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Calligraffiti artist transforms the streets and alleyways of Gaza

GAZA - Under the scorching sun, calligraffiti artist Yazeed al-Talaa picks up a brush with his right hand and begins to paint. Using a vigorous arcing action from side to side, his brush moves across the rough surface of a wall. Passers-by stare at him wondering what he is doing to this wall in the middle of Gaza City, but Talaa knows exactly what he is doing. Three hours later the work is complete.

By integrating the beauty of Arabic letters with the modern art of graffiti, Talaa was able to convert a very old wall into a stunning work of art. 

Baghdad's lord of the dance keeps troupe alive through war and chaos

BAGHDAD - A drumroll cuts through the chatter of attendees at an oil ministry event in Baghdad.

A darkened stage is flooded with light and the smiling dancers of Iraq’s National Folk Dance Troupe appear in a whirling, swirling mass of colour, performing with seamless coordination only achievable through hours of training.

The audience cheer, clap and fumble for mobile phones to photograph this unexpected delight engulfing their senses.

Portraits in coffee: Jordanian artist draws life from the cup

AMMAN - Ahmed al-Quraan was enjoying his morning cup of Turkish coffee in his office in 2017 when his eyes drifted towards his photo displayed on his business card. At the time, he was a supervisor of art at the Arab Open University in Kuwait.

"I decided to play around with coffee. I took my Arabic calligraphy pen and began drawing my own portrait," the 45-year-old Jordanian artist tells Middle East Eye.

Coptic Christian football academy fights against discrimination in Egypt

ALEXANDRIA - Mina Bindari, 23, never misses weekly practice with the players of Je Suis, a football academy which he claims is the first for Coptic Christians in Egypt.

Every Saturday from 8pm until midnight, Bindari coaches about 150 footballers of various ages at the Alex Sports Stadium, a football field in Alexandria's Victoria area that is commonly rented by sports enthusiasts.

'A gunshot, a speech, a whisper': The art detectives exposing Middle East crimes

Some eyebrows were raised with the announcement of the Turner Prize shortlist earlier this year. Known for showcasing the most cutting edge of British visual art, the awards committee made a daring move by nominating a piece by the collective Forensic Architecture.

Palestinian prisoners' craft of love: 'Embroidery is not just for women'

RAMALLAH, West Bank – After finding himself in an Israeli jail at the age of 17, Karam Maloukh picked up a skill that he might have never gained if he hadn't been imprisoned.

During his three years behind bars, the curious Palestinian teen learned the language of threads, beads and embroidery.

While the pastime of stitching and embroidery is traditionally associated in the region with women, Maloukh, who was incarcerated between 2004 and 2007, discovered a common practice he did not expect to find in a cell full of men. 

'We are people of the sea': Syria's last wooden-boat builders

ARWAD, Syria - Outside a battered workshop calf-deep in wood-shavings, Farouk Bahlowan shapes a brass ship propeller, leaning close into the angle grinder to make the smallest adjustments.

Every few minutes, he pauses to spin the metal, squinting to see where the propeller will eventually stop. When the blade scrawled with the number three stops exactly where it started, the propeller is perfectly balanced and ready to be fitted to one of his boats.

The Choose Love pop-up shop in London where you can buy gifts for refugees

Submitted by Arij Limam on

It's not often that you go into a shop in one of London’s busiest shopping districts, spend your money and yet leave with nothing. But this pop-up shop wants you to do just that. “Shop your heart out, leave with nothing, feel the love” reads their slogan.  

The Choose Love shop, run by the charity Help Refugees, claims to be the world’s first store where you can personally buy gifts for refugees. It has attracted support from well-known figures including the leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn and London mayor, Sadiq Khan.

Caring for Gaza's stray cats 'with all the money we had left'

GAZA STRIP – On a rooftop in the al-Shati refugee camp in northwestern Gaza city, three sisters are sitting among the 35 cats they rescued from the streets of Gaza. 

Mariam, Raesa, and Elham al-Barr turned their three respective houses into cat shelters, caring for stray cats and small kittens from their neighbourhood by providing them with food and medical care.

Mariam, the youngest of the three sisters, still lives with her parents in the al-Zaitoun neighbourhood of eastern Gaza city. The 29-year-old is fostering eight cats she rescued.

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