Smoking Scents & The fate of Local Tradition

A local woman burning incense inside the clothes of

a Polish journalist, to cover them in lovely scents.

In Sharjah, during the Heritage Village exhibition of "local life" both past and present, I met this lady in red. She is a Polish journalist and one of the women responsible for a lot of the work behind the exhibition. The world you meet is not one of fast cars and big mansions but of fishing, music and dance, honey, perfume and handicraft. A lot of cultures have been affected by globalization and modernization but as she put it quite bluntly;

"I know more about the local traditions of the UAE than most locals do today".

Fluent in Arabic, she walked around talking to the women of the countryside and Ras Al Khaimah, many who knew her well from her frequent visits to them. The women smiled as she approached them. Apparently the red dress she was wearing was traditional bridal wear and it reminded them of their own weddings.

How is it that the fate of local UAE tradition and its future is partially held in the hands of a Polish Journalist?

Al-Baal Café introducing...

...Africando!!!

If you haven't heard of one of West-Africa's most popular Salsa groups, then you have certainly missed out...big time. I was introduced to this group in the late 90's by a friend who was working in the Ivory Coast at that time.

Salsa has been popular in Senegal since the 40's and 50's interestingly enough, and the group combines African and Salsa rythms singing in languages like French, Spanish and Wolof. To get their unique sound they mix Cuban musicians with African voices from Benin, Cuba, Haiti and Senegal and the result is a musical fiesta worth celebrating.
Currently playing on ABC: "Senegal" by Africando.

Listen and purchase downloads of the songs here.

A minox to Mecca...

...is the name of an exhibition photographer Aasil Ahmad held in Toronto, earlier in May, part of the A light unto the Nations exhibition with Muslim and Jewish photographers.

View the online photo gallery of what is a rare peak, due to photography in general being forbidden during the Pilgrimage, into what happens during the annual Pilgrimage to Mecca.

You've been hit by...a smooth Muslim!

Who said Muslims don't have humor? I certainly didn't. I stumbled upon a site called Maniac Muslim and a rather hillarious remix of Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal. Ya3ni are you ok?

Watch the video here

Expedition Linné

Carl von Linné is being celebrated in Sweden and across the world in many different ways. Swedish Television made a fanatstic documentary where three youth travel the world in search of the plants that Linné or his disciples discovered and named. On their journey they realise what damage man has done to the dwellings of many species. It is in swedish and english but the pictures are telling. Here is the link.

Burj Al Chocolate!

English Prudence Emma Staite is the genius behind this 17 kg edible chocolate replica of the famous Burj Al Arab in Dubai. It took her a couple of days and long hours to make this at the Burjuman Mall in April, this year. I asked her what she would do with it once it was done:

"I might auction it off for charity. Must be some rich local who can pay a good sum for it." She jokingly added, "Maybe he wants a wife too?"

Al Baal Café in Gulf News

Well well, isn't that nice? Some fellow bloggers and my ABC post on Automatic Room Refreshners have been highlighted in gulfnews.com

Rambo, Apples & Sweden

Ever wondered where Sylvester Stallone's character Rambo got his name?

Me neither... However I stumbled upon some interesting information in correlation to Sweden celebrating the 300 year jubilee of our Botanist, Physician and Zoologist Carl Von Linné (also known as Carolus Linnaeus), the man who organized and gave names to the world's plants, animals and gave us the name of Homo Sapiens.

In 1639, a swedish family living in Ramberga left for America, like a lot of Swedes have done for centuries. With them they brought the seeds of swedish apples. Upon arrival they took the last name of Rambo. Most likely a referral to their original home in Ramberga.

They planted the seeds and the apples were subsequently named Rambo. Carl Von Linnés student, Pehr Kalm travelled to America in the mid 1700's and found the tree and spoke to a descendent of the Rambo family who described the apple as very suitable for the making of cider.

A couple of centuries later in America, the scriptwriter of the movie Rambo was trying to come up with a last name to his character. His wife walks in the door with apples and a bottle of cider made of Rambo apples.

The rest is, unfortunately, history.

War & The need to be tidy

On my trip to Bosnia last summer, I came to terms with war in the heart of Modern Europe. I stayed with my friend and her family in Hadjic outside Sarajevo on an estate situated on top of a hill overlooking green valleys and Sarajevo.

I noticed how tidy her father was, and everything had to be in a certain place. He noticed that I was looking at him in wonder and he went on explaining why he had become so tidy:

"During the 4 year siege on Sarajevo by Serb forces, we seldom had electricity so one learns to organize ones life in a way that should one even be blind, one can find things. The comb, nail cutter, glasses, everything has to be at a decided place and never move an inch from it."

Global Themes goes (dot)org!

The Photo Blog I started a couple of months ago, Global Themes, can now be accessed at www.globalthemes.org!

If you haven't been there yet, now is the time to click on to a photographic journey with weekly themes ranging from Antique, Eye-brow raisers, Places of Worship, Transportation and Water.

Join our fabulous photographers from all over the world at Global Themes!