Originally published on Maidaanam on June 29, 2022. Every book has a story. While we often ignore the physical object to focus on what’s written on its pages, a book
Originally published by Dawn on December 6, 2018. Atop a rocky hill southeast of Tehran sits the shrine of Bibi Shahrbanu, a Persian princess who was the daughter of the last Sassanian
Originally published by Ajam Media Collective on October 22, 2018. Step into any Palestinian shawarma shop and the choice of toppings traverse a mouth-watering array of options: thick tahini-and-parsley bakdoonsiyyeh, crushed shatta peppers
Originally published by Ajam Media Collective on March 21, 2018. Nowruz is an ancient festival marking the arrival of Spring that is celebrated in parts of the Middle East, Central
In Hyderabad, a cosmopolitan culinary culture fights back against the Hindu nationalist current sweeping the nation. A dish of tallava gosht slow frying in peanut oil on a cast-iron tava
Originally published by Ajam Media Collective on March 2, 2016. At the southwestern tip of India in the state of Kerala sits the elegant port city of Kochi, the bustling
Originally published by Ajam Media Collective on April 14, 2015. An Iranian visitor can’t help but notice the Zoroastrian symbols that dominate old Mumbai. In the historic Fort District toward