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Zefan's avatar

Noha, this was absolutely beautiful. As you talked about the deep history of the Islamic world, I actually thought of Andalucía, before you mentioned it -- I spent a month there and a couple of days ago just hopped over to Morocco, and have been completely enthralled with the culture and beauty that have been preserved.

Though not the same, you also reminded me of my own childhood: I grew up in the Ethiopian Tewahedo Church, which is one of the oldest forms of Christianity in the world (3rd century AD) and it maintains a a very unique, rich cultural tradition; but because I grew up in the west, I always thought of Christianity as a “western” version -- Catholic, Protestant, etc. It was also a bit odd because most of Africa had been converted recently, while we had kind of isolated and kept to an old Christian tradition. I don’t practice religiously anymore, but I appreciate our Tewahedo cultura a lot more in its uniqueness and how it influenced our broader society.

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Wietske Merison's avatar

Salaam! What a beautiful piece and powerful journey. Thank you for sharing, it's very inspirational and brought joy to my morning. I love how you bring it back to your mother in the end, and see how you weren't ready to see the wisdom and beauty then, but now you are. And I love this idea of a shift from a two-dimensional to a three-dimensional relationship, adding depth. Thank you!

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