Sometimes, it is the most unlikely thing that brings back memories. An article that came across my screen the other day caused me to reminisce about many things.

A few weeks ago, a Palestinian violinist trying to cross a West Bank checkpoint was forced to play his violin. The soldier ordered him to "play something sad".You can see the details at the BBC in Israel army forces violin recital and the Haaretz in Israeli soldiers force Palestinian to play violin at West Bank checkpoint.

Researchers of Iberian history often have to consult sources in Arabic and Castillian or Portuguese. Names can be confusing when referencing from one language to the other.

This is a collection of articles on the history of Arabs and Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula. The current language, customs and culture of today's Spain and Portugal is strongly influenced by eight centuries of Muslim rule (92 A.H/711 C.E. to 897 A.H/1492 C.E).These articles explore some aspects of this history and culture.

While some Americans are contemplating moving to Canada, a few US soldiers have already fled north to Canada, and are seeking political asylum here. During the Vietnam war, many US citizens fled to Canada in order to avoid the forced draft there. These are called "draft dodgers" in Canada, and have integrated well. You cannot even tell they were American.Several cases have been reported in the Canadian media during summer of 2003.

When I was researching the etymology of various place names in the Iberian penninsula, that have Arabic names, I came across the town of Almeida.

This town seems to derive its name from the Arabic word المائدة meaning "the dining table". In Muslim sources, it is said to have been a relic claimed by Iberian Christians to be the dining table of King Solomon.

In this article, I try to collect all historical references on this mysterious relic dining table.

As if it is not enough that some Americans want to move to Canada, now an entire state wants to join as well!It is ironic that the 11th state of the union, Vermont, wants to secede and join Canada.

Molokheya, also known as Jew's Mallow, is one of Egypt's national dishes, as well as other countries in the Middle East region.

Abu Muhammad Dia' al-Din Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Al-Baytar al-Maliqial-Andalusi أبو محمد ضياء الدين عبد الله بن أحمد بن البيطار المالقي الأندلسي. (b. 575 A.H./1179 C.E. d. 646 A.H./1248 C.E.). He was a famed physician, herbalist, pharmacist, and botanist.

While reading a recent issue of the Canadian Geographic, I came across a news item mentioning two Canadians in Thailand, who run a magazine targeted for Westerners, called Farang. The similarity of this term to the Arabic ones piqued my interested, so I did some research on it.