Y. Al Nayal's Blog

The world is full of characters, almost to the brink of overflowing. And among all of these characters, there’s you. You, who has not been anyone but yourself, in blood, person, and story. You, who has worked your arse off to get where you are. And, you, who – just like everybody else – is…

Although many people opt for dangerous routes out of their war-torn countries, there are some who are not very open to such ideas. I talked to one of those people. This lady, who chose to be anonymous, had very interesting motivations for crossing from Syria to Turkey. In this podcast, she relays her trip, summarizing…

Born and raised in America but originally Syrian, Racan Alhach’s family had been used to political activism. Before 2011, he was an avid supporter of the Palestinian cause. After the Arab Spring started, the Alhach family started organizing protests and raising funds for Syria. Because Racan was so active, organizations reached out to him for…

Ever since the Arab Spring uprising in 2011, the number of Syrian refugees in neighboring countries has consistently increased. According to Hürriyet Daily News, more than 10,000 Syrians were given camp on the Turkish borders in mid-2011. In mid-2012, this number increased to 40,000. According to the Refugees and Asylum Seekers Assistance and Solidarity Association…

Kurşunlu Han is a historical place in Karaköy, Istanbul, Turkey that has seen and overcome many changes. Lately, a new development is occurring in the area. For more details, you can watch the documentary!

Surveillance is a topic that has been in politics for decades. Keith Laidler says, “The rise of city states and empires […] meant that each needed to know not only the disposition and morale of their enemy, but also the loyalty and general sentiment of their own population.” The act of surveying mass actions has…

I’ll admit – I overexaggerated. In my last post, I talked about how Yuki Urushibara might have compared science and religion in the second episode of Mushishi. Well, it seems I wasn’t too far off, but… Yuki was not comparing or contrasting; Yuki was merging old Japanese folktales (from the 19th century, in which the…

Mushishi, an anime written and illustrated by Yuki Urushibara, features ubiquitous creatures called Mushi (蟲) that often display what appear as supernatural powers. It is set in an imaginary time between the Edo and Meiji periods, featuring some 19th-century technology but with Japan still as a “closed country”. In the first episode, we are introduced to Mushi as…

  Turkey has seen a rising cosmetic trend – caused by several factors -, making it one of the most sought destinations for these procedures. Watch the video and listen to the podcast to learn more. Yasmin Nayal & Waleed Shahab

Media and politics; do they go hand in hand? Does media influence our view on politics or does politics move the media? Here is my review on some of the games made in order to find out just that: