The thick fumes of gasoline swirled with the smell of deep-fried food. A wild, boisterous and seemingly endless racket comprised of beeping cars and zooming scooters, the shrill voices of scolding mothers, lofty claims from overzealous salesmen and the sweet sounds of Um Kulthoum and Abdulwahab singing love songs from yesteryear. Never before have I…
Culture
Saying goodbye
Home. What an odd concept, right? After all, how do you define home – is it the place where you’re born? Is it the country your parents hail from? Is the place where you’ve spent the largest number of cumulative years? The geographic location tied to your earliest memories? Can I tell where your home…
Family and The Middle Eastern Vegan: How to Deal
If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last five years of my journey its that the struggles vegans and vegetarians face are for the most part universal. That said, I think there is a case to be made that Arab and Middle Eastern cultures are not exactly the most accepting when it comes to vegan…
Third Culture, and Then Some
Greetings dear readers, from the hallowed lands on which this blog was in fact originally founded (fun fact); Egypt. As I write these words I am halfway into my first visit back in just over three years. This post comes as a result of the inner struggle and range of emotions I’ve experienced since being…
Sacrifice and Islam – weighing in from a vegan perspective
Edit: all comments have been disabled on this post. Upon learning of my veganism, skeptics (particularly those who are more religiously inclined) have been known to ask about my stance on the idea and consequent practice of sacrifice in Islam. I’ve touched on this subject in particular before, but recently an event took place that…