Recognized as a classic of Turkish literature, Vesilet’ün Necat, or more commonly known as Mevlid-i Şerif is a long poem commemorating the birth of the Prophet Muhammed written in Turkish in 1409 by Süleyman Çelebi (1351-1422) in Bursa. It is often chanted on special occasions such as the birth of a child or as a commemoration of the dead. Musically, mevlid is a solo form, improvised and unaccompanied, usually performed in conjunction with Koranic chant and informal group singing of devotional songs (ilahi).... Read more about A BILINGUAL MEVLID: Süleyman Çelebi’s masterpiece in Greek and Turkish
Weil Town Hall Belfer Building, Ground floor, Harvard Kennedy School, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge, MA
This book talk is presented by The Middle East Forum, Roger Owen & Sara Roy, co-chairs, and the Middle East Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School.
Samar Yazbek is a Syrian novelist, journalist and author. She has written in a wide variety of genres - novels, short stories, film scripts, television dramas, film and TV criticism, and edited Women of Syria, a feminist e-zine. She has also made a documentary about the Syrian scholar Anton Maqdesi.... Read more about A Woman in the Crossfire: Diaries of the Syrian Revolution