Ayoon wa Azan (Two books and a magazine)

Two books and a magazine. "A History of the World in Twelve Maps" was written by Professor Jerry Brotton, a professor of (European) Renaissance Studies at the University of London. It is a significant, beautiful and useful book. I ordered it in the knowledge that it would go beyond my limited knowledge of the world of maps and cartography. I expected that it would include the noted Sharif al-Idrisi, and it did not disappoint. There are pages about him, and other Arab scholars, once again leaving me to think, "Where were we, and where do we stand today." Ptolemy was one of the leaders in the field. He identified around 8,000 known points around the world. Then came al-Khawarizmi, who reduced the latitude of the Mediterranean Sea from the 62 of Ptolemy to 52; he was followed by the Andalusian Ibrahim bin Yahya al-Zarqali, who used an astrolabe and adjusted the Mediterranean to 42, which is correct. Al-Idrisi traveled the known world of his day and settled with Roger II, the King of Sicily, an enlightened figure who tasked the Arab scholar with creating maps of the world. Al-Idrisi explained points of latitude and longitude in The Book of Demarcation; he wrote the book "A Journey by One Longing to Pierce the Horizons," which was a compendium of maps, and known as the "Book of Roger." It contains 71 full or partial maps of the world and clearly shows the Mediterranean upside-down, compared to how we see it today. I hope that those readers who can, will read this book, as well as ask for an older article on the same subject, published by Aramco World in its July-August edition of 2009. From one book to another. Is Hind Khleifat the funniest woman in Jordan? I cannot say this with certainty, but she is very funny. Her book "Women ½ Com" treats the important and serious issues of Jordanian and Arab women, but in a funny way, making the acceptance of these presumed Bedouin ideas possible. Hind is an author and an essayist and is on television. In her book, she talks about her Bedouin genes, Bedouin temperament, Bedouin headstrong impulsiveness, and the Bedouin conception of time. She wants to change her life, to become a typical cultured person who attends exhibitions and visits galleries. In the end, she asks, "Who will rid me of this Bedouin-ness?" I do not believe that she wants to be rid of it, and I think it unlikely that she could, if she tried. Her articles reflect a person of wide learning and knowledge about the ways of the world. We see her Bedouin side when she advises her fellow women about how to deal with men: love him like the love of two women married to the same man; forget him, just like you forget to sprinkle salt on the food; keep him busy by having children; and clean out his pockets before his heart, all the time. Hind Khleifat is bold in her language and moves easily from formal to Jordanian Bedouin colloquial. She says that the prayers of women about their husbands go unanswered because they are not from the heart, but are rather a "letting off of steam," as I understood it, and she cites a number of colorful examples (…). However, in another article she treats men fairly and admits that behind every man in debt is a woman, behind every man who has had a stroke is a woman, and behind all crazy men are a tribe of women. Her bold language means that readers encounter an article entitled "Skype, o tears of my eyes, Skype," about two Australians who were stuck at an airport, so they got married via Skype, in the presence of their friends thousands of miles away. She imagines two Jordanians facing the same situation, with miles-long frowns. The bride would curse herluck and say "I knew it was going to be like this," while the groom says, "it's all because of you." " Women ½ Com" is an amusing book and reading it takes away one's troubles. I would also like to celebrate the one-year anniversary of al-Hasad magazine in London. It is a political-cultural monthly edited by my colleague Hafez Mahfouz. I thank him because he did not consult me before undertaking his adventure, because I would have certainly told him to abandon it. We sell news in a glutted market and there are huge advertising pressures, making the opening of a falafel and shisha place a logical, economic project by comparison. I will say only that al-Hasad is professional and objective. I hope that readers would have read, like me, the analysis of Maan Bashour, the head of the Arab International Center for Communication and Solidarity, on how pan-Arabists have dealt with the rise of Islamists, or "The Arab Gulf: Security Fears," by my colleague Mohammed Qawas. I was personally happy, because of my study of literature, to read an article about the "Centennial of Said Aql, A Gathering of Poetry, Music and Words in a salute to the poet of Lebanon." Al-Hasad is a compensation for us all for the Arabic-language magazines that have filled our eyes and ears once, only to disappear. Now the space has been filled by a new entry. --- The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arabstoday.