Islamic Art and Architecture
As the sun rose over Agra, casting an orange hue on the horizon, I approached the Taj Mahal,…
Arts And Culture
56 articles
Calligraphy
When calligraphy appeared millennia ago, it was an impressive evolution in writing. Ordinary handwriting simply conveys a message,…
The Art of Ebru: Seeking Serenity on the Surface of the Water
Ebru, the art of crafting images and pictures with special paints on the surface of water, originated on…
Do All Roads Lead to Samarkand?
For lust of knowing what should not be known/ We take the Golden Road to Samarkand. [[1]] The…
“Scrap Paper Loves Me”
Scrap paper loves me. I spent my college years in a state after the Soviet Union collapsed where…
Lucid Dreaming: The Power of Being Awake in Your Sleep
Dreams are some of the most odd, and sometimes most uncomfortable, experiences for us. They can sometimes also…
On the Origin of Language
As far as the origin of language is concerned, Abrahamic traditions agree on the fact that language is…
The Orientalists – Part 1
Author’s note: Many of the books and authors mentioned here are well-known. There are dozens more from writers…
Religious Communities and Response to COVID-19: The Case of the Hizmet Movement
This is not the first time that the world is witnessing a pandemic; previous incidents were regional in…
Trying to Understand the Reasons behind Violence
Violence. It surrounds us. It is all over the media. It is so common in our society today…
Subliminal Advertising: Hidden Conveyor of Messages
Advertising is an age-old concept of conveying the messages to the people. In prehistoric days, people used to…
Birds or Humanity?
There is often mixed joy and sorrow when traveling abroad, sometimes discovered in the journeying, sometimes found at…
Mother of Orphans
– Hello grandma, how is everything? – Oh, my dear Seyma, is that you? Since you are calling…
Powering Down the Brain
How excessive cell phone usage can cripple a child’s mental development The scene of a quiet child tapping…
Hizmet Movement: An Exemplary Paradigm of Transnational Civic Engagements
The origins of a seemingly nameless civic-social movement which later became popularly known as the “Gülen Movement” or…