Calliope articles from January 2009

Calliope archives from January 2009

5 memorable Mediterranean sea facts.(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... 1. Covering about 970,000 square miles, the Mediterranean's waters link three continents: Africa, Asia, and Europe. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 2. At its widest point, it measures 990 miles. At the longest point,...

The world is three days: as for yesterday, it has vanished, along with all that was in it.(MUSINGS)(Quotation)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... THE WORLD IS THREE DAYS: AS FOR YESTERDAY, IT HAS VANISHED, ALONG WITH ALL THAT WAS IN IT. AS FOR TOMORROW, YOU MAY NEVER SEE IT. AS FOR TODAY, IT IS YOURS, SO WORK IN IT. --Hassan al-Basri, Persian scholar (A.D. 642-728 or 737)

"When East meets West".(MUSINGS)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... "WHEN EAST MEETS WEST"--a phrase commonly used by historians as well as by politicians, movie producers, and many others. But, what does it mean? Who is East, and who is West? Well, it is all quite relative to where you are, of course. In this...

The legacy begins.(MUSINGS)
January 1, 2009... What is a legacy? It is a valuable gift from the past to the present and the future. But, if we think about it, legacy is really all human knowledge and skill, handed down from one generation to the next through such means as books, teachers,...

Early Baghdad.
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] From market town to cosmopolitan city--such is the story of Baghdad--all within a time span of about 30 years. The tale begins in A.D. 758, when the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur was traveling along the Tigris River in...

Baghdad's 'House of Wisdom'.(Bayt al-Hikma)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Bayt al-Hikma (Arabic for "House of Wisdom") was a highly respected institution of learning. Many accounts date its founding to the caliph al-Ma'mun in the A.D. 800S. According to some historians, it began as a royal...

The jewel of the world: do not talk of the court of Baghdad and its glittering magnificence; do not praise Persia and China and their manifold advantages; for there is no spot on earth like Cordoba.
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] So wrote an author some 1,000 years ago about his hometown of Cordoba, the capital of Islamic Spain. Arab rulers had chosen Cordoba as their capital early in the eighth century A.D. Already a metropolis, Cordoba and...

Ideas that travel many lands.(Arabic technology)
January 1, 2009... Arabic technology was a wonder of the medieval world. As the Roman Empire waned and Greek science and philosophy were forgotten, Arab scholars were writing scientific books and eagerly translating Greek manuscripts into Arabic. Yet, how could...

Word origins.(FUN WITH WORDS)(mattress)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... mattress In the 11th and 12th centuries, a time when European Christians led military expeditions to the Middle East to take Jerusalem from the Muslims, the Europeans learned of the Arabic custom of sleeping on soft, thick cushions laid down on...

Word stories.(FUN WITH WORDS)(apricot)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... apricot Just the word has you thirsting for its cool, sweet taste. The small, yellowish-orange, furry-skinned fruit has been enjoyed around the Mediterranean world since Roman times. In fact, the Romans called it praecoquum, Latin for "early...

Expressions.(FUN WITH WORDS)("gizmo")(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] gizmo While the root of this widely used term is uncertain, an Arabic beginning is quite possible. In Arabic, the phrase shi ismo is used to refer to a gadget. Now, imagine American soldiers stationed in Morocco in...

Magic words.(Arabian Nights collection)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Thousand and One Nights or the Arabian Nights is a story collection filled with flying carpets, genies in lamps, and magic words that open doors. The tales focus on Scheherazade (also spelled Shahrazad), a...

Tracing design elements.(Arabic and Islamic design)
January 1, 2009... For many visitors to the 1851 Great Exhibition in London, the experience was an extraordinary encounter with the "Oriental fantasy" that had been sweeping Europe for years: intricate geometric patterns that seemed to repeat themselves...

Girih puzzle.(ACTIVITY)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The best way to illustrate the girih is to construct the simplest unit cell pattern, what is known as Umm...

The truth about pop music.(Middle Eastern music)
January 1, 2009... Band leader and jazz pianist Duke Ellington once said, "It was a happy day in America when the first unhappy slave was landed on its shores." African Americans turned painful experience into art, from the soulful moan of the blues to the upbeat...

Songs of the troubadours.
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Today's writers often call any singer a troubadour. But, by definition, the word refers specifically to the wandering minstrels of southern Europe from the 11th through 13th centuries. Traveling from castle to castle...

The math connection.(Arabians and mathematics)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Can you do mathematical calculations in your head, without writing anything down? One of the first mathematicians to write down every step he took to solve a problem was an Arab from Damascus, Syria, who lived in the...

The importance of 'nothing'.(Hindu-Arabic numeral system)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... If you wrote the word "year" in English, would it look the same as if you wrote it in Arabic? No, of course not. But what if you wrote the number "2009"? Would that look the same in Arabic? Yes! Although there are many different scripts for...

Fun with shapes.(Arabic geometric designs)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Arab artists used beautiful geometric designs to decorate textiles, buildings, and manuscripts. They were particularly fond of tessellation--repeating geometric patterns in which shapes such as triangles, squares, rectangles, and hexagons fit...

Magic squares.(ACTIVITY)(number grids)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... The Arabs were fascinated by magic squares--number grids in which each row, diagonal, and column add up to the same sum. Can you solve the magic squares below by filling in the empty boxes? HINT: The sum of the numbers in each row, column,...

Rx for the West.(medical treatment history in Arabian countries)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Have you heard the phrase "universal health care"? Think it is a modern idea? Think again! As early as 707, just 75 years after the Prophet Muhammad died, a great hospital was built in the country now known as Syria....

Atlas of Medieval Europe.(BOOKS)(Book review)(Brief review)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Atlas of Medieval Europe by Angus Konstam (Checkmark, 2000, www. FactsOnFile.com) helps readers understand the many forces affecting and changing customs and traditions at this time, a period between the so-called...

Historical Atlas of the Islamic World.(BOOKS)(Book review)(Brief review)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Historical Atlas of the Islamic World by David Nicolle (Checkmark, 2003, www.FactsOnFile.com) offers a fascinating insight into the countries and cultures connected with the spread of Arabic learning and Islam....

Sailing From Byzantium: How a Lost Empire Shaped the World.(BOOKS)(Book review)(Brief review)
January 1, 2009... Sailing From Byzantium: How a Lost Empire Shaped the World by Colin Wells (Delacorte, 2006, www.bantamdell.com) is a great read--and one that is informative as well! Written in novel format, it introduces readers to the Byzantine artists and...

Resources.(OFF THE SHELF)(Recommended readings)
January 1, 2009... CALLIOPE also recommends the magazine Saudi Aramco World (www.saudiaramcoworld.com), published by Saudi Aramco. Its mission is to increase cross-cultural understanding and broaden knowledge of the cultures, history, and geography of the Arab...

Cobblestone resources.(OFF THE SHELF)(Cobblestone Publishing)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Materials that complement this issue's theme, "Arabic Lights: Bright Ideas from the Arab World," and are available from Cobblestone Publishing include: Al-Ma'mun, Callph of baghdad (CAL0002) World of the Ottoman Ruler Suleyman the...

On the net.(Arabic heritage online)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For an excellent overview of Arabic heritage to be found in Portugal, check out: www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200102/ arabian.memories.in.portugal.htm This site has many links to topics related to Arabic...

Ask Calliope.(scarab beetle)(suspension bridges)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [?] Why did Egyptians put a scarab on a mummy's heart? --Ari, Arizona [!] The ancient Egyptians believed that the scarab, and other such amulets or charms, gave them magical protection or power. Those shaped...

"A reason to conquer".(From Our Readers)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2009... EDITOR: Look here each month for submissions from our readers. And, the Muse Calliope looks forward to receiving yours soon! In your article "A Reason to Conquer," in the Julius Caesar issue (December 2006), Caesar craves power, but...

Let's eat, Arab-style.
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] After finishing my sandwich on a simsim-seed bun, and some sabanikh salad, I decided it was time for a cup...

Making sharab laymoon.(ACTIVITY)(lemonade)(Recipe)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Now try some Arab-style Lemonade! YOU NEED: * 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3-4 medium lemons) * 5 tablespoons sugar * 1/4 cup hot water * 1 teaspoon orange-blossom water (found at...

Then and now.(musical robots)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THEN: Members of a musical robot band play their tunes for the regal figure seated at right. The illustration appeared in the Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices, by the 12th-century A.D. Muslim scholar...