Sallim! Why Is Arabic Music Full of Greetings?
“Wa in la-akum habibi, sellimouli alayh… It was on an evening train from Leipzig to Berlin that I was bopping my head to the chorus of Abdel Halim Hafez’s “Sawah”. Crossing over from Egypt to Lebanon, the next song that came on shuffle was by Melhem Barakat. After a beautiful instrumental intro, he started to sing: Sallim alayha ya hawa… Piecing together the meaning of these lyrics with my beginner-level Arabic, I realized both songs made use of the same motif – that of greeting.”
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Curated Recommendations
Every time a guest joins us on one of our podcast series, they leave us with breadcrumbs to further explore some of the topics that they covered in the episode. Browse through some of the best recommendations for films, books, and music from the Arab world.
Staff Pick: Podcast Episode
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Tsawwar
Tsawwar is a visual series enclosed monthly in our Daftar Digest and explores the stories behind a photograph taken in the region or by an Arab photographer.
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Between Two Worlds: The Mahjar Literary Movement
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QUARTERTONES MIXAPEThis mixtape is a collaboration with music creator and producer DJ Bonita (Farah A Bishara) who writes: "The short timespan between 2005 and 2008 holds tons of memories for Khaleeji music…”
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