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#middleeast
review
Bookwomble
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Pickpick

I loved this little book of travellers tales by Arabic (specifically, a Baghdadi of the Abbasid Empire from what is now Iraq, written while he was living in Egypt in 947CE) writer, Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Mas'udi.
His accounts of Persian, Greek, Egyptian, East African,Indian, Central Asian, Chinese, Malaysian, Cambodian, etc. life and cultural practices are fascinating, and there are hints of knowledge of the Americas and Japan, all 👇

Bookwomble ... told in an easy, conversational style.
Mas'üdī mentions his Islamic faith and culture, while respecting the faith and cultures of the peoples he meets. He reports hearsay at times, clarifying where he has no evidence, and occasionally commenting on things that seem probable exaggerations or fiction.
I particularly enjoyed his accounts of treasure hunting and excavation of the antiquities of Egypt, and his story of the foolish king of 👇
2d
Bookwomble ... Cambodia and the wise Maharaja of Malaysia. All packed into 120 pages, distilled from seven volumes in the original. 2d
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Bookwomble
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al-Mus'ādī is describing some of the wonders of Egypt, including the excavation of a temple lost beneath the desert sands. Uncovering stairs leading to the entrance, a rash man sets foot on the fourth step, triggering two swords to spring out of the walls & slice him to pieces, one of which rolls onto another trigger-step, causing the whole edifice to collapse, burying 2000 people!
I love that Indy's Tomb Raiding has such a venerable lineage! 😃

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quote
Bookwomble
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"... all traces of science have vanished and its splendour is spent; learning has become too general and has lost its depth, and one no longer sees any but people filled with vanity and ignorance, imperfect scholars who are content with superficial ideas and do not recognise the truth."

Written in 947 CE, presumably al-Mas'ūdī had the gift of precognition? Either that, or human nature is constant over the millennia, which is either ? or ?

Bookwomble No excuse needed to also quote the wonderful Carl Sagan. I love the commonality of observation and thought expressed by two people separated by a thousand years and half a planet ❤️ 3d
dabbe 👊🏻❣️👊🏻 3d
GingerAntics Sadly, it‘s only getting worse. Some Americans are openly embracing this dumbing down, and are calling it devotion to their god. 🙄 3d
Bookwomble @GingerAntics Strange that they proclaim the Light while embracing the Dark! 2d
GingerAntics @Bookwomble a thought I have had more times than I care to count. I think their “light” is different from the rest of us. 2d
36 likes5 comments
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Bookwomble
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"We beg our readers' indulgence for any mistakes or negligence which they find in this book; for our memory is weakened and it strength spent as a result of the great weariness brought about by voyages which have taken us by sea from one country to another and by land across extensive desert."
Opening line of a short selection of entries from Baghdad-born Mas'üdī's lengthy account of his 10th C. CE travels.

#FirstLineFridays @shybookowl

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Lesliereadsalot
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1.Once a year paczkis. Mine are fresh peach, fresh strawberry and lemon crème.
2.Drove up to Lake Geneva for the amazing orange duck at Mars.
3.Lung doctor said I had the healthiest sounding lungs he‘d heard all week and not to come back for a year.
4.One queen bee.
5.Breakfast with two best friends at IHOP where we went so I could get their stuffed French toast, but it‘s gone! BOO! And I should‘ve taken a pic ⬇️

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii

Lesliereadsalot of the veggie egg white omelette which was so tiny we all cracked up laughing 😂 2w
Bookwormjillk I have my yearly paczki for my coffee break today. Enjoy! 2w
Lesliereadsalot What flavor did you get? @Bookwormjillk 2w
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Bookwormjillk @Lesliereadsalot bavarian creme- I prefer raspberry but they're not always easy to find around here so I take what I can get! 2w
peaKnit Oh my gosh, we were just talking about Fat Tuesday yesterday and Paczkis! Where are you that you have these yummy favors? 2w
AmyG Hahahaha….you went to Mars? 2w
Lesliereadsalot Only took an hour fifteen to get there! @AmyG 2w
Lesliereadsalot Northwest suburbs of Chicago. They truly have the best ones there, but they‘re available at lots of bakeries all around. Google Sweet T‘s Bakery to see the list of amazing flavors, one week only. @peaKnit 2w
Lesliereadsalot I like bavarian crème too! Honestly, I could get one of every flavor and be happy! @Bookwormjillk 2w
Bookwormjillk @Lesliereadsalot we used to get an amazing variety when we lived near Cleveland. Now in Virginia not so much but I'm happy when I see them. 2w
julieclair I have never heard of paczkis, but they look like an annual tradition I would enjoy! 😉 2w
Deblovestoread What @julieclair said! Yum! 2w
dabbe 🩶💚🩶, esp. #3! 😘 2w
Lesliereadsalot Thanks. I like a good report from the doctor! 🩷🩷🩷 @dabbe 2w
peaKnit Northwest of Chicago? I will google that bakery. I‘m about two hours away in WI and big Cub fan:) Thank you! Pilgrimage planning! (edited) 1w
Lesliereadsalot I used to be a season ticket holder at Wrigley, grew up going to baseball games with my dad. If you make it to Arlington Heights, get the fancy ones with whipped cream! @peaKnit 1w
peaKnit Will do! I‘m going to make a trip asap! Thanks! 1w
Bookwomble 🩷🫁🩷 6d
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TheBookgeekFrau
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Eggs 🩶💛💙 2mo
40 likes1 comment
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Chittavrtti
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TheBookgeekFrau
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The 12 Days of Christmas

November favorite

#12BooksOf2024

Andrew65 An interesting read. 2mo
TheBookgeekFrau @Andrew65 Very! This ended up being my favorite of the year 2mo
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review
Bashiyer
Pickpick

Wow. Incredibly raw and well-written piece reflecting on the landscape of journalism: how and why things become news, the conveyor belt of stories, and where we as correspondents, editors, and readers fall short.

review
TheBookgeekFrau
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Pickpick

There was a lot of info here. Luckily, Goldberg writes in a very engaging, witty, and humorous way; other wise it would've read like a dry history text. The individual POVs from each side were interesting and enlightening and sometimes frustrating. Overall, a very worthy read.

This completed a second bingo for the month; yayyy!

79/62

#BookSpinBingo #MountTBR #ReadAway2024

DieAReader Excellent!🎉🎉 4mo
TheAromaofBooks Great review!! 4mo
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Andrew65 Excellent 👏👏👏 4mo
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