scholarly journals THE LEVANT: ZONE OF CULTURE OR CONFLICT?

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 200
Author(s):  
Samir El-Youssef
Keyword(s):  
Refugee Camp ◽  
Port City ◽  
The People ◽  
Ancient City ◽  
Palestinian Refugee ◽  
Great Culture

Palestinian novelist Samir El-Youssef writes that the question in the title of this essay, “is the Levant a zone of conflict or culture?” is an ironic one indeed. Anyone with a token knowledge of the Levant, argues El-Youssef, knows that these lands are of both conflict and culture; the problem dwells in the fact that the people of the Levant need to be reminded that theirs is a land of great culture that deserves recognition and valorization as such. The author was born and brought up in Rashidiyyé—a Palestinian refugee camp in Southern Lebanon. Rashidiyyé, writes El-Youssef, was and still is as bad as a refugee camp could get. Yet, a mere fifteen minutes walk from the camp stood the ancient Phoenician port-city of Tyr; a harbour town housing the awesome vestiges of one of the greatest, most pacifist, most benevolent builders of civilization.  El-Youssef concludes that "the refugee camp (in its indigence,) and the ancient city (in all its glory,) standing side by side, are a stark example of the Levant being both a land of conflict and culture."

Myra

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clyde E. Fant ◽  
Mitchell G. Reddish
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Coast ◽  
Port City ◽  
Ancient History ◽  
Road Signs ◽  
Santa Claus ◽  
The People ◽  
Ancient City ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The City ◽  
The Town

At one time one of the most important cities in Lycia, Myra almost has passed into obscurity. In addition to some interesting tombs and a theater, the most enduring legacy of ancient Myra is the tradition that developed around its most famous resident and bishop, St. Nicholas, who was the historical person behind the legend of Santa Claus. Popular etymology explained the name of the city as being derived from the Greek word for myrrh, an aromatic spice, but this is unlikely. Myra was a city in the Lycian region of Anatolia, along the Mediterranean coast approximately 85 miles southeast of modern Antalya. The ruins of ancient Myra lie about a mile north of Demre (or Kale), a small town along highway 400, the coastal road. Signs in the town point the way to Myra. The ancient city was considered a port city, even though it was about 3.5 miles from the coast. Its port was actually Andriace, but the name Myra often included the city proper and its port at Andriace. Thus, for example, when Acts 27:5 states that the ship carrying Paul landed at Myra, the actual port would likely have been Andriace. Whether Paul and the others with him went to Myra after disembarking from the ship is not known. The Myrus, or Andracus, River (Demre Çayï) flowed past the city on its way to the Mediterranean. Settled probably as early as the 5th century B.C.E., Myra became one of the leading cities of the Lycian League by the 2nd century B.C.E. Myra was one of the six most important members of the league, which consisted of twenty-three cities. As such, it was entitled to three votes in the league (the maximum allowed). In spite of its importance, the city does not seem to have played a major role in ancient history. During Roman times the city apparently enjoyed good relations with Rome. Augustus (and after him, Tiberius as well) was honored by the people of Myra by their bestowing on him the title of “imperator of land and sea, benefactor and savior of the whole universe.”

scholarly journals In/distinction On Yasmine Eid-Sabbagh’s A Photographic Conversation from Burj al-Shamali Camp

1970 ◽  
pp. 39-47
Author(s):  
Daniel Berndt
Keyword(s):  
Refugee Camp ◽  
Time Span ◽  
Palestinian Refugee ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Historical Photographs

As the “abbreviation that telescopes history into a moment” Cadava, 1992, p. 101),photography “is always related to something other than itself” (Cadava, 1992, p. 100).But rather than being material evidences that speak for themselves, photographs aremore like “silent witnesses” in relation to this “other”, and to the reality that definesthe context of their production and reception. By listening to various voices andstories around and about images, Yasmine Eid-Sabbagh’s A Photographic Conversationfrom Burj al-Shamali Camp (2001–present) — a multi-layered project developed overthe time span of more than 10 years — is trying to get photographs ‘to speak’ aboutthis reality, in this case that of Burj al-Shamali, a Palestinian refugee camp in theSouth of Lebanon. Combining archival, historical, and anthropological practices,as well as a variety of artistic forms of expression — from publications and curatedexhibitions with a group of adolescents to Eid-Sabbagh’s most recent performancesand lectures that include a sporadic display of videos and historical photographs this project is primarily a tribute to the individual, in that it is the individual’s actionsand convictions that contribute to the formation of a meaningful community. At thesame time, it examines socio-political circumstances and dynamics while cherishingintimacy and personal recollections.

scholarly journals Decolonial {R}evolution: Petrocracy and Geological Modernity from Detroit to Palestine and Back

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 322-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Mirzoeff
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Refugee Camp ◽  
Anthropogenic Climate Change ◽  
Site Conditions ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Palestinian Refugee

This article explores what Grace Lee Boggs called {r}evolution—the horizontal construction of autonomous power from below by multiple subjects—in the context of anthropogenic climate change. This is a decolonial uprising from Haiti to Detroit against petrocracy, or the mutually reinforcing rule of fossil fuels and monotheism. I pursue a decolonial reading of the Holocene/Anthropocene geological epochs through an anarchaeological, visual, and discourse analysis of the excavations at Tell-es-Sultan, asserted to be the site of the biblical Jericho, to reconsider the “human.” The article interacts present-day, on-site conditions at the Palestinian refugee camp ‘Ein-as-Sultan with Kathleen Kenyon’s famous excavations (1952–1958), her discoveries and the museology associated with them, and the geopolitical and religious claims made for the site. I conclude by analyzing how “Detroit” is becoming the floating name for the non-continuous spaces of the displaced world, where displacement, drought, and counterinsurgency intermingle to deadly effect.

Violence in the ‘Ayn al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, 2007–2009

2016 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 861-874 ◽  
Author(s):  
Royce A Hutson ◽  
Harry Shannon ◽  
Taylor Long
Keyword(s):  
Refugee Camp ◽  
Palestinian Refugee

scholarly journals The Emergence of the Campaign to Open Up the West: Ideological Formation, Central Decision-making and the Role of the Provinces

2004 ◽  
Vol 178 ◽  
pp. 335-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heike Holbig
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Western Region ◽  
The West ◽  
The People ◽  
Ancient City ◽  
Amorphous Nature ◽  
The Western Region ◽  
Party State ◽  
Great Development

This article examines the formation of the Open Up the West policy from the 1980s to the present. Focusing on the dynamic interaction between central party-state and provincial-level players, it analyses the various ideological and pragmatic factors that have shaped the policy over time. The campaign to Open Up the West is decribed as a “soft policy” to highlight a very diffuse decision-making process which has produced a highly diverse set of agendas and instruments. Due to the amorphous nature of the policy, the article finds, its realization depends to a great extent on the specific interpretations and arrangements of the provincial jurisdictions involved.In June 1999 in the ancient city of Xi'an, Comrade Jiang Zemin made the appeal to the whole party and the people of the whole country on the great development of the western region. Three years have gone by, and the roads have become passable, the lights have become lit, the mountains have become green, the rivers have become clear and the travelling traders have become abundant. One after another, wonderful stories about the homeland of the western region have been circulated and sung.

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