A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Ouch!: A Comment on the Gaza Wall

Ursula Lindsey has a post at The Arabist linking to an article she has published at MERIP on "Egypt's Wall."

She illustrates her post with this (from an original here):


"The high one (or highly-esteemed one) built the High Dam; the low one (or "low-down" one) built the low barrier." (The word for "dam" and for "barrier" are the same in Arabic.)

Ouch.

3 comments:

Abu 'Arqala said...

Interestingly, there is not a single picture of الرئيس
at the dam.

Michael Collins Dunn said...

Abu 'Arqala:

Maybe none with the finished dam, but here he is with Khrushchev at the dedication:

http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/On-this-Day--The-Aswan-High-Dam-Officially-Completed-in-Egypt.html

Abu 'Arqala said...

I believe one of his successors removed each and every one of his pictures from the visitors center at the dam.