Art
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Refugees, Frauke Frech and The Grand Beauty Salon
From peach to nectarine
It’s a delicate matter – placing one’s looks in the hands of a stranger, all the more so if this person comes from another part of the world. With her cosmopolitan art studio for beauty, artist Frauke Frech has created a platform for meetings between cultures. By Natalie Goltenboth
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Book review: Hilal Chouman′s ″Limbo Beirut″
Hybrid lives
″Limbo Beirut″ is Hilal Chouman′s third novel, but his first to cross over into English. Beautifully translated by Anna Ziajka Stanton, this illustrated novel is a five-part portrait of interconnected lives, written in markedly different styles. Marcia Lynx Qualey read the book
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The Vatican
All things to all people?
A Muslim visits the Vatican and discovers the breadth of attitudes and beliefs represented by the many people who cross its threshold every year. Is the Holy See gradually transcending its Christian roots to become a place of spiritual pilgrimage for all? By Mulham Al Malaika
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Cultural policy and architecture in Iran
Far from an Islamist Utopia
The Islamist hardliners in Iran see themselves as a bulwark against the cultural influence of the West; their goal is to create an authentically Islamic culture. But what does that mean for things like architecture? Aesthetic observations by Ulrich von Schwerin in Iran
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"War on Wall" – Documenting the war in Syria
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Novelist and critic Elias Khoury
The nightmare of reality
The Lebanese novelist and critic, Elias Khoury, examines the nature of writing in a world rent repeatedly by violence and vicious conflict – and finds hope
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Cartoon museum in Egypt
"Provisions" for travellers to Tunis Village
A cartoon museum in rural Egypt preserves a cultural heritage and opens up new prospects for the villagers. By Sameh Fayez
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Alsatoor, Libya′s caricaturist
The pen is mightier
Since the 1970s, the Libyan Hasan Dhaimish, aka Alsatoor, has furnished a mostly Arabic public with daringly acerbic political observations about his former homeland. His son, Sherif Dhaimish, looks back over his long career – a career that is far from over
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Album review: ″Abbar el Hamada″ by Aziza Brahim
The agony of dispossession
While singing about the hopes and aspirations of her own people, Aziza Brahim has created an album of songs which captures the plight of refugees and displaced peoples everywhere. Richard Marcus listened to this powerful and heartrending collection
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Book review: ″The New Waw: Saharan Oasis″ by Ibrahim al-Koni
Cultivating the strange
Recognised with the 2015 National Translation Award last autumn, Ibrahim al-Koni′s novel ″The New Waw: Saharan Oasis″ may seem an odd choice. After all his latest work manages to flout Western literary conventions and confound reader expectations. And yet, argues Marcia Lynx Qualey, that is precisely its appeal
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Flouting freedoms in Turkey
Self-censorship thriving
Turkey welcomes private investment in its arts and culture. But freedom for artists and journalists is largely restricted. The alternative arts scene has slipped into the background. By Ceyda Nurtsch
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Photography Biennale of the Contemporary Arab World
A feast for the eyes
With media reports on the Arab world focused on the political conflicts and current discussions dominated by dealing with migration from the region, the photo biennale in Paris shines as a beacon of diversity and pluralism. Felix Koltermann visited the exhibition for Qantara