Meghan Nuttall Sayres's Blog, page 2

Syrian Couple Gives Back Creatively to Host Community

This fall I was in Istanbul at work on a project Streetwise Istanbul and while there I had the opportunity to meet Syrian refugees. A story about this was published last Sunday in the Spokesman Review. Among those I met were Samer Alkadri and Gulnar Hajo, co-owners of a new bookstore and cafe in Istanbul […]

A Poem in Celebration of Rumi’s Urs

On December 17th  Sufis around the world celebrate the passing of Jalaluddin Rumi, the great 13th century mystical poet who was born near Balkh, Afghanistan, and lived his adult life in Konya, Turkey. Rumi considered his death as his “wedding night” with the Divine. The following poem was translated by Kabir Helminski and Ahmed Rezwani […]

Star Wars, St. Fionán, and Byzantium

What do Star Wars, St. Fionán, and Byzantium have in common? Location, location, location. A movie director, a 6th century monk, and merchants from Constantinople were all attracted to these two islands, known as the Skellig Islands, rising off the southwest coast of Ireland. On my way to Istanbul this fall I traveled by way […]

Leaving Aleppo With 700 Works of Art

Yesterday, my article about Syrian Refugee Artists in I […]

Writing Is Spirit: Calligrapher Omër Basdag

  Meeting Ömer Basdag was yet another fabulous exa […]

Conversations in Istanbul in the Wake of Charlie Hebdo

The temperature was a bracing 23 degrees F with high wi […]

Writing the Middle East at Get Lit! Festival

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Beyond Identity to Soul

Are you a reader who enjoys stories about people from a […]

Why Write a Story If You Can Weave One?

This week I visited my amazing friend and tapestry weav […]

Knightly and Son: Agatha Christie for Kids?

Debut UK author Rohan Gavin has recently published the […]