Showing 1 - 10 of 16
One day in Istanbul
Life, Pattarawadee Saengmanee, Published on 10/10/2024
» When our business-class flight touched down in Istanbul at first light, we awoke to a pleasant welcome of cool weather. Unexpectedly, we learned that many of our travel companions were visiting Turkey for the first time and that Thai travellers are exempt from visa requirements.
Decoding the past
Life, Pattarawadee Saengmanee, Published on 02/05/2024
» Just as how hieroglyphics on pyramid walls indicate a pictorial writing system in ancient Egypt and how the cuneiform led to the evolution of languages in ancient Middle East, the Ram Khamhaeng Inscription underscores the development of the Thai alphabet during the Sukhothai period. At the National Museum Bangkok, visitors now have a chance to view and learn how to read it.
Andalusian dreams
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 15/02/2024
» Two Middle Eastern tourists looked excited as they held up a phone to an exquisitely carved arabesque in Nasrid Palace at the Alhambra. No, they're not taking photos. They're comparing the Arabic text on their screen with the 8th century stone calligraphy. I hear them mumble in Arabic -- here's the translation:
Hijabi 'indie mothers' embraced by Indonesian music fans
AFP, Published on 27/01/2023
» JAKARTA: At a packed festival in central Jakarta, hijab-clad sexagenarian singer Rien Djamain bursts into an upbeat track about nuclear destruction to a crowd of thousands, mostly young Indonesians.
For a better future
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 01/11/2022
» After the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, Hamida and Marsela are happy to be back in school in Thailand. Despite being far from home, they are not only taking interesting lessons but growing up in a safe environment with new friends and teachers.
Inside Afghanistan's secret schools, where girls defy the Taliban
AFP, Published on 09/08/2022
» KABUL: Nafeesa has discovered a great place to hide her schoolbooks from the prying eyes of her disapproving Taliban brother -- the kitchen, where Afghan men rarely venture.
Deep in the paradox
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 25/05/2022
» In Cairo, a religious student at the prestigious Al-Azhar Islamic University is recruited by secret police to infiltrate a Muslim Brotherhood cell. In Mashad, a holy city in Iran, a serial killer prowls a seedy suburb and strangles head-scarfed prostitutes. In the first film, bloodlust officials torture dissidents with abandon. In the second film, religion is evoked and the name of God is cited as a justification for murder. This begs the obvious question: Will Boy From Heaven be banned in Egypt, and Holy Spider Iran?
Continuing the Korean craze
Life, Melalin Mahavongtrakul & Suwitcha Chaiyong, Published on 07/10/2019
» The impact of Koran Wave is undeniable -- it has taken over the world. From entertainment, travel and food to fashion and even medical treatment, aspects of K-culture have seeped into and taken root in our lifestyle almost unknowingly through popular romantic series and catchy music.
Looking for redemption
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 23/05/2019
» Young Ahmed believes he's a true Muslim, one of the few in his Muslim neighbourhood in Belgium. He refuses to shake hands with women, quotes verses from the Koran, berates his mother when she drinks, and condemns Jews and pretty much everyone else as infidels. Fellow Belgian-Muslims who do not subscribe to his imam's rigid interpretation of Islam are branded heretics unworthy of uttering the prophet's name. Young Ahmed, 13, is packed tight on the assembly line of Islamic radicalisation, fired up by a sense of self-righteousness so extreme and narrow that we wonder if it leaves room for something else in him, like love, forgiveness or humanity.
A month of many traditions
Life, Yvonne Bohwongprasert, Published on 21/05/2019
» Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim calendar and the holy month of fasting, is practised by Muslims around the world, including Thailand. Having begun earlier this month, it is a time for Muslims to practise self-restraint, by not just fasting from dawn to dusk from food, drink, sexual activity, impure or unkind thoughts, and more. Ramadan is also a time of reflection.