeks, excavating a Nubian temple from the orange-tinted sands of the Sahara–in beautiful Sudan (where there are more pyramids than even Egypt)…

Fools laud and magnify the mosque,
while they strive to oppress holy men of heart.
But the former is mere form, the latter spirit and truth…

— Rumi

Sufism in Iran has a long and complex history. Currently, Sufis in Iran are suffering various forms of persecution. In the midst of this conflict between the clergy and the Sufis–between the exoteric and esoteric aspects of Islam–some Sufis have been imprisoned, and their places of worship have been razed. This recent article, “The Sufi Challenge to Iran’s Clergy,” explains some of the pressures that Sufis in Iran currently face–but it also leaves out some important details about Sufi “space” in Iran.

For instance, when I was surveying Sufism in Iran, I was able to visit the shrines of poets and Sufis like Hafiz and Saadi without any problems or interference. Gathered around each tomb were crowds of Iranians reading Sufi poetry in Persian, and praying at the side of these great mystic masters. The contemporary practice of Sufism in Iran is much more complicated than meets the eye–but perhaps the only way to understand how it all works is to travel to Iran sometime soon, and see it for yourself…

They closed the tavern door; O’Lord, do not permit.
That they open the door of shame and deceit…

— Hafiz

I slept and I dreamt that life is all joy.
I woke and I saw that life is all service.
I served and I saw that service is joy.

― Khalil Gibran

While reading an article today about how millennials seem more interested in living lives defined by meaning rather than happiness or financial gain, I was delighted to see that the No. 1 place where millennials would like to work is St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Come to think of it, it was actually a millennial (a student) who first got me interested in volunteering at St. Jude’s in Beirut–by telling me how much he enjoyed volunteering there himself.

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.

― Mahatma Gandhi

Each week when I sign in for my shift at St. Jude’s, I notice the signatures of some of my students from the days before. Like a revolving door, we’re taking turns playing with the Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian children with cancer at the Children’s Cancer Center of Lebanon–and, in the process, we’re probably learning more about life than we could in a classroom. Over the past year and a half, I’ve found my volunteer work at St. Jude’s to be one of the most meaningful aspects of my life here in Beirut–and now I really can’t imagine my life without it.

With a war raging next door in Syria, it’s not just economic woes prompting some millennials here in Beirut to think about living a more meaningful life. With over a reported 1 million Syrian refugees living within Lebanon’s borders today, there’s no shortage of ways to serve those in need–be it on campus (below) or in one of the refugee camps nearby. Maybe it’s a good sign that millennials are focusing more on making meaning than chasing after riches or happiness, since happiness may not be as good for the mind and body as researchers once believed…

At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received,
how much money we have made, how many great things we have done.
We will be judged by “I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat,
I was naked and you clothed me.
I was homeless, and you took me in…

-― Mother Teresa

A new exhibition of artworks by Iranian and Russian artists has opened in Moscow. The exhibit–organized by the Iranian Embassy in Moscow–includes Persian miniatures and calligraphy.

My own personal interest in cultural collaborations between Russia and Iran led me to contribute a chapter (about Russian and Armenian influences on the birth of Iran’s film industry) to this new book: Iranian-Russian Encounters: Empires and Revolutions since 1800.

These authors shine flashes into the corners and cupboards of Irano-Russian history which add to our knowledge but leave us avid for more. –- James Buchan, Asian Affairs

As far as I know, this book is the first to explore a variety of political, artistic, social and economic encounters between Iran and Russia since 1800. If you’re interested in either region–or both–you might check it out…

Here’s the blurb for the book: Bringing together leading scholars in the field, this book demonstrates extensive use of family archives, Iranian, Russian and Caucasian travelogues and memoirs, and newly available archives in both Iran and the countries of the former Soviet Union. Providing essential background to current international tensions, this book will be of particular use to students and scholars with an interest in the Middle East and Russia…

In addition to my adoption essay “Deep Cover” in the NYTimes this week-end, there was another NYTimes article about a new film with Judi Dench–based on a heartbreaking adoption story from Ireland. In addition, a few recent letters to the editor have responded to Nicholas Kristof’s column: “When Children are Traded.”

On Friday, Mali’s separatist Tuareg fighters declared an end to their five-month-old ceasefire with Mali’s government–and took up arms following violence in Kidal. Perhaps I won’t be going back to Mali as soon as I thought…

According to Tasneem News, ten Afghans who were killed while fighting in Syria were reportedly buried by Iranian officials in Tehran, Qom, Mash-had and Isfahan. Here is an analysis (in Persian) about Afghan refugees from Iran fighting and dying in Syria. To learn more about the three million Afghan refugees living in Iran (in English), please click here…

If you’re going to be in New York City in mid-December, then come and see our gamelan group perform meditative music and dance from Java at the Indonesian Consulate…

Speak a new language so that the world will be a new world…

— Rumi

As a linguist, I’ve long been tempted to learn a Berber language–even though they’re impossibly difficult to understand. For a short time, I had a Berber tutor back home in Harlem, but nothing she taught me seemed to stick. So when I was in Morocco this past October, I tried to just enjoy the sounds of different dialects–instead of trying to grasp the mechanics of Berber grammar (Moroccan Arabic is hard enough!).

Morocco has the largest population of Berbers in North Africa. Ten years ago, a census showed that 8.4 million Moroccans were speaking an Amazigh dialect daily–which is about a quarter of the population. Though the Amazigh-language was officially recognized in 2011, the Berber people in Morocco are still fighting to have their voices heard, in the wake of the so-called Arab Spring…