Top of page

Category: African and Middle Eastern Division (AMED)

Large metal hollow globe on a metal frame with metal orbit trails surrounding it

Celebrating Yiddish American Popular Song

Posted by: Anchi Hoh

(The following is a repost from the Library of Congress Blog.) The Library’s collection of Yiddish American sheet music is an unusual one for the Library of Congress, mostly because of the way it came together: It started not with acquisition of materials that were then cataloged, but with a catalog. Lawrence Marwick retired as head …

Large metal hollow globe on a metal frame with metal orbit trails surrounding it

The Visitor: The Holy Month of Ramadan and Muslim Practice

Posted by: Muhannad Salhi

(The following is a post by Muhannad Salhi, Arab World Specialist, Near East Section, African and Middle Eastern Division.) With Muslims constituting roughly a quarter of the world’s population, almost every nation on earth has become familiar, in one way or another, with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. To Muslims, the month of Ramadan …

Large metal hollow globe on a metal frame with metal orbit trails surrounding it

May 25th, Africa Day

Posted by: Anchi Hoh

(The following is a post by Angel D. Batiste, Area Specialist, African and Middle Eastern Division.) May 25th, Africa Day (originally called African Freedom Day and African Liberation Day) marks the annual commemoration in Africa and around the world of the founding of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 1963. The organization was created …

Large metal hollow globe on a metal frame with metal orbit trails surrounding it

Inquiring Minds: Researching Jewish Cuisine at the Library of Congress

Posted by: Anchi Hoh

(The following is a repost of an interview conducted by Wendi Maloney, Office of Communications. This interview originally appeared on the Library of Congress Blog.) Joan Nathan is the author of 11 cookbooks, including “King Solomon’s Table: A Culinary Exploration of Jewish Cooking from Around the World,” published in April. Her previous cookbook, “Quiches, Kugels …

Large metal hollow globe on a metal frame with metal orbit trails surrounding it

Thinking of May Flowers: Focus on the Ottoman Turkish Collections

Posted by: Anchi Hoh

(The following is a post by Joan Weeks, Head, Near East Section and Turkish Specialist, African and Middle Eastern Division.) With Mother’s Day just around the corner, thoughts of flowers come naturally to people’s minds. Often, they ask what is this flower or where does it originate. If they inquire about the tulip, one of …

Large metal hollow globe on a metal frame with metal orbit trails surrounding it

4 Corners of the World Blog Launches a New Series, “New Videos Monthly”

Posted by: Anchi Hoh

“New Videos Monthly” is a new series that gathers in one place online videos recently made available on the Library’s website of public programs pertaining to the Library’s international collections. A post will be published every month and videos will be listed under each of the four area studies divisions respectively. To kick off the …

Large metal hollow globe on a metal frame with metal orbit trails surrounding it

Gathered Around the Seder Table: Images from the Passover Haggadah

Posted by: Anchi Hoh

(The following is a cross-post by Sharon Horowitz, reference librarian in the Hebraic Section of the African and Middle Eastern Division. It originally appeared on the Library of Congress blog.) Exodus 23:15 tells us that Passover should be celebrated in the spring. The rabbis understood this to mean it was their job to maintain the …