How the collection of the National Museum of Afghanistan survived the civil...
My contribution to the “Art Trafficking and Restitution” roundtable organized by Walk of Truth at the Peace Palace in The Hague 16 September 2013 Ladies and Gentlemen, In the late 1970s, when Kabul...
View ArticleA visit to Nur Agha the kitemaker
Today I took a few hours off work to visit the master kite maker, Nur Agha, son of Bejo, the famous Kabuli kite maker. One of his friends, Zilgai, owner of a few kite shops in Shor Bazaar, agreed me …...
View ArticleAfghan Urban Housing Dilemma
When we visited the mayor’s office during my last trip to Kabul, the deputy mayor, a great fan of Persian poetry, lamented the fact that all the houses currently being built in Kabul are of the...
View ArticleSearching for Ancient Arabia
I’m about to start a FIND fellowship at New York University Abu Dhabi called ‘Searching for Ancient Arabia’ and I’m looking for artists, curators, critics and scholars to participate in this research...
View Article‘Searching for Ancient Arabia’– further information about the research project
A workshop will be held for all those interested in participating in this research project at the Downtown Campus (off Hamdan Street) of NYU Abu Dhabi on Tuesday 25 February, from 18:00 to 20:30. For...
View ArticleSearching for Ancient Arabia in Bahrain
View of the excavated Portuguese fort with the sea behind it, and the palm groves between the two. One of the beautiful sceneries we encountered during our research. Summary Between 8 and 11 April I...
View ArticleTrip to Najran: Reflections on Saudi Cultural Heritage Policies
Photo taken in the ruins of the city of Al Ukhdood (ancient Najran) by Abdelkarim Qassem One of the premises of the ‘Searching for Ancient Arabia’ research project is the cultural diversity of the...
View ArticleUnwinding the history of the UAE
Historic consciousness in the UAE and in the other GCC states goes back only a few centuries, at most; this is how far back most prominent Emirati families can reliably trace their genealogy. What...
View ArticleLife and death in Rojava
Day 2 in Northwestern Syria Today we were confronted more squarely with the war being fought in Syria, and the intensity of life and death in a beleaguered war zone; although we also got the chance to...
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