The Nightingale’s Prayer: One of the Best Egyptian Films Ever Made

The Nightingale’s Prayer – or Do’aa el Karawan – is an icon of Egyptian Cinema’s Golden age. Mayra Nassef writes about its strong female characters and its pioneering feminist themes that address gender inequality and cultures of shame.

Daftar Digest

We select the best from the Arab world each month, and put it in your inbox.

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

Sonja Mejcher-Atassi

We did a deep dive into this episode of our This Is Not a Watermelon podcast with the author of "An Impossible Friendship: Group Portrait, Jerusalem Before and After 1948," professor Sonja Mejcher-Atassi.

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.

Mixtape, Music, Highlight Blog at afikra Mixtape, Music, Highlight Blog at afikra

Memories for Khaleeji Music

The short timespan between 2005 and 2008 holds tons of memories for Khaleeji music. Artists were more experimental with their production selections and musical arrangements: you could hear Indian and North African influences in many albums released at the time. Music was more upbeat even when the lyrics were sad. These tracks took over the Kuwaiti airwaves, making every drive to college memorable and fun for me. I'm sure that any Khaleeji listening to this playlist will have a connection with these songs or – at the very least – enjoys them as much as I did then and now.

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Journey Into Raï

As Cheb Mimo writes about the mixtape he curated for us this month: "Raï is a music genre that originates from the rich cultural tapestry of Algeria. It uses the language of the streets to articulate views about life in urban settings. Raï music places a significant emphasis on lyrical improvisation, often incorporating diverse musical influences to create its unique sound.

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Mixtape, Music Blog at afikra Mixtape, Music Blog at afikra

Arab Jazz

We put together an Arab Jazz mixtape that we hope is more accurate than what’s out there already. Here’s a little introduction to the big names you should know in Arab Jazz.

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Mixtape, Egypt, Music afikra Design Mixtape, Egypt, Music afikra Design

Now That’s What I Call Egypt

This month's mixtape, compiled DJ Amen Ra (aka Ramy Abou El Oyoun), introduces us to Egyptian sounds and artists we should have on our radar. The first half of the playlist focuses on the instrumental side of the producers featured & the second half highlights some of his favorite hip-hop artists.

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Arabic Cover of International Hits

Our mixtape this month was compiled by record store owner Mohamad Rifaï (aka Rifo) who's behind The Lick Records in Beirut, and features some of his favorite Arabic interpretations of international hits that even your grandad might know. 

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Danny Hajjar’s Arab Women Mixtape

A five and half hour long mixtape created by music writer and curator Danny Hajjar to celebrates the voices of some of the best up-and-coming (but also some old favorite) musicians from the Arab world. Make sure to play it at your next party.

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QUARTERTONES MIXAPE

“I want to represent some of the music of today that will be the past archive of tomorrow." DJ, producer and composer Jihed Khmiri (aka Pan-J) compiled an all-Tunisian mixtape for us this month.

Write for Daftar Journal

Are you itching to write about an Arab cultural figure? Are you knowledgeable about books, films, or music from and about the Arab world? Want to interview a figure from the media, arts or academia? Is there a famous street, ancient city, culturally loaded landmark or monument you’d like to write about?

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