Hey there,

A couple of weeks ago, we reflected on an Egyptian poem titled ‘Tea with Milk’, and this time, we reflect on oranges. For Egyptian poets, food and drink are as much a part of the human story as anything else, even love.

Iman Mersal's "Oranges" (published as part of These Are Not Oranges, My Love) uses oranges as a metaphor for what it means to lose the sweetness of life, or perhaps more precisely, to lose the ability to recognize sweetness even in the midst of hardship. "I think the world has ended and our teeth can no longer chew on such hard things," she writes.

So instead of peeling and eating the oranges, instead of tasting what they hold, they simply play with them and use the oranges as pool balls.

The oranges become a symbol of what humans often do when they lose the ability to recognize the ordinary sweetness of life. Maybe all it takes is peeling the orange, looking beyond its hardened shell, and allowing ourselves to taste it, to rediscover its true sweetness, rather than transforming it into a system or a game. Life isn’t something that has to be won or played.

Best,
Mirna Abdulaal

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Most guidebooks simply tell you where to go, followed by a brief, charming paragraph about a place’s history and why it deserves a visit. But few attempt to truly bring a city to life, to help you form a connection with its past, its character, and the stories that shaped it.

Visiting Salem in the United States without knowing its ties to witchcraft and folklore would mean missing a part of what gives the city its identity. Likewise, visiting Vatican City without understanding the spirit and history of the Catholic Church would leave you experiencing only its surface.

Edward Forster’s Alexandria: A History and Guide (1922) does something different. He writes about the city as though he is falling in love with a person, not just recounting its history, but discovering its personality, its memories, and the forces that shaped it into what it is today. Most beautifully, he explores how Alexandria has been seen and felt by those who loved it: the writers, poets, and thinkers who found inspiration in its streets, shores, and character.

Read the article here.

There are some poems that initially leave us with a sense of unease because they contain so many emotions, images, metaphors, and symbols all at once. Reading them can feel like stepping into the poet's inner world and experiencing their emotions as they unfold, rather than having their meaning presented neatly before us. This is the kind of approach Iman Mersal takes in her poem, Oranges, from the collection These Are Not Oranges, My Love (2008). The poem unfolds and reads like a dream. Because it feels almost otherworldly, the oranges are never simply eaten; they are played with instead. Ordinary objects lose their familiar purpose, and life becomes so strange that the poet no longer seems to recognize what these oranges are, how they taste, or even what one is supposed to do with them.

Read more here.

Can a single neighborhood, almost overnight, become a symbol of division between Christians and Muslims who once lived side by side in harmony?

For Beirut, the answer was yes. War and sectarian conflict can redraw the boundaries of everyday life in a single night.

West Beirut is a window into the realities of the Lebanese Civil War and the divisions that shaped everyday life. Through the eyes of three teenagers, the film captures how the Muslim-Christian divide transformed Beirut almost overnight, turning familiar neighborhoods into separated worlds while highlighting the resilience, humor, and humanity that persisted despite the conflict.

Watch it here.

Skip the restaurants this weekend and treat yourself to something homemade instead. Sometimes the best bites don't come from a big kitchen. They come from passionate small businesses making everything with care. We came across this cozy little cinnamon roll business, and the reviews have been nothing but amazing. If you're craving something warm, soft, and comforting to enjoy while watching your favorite movie, this might just be your perfect weekend treat.

Find out more here.

If you're heading to the North Coast next weekend, make sure this one's on your plans. There's nothing quite like a Cairokee concert, and with Disco Misr on the lineup, you already know it's going to be a night full of singing, dancing, and great vibes. Together, they've helped shape the sound of a new generation in Egypt, each in their own way, making this a lineup you don't get to experience every day. Round up your friends, enjoy the summer breeze, and get ready for a night you'll be talking about long after it's over.

Find out more here.

Inside the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Arts Hall in Riyadh, forty artworks are asking the same underlying question, phrased differently by more than thirty artists. What does it mean to know something? What role does art play in producing knowledge, rather than simply representing it? The exhibition is called Ways of Knowing: Art as Interdisciplinary Research, and it forms the fourth edition of the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Arts Hall Exhibition: Summer 2026, organised by the Misk Art Institute. It opened on July 1 and runs until August 1, giving visitors just under two weeks left to catch it. The exhibition is part of the wider Saudi Summer program and is one of the strongest examples of what contemporary Saudi curation has become capable of over the last five years.

Read more here.