Category Archives: Anthropocene Diary

“The burka is wrong but so is banning it” On 4 April 2011, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown wrote this fascinating article, Sixteen reasons why I object to this dangerous cover-up.

How close so many of us feel to you who live in the ancient desert lands…. I hope you in Libya feel our concern, our sleepnessness, our vigils this night when you sent bright fireworks into the night skies of … Continue reading →

Every day brings us closer to some terrifying dramatic climax, between events in Libya, Bahrain and Yemen and the nuclear disaster follow-up from Japan’s earthquake and tsunami. As if they were being orchestrated from deep out in space by a … Continue reading →

We sit in our living rooms, waiting for the world to help free Libya from a monstrous dictatorship. We watch and wonder when the world will act as one. This time it’s different, each liberation is bound to be different. … Continue reading →

Lucie Duff Gordon’s Letters from Egypt (1st edition, 1865) reveal a woman in love with her adopted country, an Egypt that has changed in many ways since the 1860’s when she was writing to her husband Alick (Sir Alexander Duff … Continue reading →

Harem Years: The Memoirs of an Egyptian Feminist (translated and introduced by Margot Badran)  offers a fascinating and inspiring window into Egypt’s revolutionary past. I determined that my first post following the extraordinary events over the past 18-20 days had … Continue reading →

Well, it’s happening, Isis and Allah Willing…fingers crossed… I sit on the edge of our red sofa watching live continuous coverage of the Egyptian Peoples’ Revolution on the Al Jezeera Channel, the best coverage to date (naturally). France24 is rather … Continue reading →

Felucca-time is old Egyptian time. The felucca is the traditional Mediterranean wooden sailing boat. Going by felucca to the Temple of Philae (relocated from its original site due to dam changes) near Aswan brought it home to me. The patched … Continue reading →