Where we spend our summers... The Arabic Institute Annual Catalogue 2013/14

on the Land of love

Western Sahara - Mauritania

Western Sahara is an area in North Africa bordering the Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco. Its governance is disputed between Morocco and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), but the majority of it is occupied by Morocco.

Western Sahara's inhabitants, known as Sahrawis, are of Arab and Berber ethnicity. The direct ancestors of the present-day Saharawis were tribes which came from the Yemen in the XVth century. They crossed North Africa and eventually established themselves in the region of Western Sahara. The native language of the majority is Hassaniya Arabic, which is mutually unintelligible with Standard Arabic. Moroccan Arabic is also widely spoken, and is the lingua franca on the streets and the workplace

The Sahrahawis follow Islamic culture. Islam arrived in the 8th century AD between the Berber populations who inhabited the western part of the Sahara. The Islamic faith quickly expanded, brought by Arab immigrants, who initially only blended superficially with the population, mostly confining themselves to the cities of present-day Morocco and Spain.

Traditional Sahrawi hospitality includes the serving of tea to all guests. For those interested in sight-seeing, there are few opportunities for wildlife or natural formations other than the dunes.

Western Sahara is a tropical desert, with similar weather to Dubai. The days are hot, often reaching 100F, lacking in humidity, and nights can be cool with lows in the 50sF. Fog can also come off of the cooler waters of the Atlantic Ocean, despite scarce water. Hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread Harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility.

Sahara has always been a centre of attraction for Arab Traders and European Tourists. The enchanting smell of the desert sand attracts the visitors for having a tour across the desert. Hence nobody can remain aloof visiting this Great Sahara. We strongly recommend you to visit this place if you are lover of desert beauty and versatility of life.

Between Heaven and earth

Grand Mosque of Oman

In 1992 Sultan Qaboos directed that his country of Oman should have a Grand Mosque. A competition for its design took place in 1993 and after a site was chosen at Bausher construction commenced in 1995. Building work, which was undertaken by Carillion Alawi LLC] took six years and four months.

The Mosque is built from 300,000 tons of Indian sandstone. The main Masala (prayer hall) is square (external dimensions 74.4 x 74.4 metres) with a central dome rising to a height of fifty metres above the floor. The dome and the main minaret (90 metres) and four flanking minarets (45.5 metres) are the mosque’s chief visual features. The main “Musalla” can hold over 6,500 worshippers, while the women’s “Musalla” can accommodate 750 worshipers. The outer paved ground can hold 8,000 worshipers and there is additional space available in the interior courtyard and the passageways, making a total capacity of up to 20,000 worshipers. A major feature of the design of the interior is the prayer carpet which covers the floor of the prayer hall. It contains, 1,700,000,000 knots, and took four years to produce, and brings together the classical Tabriz, Kashan and Isfahan design traditions. 28 colours in varying shades were used, the majority obtained from traditional vegetable dyes. It is the second largest single piece carpet in the world.

Non-Muslims are allowed to visit the mosque every day, except Friday, from 8:30 until 11:00 am. Visitors are asked to dress modestly and in a way befitting places of worship. Women are also required to cover their hair.

Arab culture shows a strong connection between them and their God.

with the Prince of poets

Ahmed Shawqi Monument- Egypt

Ahmed Shawqi (1368-1932) named Amir at-Sho'ara’ (which literally means the prince of poets), was one of the greatest Arabic poets laureate, an Egyptian poet and dram-atist who pioneered the modem Egyptian literary movement, most notably introducing the genre of poetic epics to the Arabic literary tradition. On the paternal side he was of Circas-sia, Greek and Kurdish descent, and on the maternal side of Turkish and Greek descent.

Raised in a privileged setting with Turkish, Kurdish, Circassia, Greek, and Arab roots, his family was prominent and well-connected with the court of the Khediye of Egypt. Upon graduating from high school, he attended law school,obtaining a degree in translation. Shawqi was then offered a job in the court of the Khediye ADDEIS H, Wl‘liC|'I he immediately accepted.

After a year working in the court of the Khediye, Shawqi was sent to continue his studies in Law at the Universities of Montpellier and Paris for three years. While in France, he was heavily influenced by the works of French playwrights, most notably Moliere and Racine. He returned to Egypt in 1894, and remained a prominent.

It’s a great honour for Arabs that they have such a great poet in their history. They should be proud of them. Shawki’s work can never be forget by any single Arabian.

Doing some History Shopping

Khan EL-Khalili- Egypt

It was named after Prince Jaharkas AL-Khalili, who was one of the powerful Khan Mamluke Prince in the 14Th century. This bazar is famous for its unusual, typically oriented souvenirs and handmade crafts. The Medieval atmosphere of this tradition market, together with the labyrinth layout of the streets, gives visitors a lot of pleasure and a glimpse into what medieval markets once were like.

Cafes, restaurants, shops and a large number of vendors and buyers constitute a dynamic panorama of the place. Drinking Hibiscus, Karakare, Helba or any of the various Egyptian beverages is a pleasant experience for visitors and guests to get a real taste experience. For smokers, there is the Shisha and water pipe to be tried.

Every visitor can take the opportunity to safely enjoy the walk through the narrow streets of Khan El-Khalili. We strongly recommend visiting this vivid bazar but keep in mind that in open traditional markets, the prices are not fixed; so remember to bargain (haggle) to get the best price. The Khan El-Khalili Bazar is place where art and commerce come together to give a unique and remarkable, harmonious experience.

Khan-El-Khalili shows a good cultural activities of Arabian where they are seem to be happy for buying different things. You must visit Khan-El-Khalili for shopping.

sympolising Islamic art

Grand Mosque of UAE

This architectural work of art is one the world’s largest mosques, with a capacity for an astonishing 41,000 worshippers. It features 82 domes, over a 1,000 columns, 24 carat gold gilded chandeliers and the world's largest hand knotted carpet. The main prayer hall is dominated by one of the world’s largest chandeliers –10 meters in diameter, 15 meters in height and weighing twelve tons. The mosque's first ceremony was the funeral of its namesake, Sheikh Zayed, who is buried at the site.

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque sentimental value and moral, far in excess of what his value of art and architecture as one of the most prominent and the most beautiful monuments of Islamic architecture in the world, has embodied that value in the aesthetics of construction and decoration, engraving and cosmetics, opened the horizon wide toward space spiritual fertile enriched of legacy Shining Islam, and is inspired by the spirit of openness that characterizes our religion.

The design of the mosque, to conjure patterns of Islamic architecture, and reflects the spirit of cultural diversity, and the cultural and intellectual, then brightens inspired this unique heritage, the experience of the United Arab Emirates, also coined the vision and the development of philosophy, the late, great, father of the founder, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan .Reflective pools surround the mosque, amplifying its beauty. The striking white and gold colors shining in the sun are transformed at night by a unique lightning system which reflects the phases of the moon.

This Mosque shows the love of Arab people towards their God Almighty Allah. The Arabians used to spend their lives in serving humanity and providing a place where peace lovers can connect themselves to God.

Where Egypt Begins

Cairo Museum - Egypt 

The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities contains many important pieces of ancient Egyptian history. It houses the world’s largest collection of Pharaonic antiquities, and many treasures of King Tutankhamen. The Egyptian government established the museum, built in 1835 near the Ezbekeyah Garden. The museum soon moved to Boulaq in 1858 because the original building was getting to be too small to hold all of the artifacts. In 1855, shortly after the artefacts were moved, Archduke Maximilian of Austria was given all of the artefacts. He hired a French architect to design and construct a new museum for the antiquities. The new building was to be constructed on the bank of the Nile River in Boulaq. In 1878, after the museum has been completed for some time, it suffered some irreversible damage; a flood of the Nile River caused the antiquities to be relocated to another museum, in Giza. The artefacts remained there until 1902 when they were moved, for the last time, to the current museum in Tahrir Square. During the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, the museum was broken into, and two mummies were reportedly destroyed. Several artefacts were also shown to have been damaged.

The Museum also comprises a photography section and a large library. The Egyptian museum comprises many sections arranged in chronological order

• The first section houses Tutankhamun’s treasures.

• The second section houses the pre-dynasty and the Old Kingdom monuments.

• The third section houses the first intermediate period and the Middle Kingdom monuments.

• The forth section houses the monuments of the Modern Kingdom.

• The fifth section houses the monuments of the late period and the Greek and Roman periods.

• The sixth section houses coins and papyrus.

• The seventh section houses sarcophagi and scarabs.

A hall for the royal mummies was opened at the museum, housing eleven kings and queens. More than a million and half tourists visit the museum annually, in addition to half a million Egyptians.

Where the world start, Cairo museum shows the facts from that point. It is wonder to see such a great collection .You must visit this.

Open daily, 9:00 AM-7:00 PM

9:00 AM-5:00 PM during Ramadan

At The Anything Market

Bazar Yagoub El-Mansour - Morocco

Markets of the Islamic cities are one of the greatest achievements of the Islamic civilization and are not to be found in other countries. At the time Islam ruled over a large part of the world, Bazaars had become a common feature of the cities governed by Islam. Economy and religion are the two principal pillars of the Islamic Bazaars, which symbolize their difference from other markets.

G7 Bazar Yagoup EL Mansour is the most versatile, modern and easily approachable market place of Rabat. It’s connected to Mall Road on one side, City to the other, and Railway station on the 3rd side.

Bazar is a crowded place is located in centre of city and there is lots of shops to sale everything u can imagine... visiting this place have two benefits: 1. u can find out lots of funny and useful stuff to buy in cheap price and 2. Visit a historical and vivid part of metropolis Rabat. Bazar has certain good looking plazas, banks, fun houses for children and has a few recreational parks for children and elderly

Mansour Plaza is one of the most renowned shopping markets in G7. You can buy leather jackets, trousers and all sorts of garments, kameez salwar, khussas, sandals and all gents’ garments. If you're looking for a pure traditional Iranian atmosphere, Tehran grand bazar is a good choice. There you can enjoy the Islamic architecture and traditional market including everything a human might need. Carpet, Textile, nuts, anything.

Nice place to see a traditional market of Rabat.

In the City of Jewellery

Yemen jewellery Market

Yemen jewellery market is a story into itself. The silver jewellery of Yemen is integrally tied to the massive movement of peoples in the late 1940s and early 1950s. In Yemen, over the decades and perhaps centuries leading up to recent period, the jewellery market.Through forays to jewelry markets around the Mediterranean and throughout the Arabian Peninsula, the most intricate jewelry came from Yemen. Good Yemeni pieces are exported to Jeddah, Damascus and Cairo on rare occasions. Yemeni market is famous for its silver ornaments.

The motifs in the worked pieces of the Yemeni jewellery are distinctive. In the silver souqs of Sana’a and Ta’izz, old and antique looking jewellery is sold. The typically Yemeni product is the silver jewellery crafted traditionally by the Jews of Yemen. The jambiya or the sharply curved tribesmen’s curving dagger is typical of countries of southern Arabia. Men on a special belt at the waist wear it. A special form of silverware is the Maria Theresa Thaler, which is a coin of Austrian origin. The Ottoman Turks introduced the coin in Yemen where it was in circulation till the end of the 1980s.The jewellers used a combination of simple geometric shapes (cylinders, lozenges, spheres and flat circles), in some cases formed by or connected by filigree work, and decorated with granulation on the surface. Amulets, bracelets and yokes (long chains of baubles to be hung at the neckline of a dress), and chokers (short necklaces worn against the throat) form their repertoire.

During past few decades. Gold had risen in value over the previous few decades, reducing the relative value of silver which result into fall of Yemeni silver market. But now again it is raising to peak stock due to new young generation silversmiths. They are keeping the traditional craft of finely worked silver alive.

There is, however, a market for their best work in Saudi Arabia. A fine hand-tooled sword of 85 percent silver might bring as much as $2500; a new woman's belt done in filigree might bring $1000. (A good antique one might fetch up to $3000.) A few families in Sana'a have purchased complete new sets of wedding jewelry in the traditional style. Tourists, when they come, buy the new work, too. But most of the silversmiths agree that, if these crafts are to thrive again, there will have to be more customers.

The Yemen jewelry market shows the height of Arab’s love towards beauty and creation. They can never be less than any other nation in gaining beauty from ornaments.

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