(The following is a repost by Peter Armenti, reference librarian in the Research and Reference Services Division. The post originally appeared on the From the Catbird Seat Blog.) The Library of Congress receives hundreds of questions each year from people seeking help identifying the full text and authors of poems they read years—if not decades—ago. …
(The following post is by Ann Brener, Hebraic area specialist in the Library’s African and Middle Eastern Division.) The year is 1547; the place a synagogue in Constantinople, crossroads of Europe and Asia and capital of the burgeoning Ottoman Empire. Constantinople in this period is a vibrant, bustling metropolis, newly revitalized by the conquests of …
(The following is a post by Eve M. Ferguson, Reference Librarian for East Africa, African and Middle Eastern Division.) The name “Zanzibar” often conjures up visions of exotic landscapes populated by Arabian princesses and sultans, palaces by the sea and a vigorous trade of spices, gold and ivory. But for centuries, trade across the Indian …
(The following is a post by Sharon Horowitz, reference librarian in the Hebraic Section of the African and Middle Eastern Division.) Micrography is minute script written into abstract patterns or formed into figurative designs such as the shape of animals, flowers or human figures. This is a Jewish form of embellishment of Biblical texts, developed …
(The following is a post by Hirad Dinavari, Reference Specialist, African and Middle Eastern Division.) Each year, the Library of Congress’ African and Middle Eastern Division (AMED) holds an all-day symposium focusing on an ancient Near East city or civilization. For the 2017 symposium, AMED’s Near East Section organized a one day seminar on the …
The Library of Congress was founded in 1800 as Congress’s library, but through the decades it became the de facto National Library of the United States and, ultimately, the largest library in the world. Those of us, however, who deal with foreign languages and scripts in this wonderful institution delight in pointing out that some …
(The following is a post by Muhannad Salhi, Arab World Specialist, African and Middle Eastern Division.) An unparalleled monument to the ageless art of story-telling, the tales of the One Thousand and One Nights have, for many centuries, titillated the imaginations of generations the world over. Perhaps one of the greatest Arabic, Middle Eastern, and …
(The following post is by Ann Brener, Hebraic area specialist in the Library’s African and Middle Eastern Division.) Philadelphia, look out! You may be the official “City of Brotherly Love,” but Ouargla, a town deep in the Algerian desert, is about to give you a run for the money. And all because of a book: …
(The following is a post by Mary-Jane Deeb, Chief of the African and Middle Eastern Division.) Of all the tales of “The Arabian Nights,” or the “Thousand and One Nights” those of the seven voyages of Sindbad the Sailor are perhaps the most familiar to people around the world. There have been numerous films made …
