Culture

Çiğdem Akyols's novel on Germany’s guest workers

Clear-eyed and unsentimental

In her debut novel, Çiğdem Akyol tells the story of a family caught between Germany and Turkey. The journalist offers an unvarnished portrait of the guest-worker generation and their children and sheds light on their ruthless exploitation in Germany.
By Gerrit Wustmann
Jewish composer Brigitte Schiffer

Fleeing the Nazis and thriving in Cairo

Many Jewish musicians fled Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s. Composer Brigitte Schiffer was one of the few who put down roots in Egypt. In this interview, the German music professor Matthias Pasdzierny charts her unusual story.
By Mohammed Magdy
Book “111 Places in Berlin That Teach Us About Islam”

Searching for traces of Muslim life in Berlin

The historic Şehitlik cemetery in Kreuzberg, the queer-friendly Ibn Rushd-Goethe mosque in Moabit, the Muslim community's poetry slam i-Slam: Islam is part of Berlin's history, politics and everyday life.
By Ceyda Nurtsch
Album "Mute" by El Khat

On the edge of anarchy

The Berlin-based Yemenite-Israeli band El Khat use handmade instruments to create a chaotic blend of styles and traditions. Behind the raucous noise, they explore themes of silencing, conflict and displacement.
By Richard Marcus
Taqi Akhlaqi’s book "Versteh einer die Deutschen"

German quirks from an Afghan perspective

Taqi Akhlaqi came to Germany for four months on a scholarship to work on a new novel, where he experienced a range of cultural shocks. He recounts this experience in his highly readable new book “Versteh einer die Deutschen” (Surely someone must understand the Germans).
By Gerrit Wustmann
In memory of Elias Khoury

"Forgetting is a blessing"

A look back at the life, work and enduring political relevance of Lebanese writer, intellectual, and giant of modern Arabic literature Elias Khoury, who passed away on 15 September.
By Nahrain al-Mousawi
Nathan Thrall's book "A Day in the Life of Abed Salama"

What a bus accident can tell us about the occupation

At once empathic and analytic, Nathan Thrall’s “A Day in the Life of Abed Salama” shines a light on life in Palestine under Israeli occupation. Highly recommended.
By يان ألتانر
Short stories by Moussa Abadi

Multi-religious life in the Jewish Quarter of Damascus

Syrian author Moussa Abadi depicts peaceful coexistence in the Jewish Quarter of 1920s Damascus in ‘The Queen and the Calligrapher’. The characters may be quirky and the stories bizarre, but they show us that the Damascus of yesterday could be a model for our own time.
By Gerrit Wustmann
Restoring the IS-destruction of cultural heritage

Key to overcome the past

A decade after Islamic State militants tried to destroy the rich history of Iraq and Syria, the hard work to rebuild the nations' cultural heritage continues. The ancient city of Hatra succumbed to an attack by Islamic State fighters. It’s now being repaired.
By Benjamin Isakhan
30 essays trace a problem that affects society as a whole

Everyday Anti-Semitism in Turkey

What is the origin of anti-Semitic ideologies in politics, media and society in Turkey? And what impact does this have on today's politics? A new book provides answers.
By Gerrit Wustmann
New Choukri translation

The absurdist frame

In Mohamed Choukri's varied and experimental collection "Tales of Tangier" the hyperreal meets the bizarre. The off-kilter stories put forward by the late author seem to be set spinning on their edges, so fast and wild they might just fly off the page
By Marcia Lynx Qualey
The animals of Istanbul – a literary homage

A dog barks, a seagull mews

Istanbul's kings and queens are its seagulls, the cats and dogs in its alleyways, the pigeons on Taksim Square. The city's animals are also an essential component of its literature. A new anthology of short stories by Turkish-language authors offers up a narrative tribute to the city's non-human inhabitants
By Gerrit Wustmann