Hit City, Anbar Province, Iraq

© Photo by Michael Yon

The peaceful, bustling marketplace in the Anbar city of Hit as seen during a Saturday, May 26 walkabout.

US Embassy Baghdad

The new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad will be the world's largest and most expensive foreign mission...

As an outpost, this vast compound reeks of one thing: imperial impunity. It was never meant to be an embassy from a democracy that had liberated an oppressed land. From the first thought, the first sketch, it was to be the sort of imperial control center suitable for the planet's sole "hyperpower," dropped into the middle of the oil heartlands of the globe. It was to be Washington's dream and Kansas City's idea of a palace fit for an embattled American proconsul -- or a khan.

Syrian Cartoon: "Unanimous Approval"

Source: Baladna, Syria, May 16, 2007

Scott McCleod on the Syrian 'election':

No surprises here. Bashar "won" by a little less than that in 2000. And the actual number itself is meaningless because -- do I even have to say it? -- the books are completely cooked. I mean, really, if turnout was 95 percent as officials claim, that means the government counted about 20 million paper ballots in around 36 hours.

No, the depressing part about the referendum was the Stalinist-style campaign that preceded it and which will continue through to the inauguration.

Six Day War

What right had the British, in 1917, to promise the Jews a national home in Palestine? Why did the Palestinians reject partition in 1947? Why did Israel colonise the territories after 1967? Why did the Americans let Israel get away with it? Why did the Arab states leave the refugees to fester in camps? The Palestinians are terrorists, Zionism is racism, Israel's enemies are anti-Semites. Yasser Arafat should have accepted Israel's “generous offer” at Camp David in 2000. But, hang on, Israel's offer was not so generous...

Irbil: Naz City Apartments

A view from the tenth floor of the new Naz City Apartments in Irbil, located near the new state-of-the-art convention center and Irbil International Airport. A group of international investors traveled the stable northern region of Iraq and continued to meet with local business leaders, members of chambers of commerce and key government officials as some arranged for return trips to begin projects Friday. U.S. Army photo by Maj. Juanita Chang, 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.

The Liberation of Baghdad: Sandow Birk

Birk has made a number of paintings, including The Liberation of Baghdad, seen here. The paintings are more satirical and ironic, and many are based on paintings of the glories of war in Napoleon’s time and from Russian socialist images of battlefield glories.

The Liberation of Baghdad, says Birk, is about “what we were told would happen — happy, joyfully liberated Iraqis welcoming American troops as we free them from the shackles of oppression.”

Visit Palestine, 1936

Visit Palestine was originally designed by Franz Kraus and published by the Tourist Association of Palestine, a Zionist development agency. We see the vast walled city of Jerusalem: trim parks, green gardens, urban dwellings, and a central landmark, the Dome of the Rock mosque.

With this one poster pulled out of the Zionist attic, three core myths are debunked. The first myth is that Palestine had ever been a land without people. Obviously someone lived in these houses and someone tended these gardens. The second myth is that Palestine was a vast desert awaiting cultivation. The resplendent tree in the foreground suggests that the land surrounding Jerusalem was much more than barren desert. The third myth is that there never was a Palestine. Of course there was a Palestine, and here it is, called by name in a Zionist-published poster.

Libyan Banknotes

Very interesting contrast in the iconography on the two notes. The first, from 1971, traditional (i.e. Orientalist?), the second from 1982, modern (i.e. modernist?).

Ottoman Empire: Coat of Arms

Marjane Satrapi: Persepolis

http://www.myspace.com/persepolislefilm

Iraqi Banknote, 1986

http://www.banknoteexpress.com

Nahr al Barid Refugee Camp, 1952

http://www.palestineremembered.com

Tom Segev: 1967: Israel, the War, and the Year that Transformed the Middle East

Amazon UK
Amazon US

Palestine: The Exodus and the Odyssey - Ismail and Tamam Shammout

http://www.shammout.com/palestine/index.htm

Tamam al-Akhal [Palestine] Hebron Glass

http://www.shammout.com/bio-tam.htm

Occidentalism 2007 - Egypt

Twenty artists from Egypt have been commissioned by Karim Francis to create works of art surrounding the theme of Occidentalism, driven by the question How do you see the West?
Stemming from regular meetings and discussions on the subject that began in April 2006, Occidentalism is a body of contemporary Egyptian art first exhibited in Cairo in May 2007, accompanied by open forums with participating artists, evenings of music and a panel discussion.
As of 2008, the exhibition will travel to various museums of international cities .

http://www.occidentalism2007.com

Ismail Shammout [Palestine]: Tell Al-Zaater 1976, Yet Prowd

http://www.shammout.com/

Ismail Shammout [Palestine, 1930-2006]:

The Wall



Under Occupation



http://www.shammout.com

Souad Massi [Algeria]: Yemma

Souad Massi [Algeria]: Ilham

Yasmin Levy [Israel]: La Alegria

http://www.myspace.com/yasminlevy

Iman Maleki [Iran]

Memory of that House



Omens of Hafez



http://www.imanmaleki.com/

Laila Shawa [Palestine]: Impossible Dreams

She is also concerned that Islamic societies in the Middle East achieve a balance in their relationship with their traditions and with the modern world - her painting "Impossible Dream" is an attempt to use humour to highlight the dilemma.

Sayed Mohamed Sayed [Egypt]: Siwa Oasis

For more on Sayed Mohamed Sayed click here

Jerusalem

Palestinian Cartoon: Nakba

Palestinian Cartoon: Nakba

On right: "Nakba of 1948." On left: "Nakba of 2007."

Above and underneath rifle on left: "[Security] Anarchy" and "Internal Fighting."

Source: Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Palestinian Authority, May 15, 2007

Falluja: Masked Iraqi policemen

Falluja: Masked Iraqi policemen

Fallujah, IRAQ: Masked Iraqi policemen prepare to escort the mayor of Fallujah during a visit to a school with the support of US Marines in the restive city of Fallujah, 50 kms (30 miles) west of Baghdad, 16 May 2007.

Amer Shomali: Ramallah Underground

Amer Shomali: Ramallah Underground

Lassaad Metoui

Lassaad Metoui

Hassan Massoudy

Hassan Massoudy

"I follow the religion of Love: whatever way Love's camels take, that is my religion and my faith." ibn al Arabi

Zaha Hadid’s design for a performing arts center for an island in Abu Dhabi

Zaha Hadid’s design for a performing arts center for an island in Abu Dhabi.

Samia Gamal Egyptian Bellydancer

Tahia Cairoka

Iraqi Self Expression

These pictures are not of the wall in Ahdhamia. According to a reputable source: “These concrete walls are on Al-Sa’doon street, and they are there to protect a hotel called “Baghdad Hotel” which was a building for the CIA and then a residence for the members of the Iraq Governing Councel in 2003.” (Thanks, Ahmed!) I am still leaving Zaid’s words because I think his point about the wall in Ahdhamia is important and his excitement about the art is still valid and very real.

Baghdad Wall

Baghdad Wall,

An Iraqi woman walks past a three-mile-long concrete wall around Baghdad's Sunni enclave of Adhamiyah, April 24, 2007. A similar wall is being constructed in Ghazaliya.
Ali Yussef / AFP / Getty

Mohamed Abla: Nostalgia 25

Mohamed Abla: Nostalgia 25

parviz meshkatian