Skip to main content

Happy birthday, Discovering MENA!!

By
Wow. A year has passed since I shyly published a post in Discovering MENA and other thoughts. A year in which I have had my ups and down, I've been thrilled and I have been disillusioned, I have received invaluable support that has given me wings and I've lost hope sometimes. Confronting a blank page is not always easy, inspiration is very tricky, and having a blog means feeling very lonely sometimes. But the good thing is that I have never been bored, I have always found the motivation to carry on. This blog is really one of the things that keep me well alive and lively.

I created it trying to find a way to organize my thoughts. I had started to accumulate a certain amount of knowledge on the region (once you start discovering it, you cannot stop asking for more) and wanted to prove to myself I was able to put all of this in writing, to analyze what was going through, to put it and elaborate on it in an easy comfortable way. Being followed was the least of my expectations. And it still kind of is. As long as only one person has learned something with Discovering MENA, I am content enough. Because I myself have learnt more than I ever imagined. And, let's be honest, I am still a beginner in the field!

I still am ecstatic. I still am fascinated. I still look forward to sharing more expertise. Nonetheless I am above all thankful, thankful to all of those who follow me regularly, to those who sometimes check the blog, to those who have read it sometimes, and even to all of those who don't want to but are a source of personal and professional inspiration to me. I wouldn't be what I am without you.

Thank you. Gracias. Merci. Shokran.

P.D. I am always open to suggestions and criticism, never forget that!


Special thanks to these special people who read me regularly (or at least pretend to) and have supported both me and the blog in one way or the other: Maria Sanchez, Anissa, Antonio, Paula, Beatriz, Javier, Alexandre, Francesca, Clément, Eleonora,  Lucy, Rosa, Jon, Laura... (and those I am forgetting about).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What about Lebanon?

By
I would never dare to think I have enough knowledge so as to freely talk about this issue and produce a meaningful article, but I will try to write down what I have understood so far (I already had to edit as I misunderstood some facts, thanks Louis!). Lebanon and Syria have always been deeply interconnected. Both countries were part of the Ottoman Empire, both countries were under the dominance of France's colonization, both countries share an extremely complicated ethnic/religious division, and both countries political scenes still depend on the other's. More recently, Syria was a key player in the brokering of the 1989 Taif Accords putting an end to Lebanon's civil war, and its troops (and many authorities) stayed in the country (allegedly guaranteeing the non resumption of violence) until 2005, when the country's population unanimously demanded their retreat. It all started in Tripoli, Lebanon's second largest city, next to the country's northern borde
Post a Comment
Read more

12 things you wanted to know about IS/ISIS

By
Tracking the events in Iraq - in the whole region, actually - might be a colossal task. Particularly so during the Summer, when it is sometimes even difficult to grasp a single headline. We all are aware about something called ISIS - or IS, as of lately - that seems to be messing around from Lebanon to Iran. A group of bearded man that scares everybody, the only ones able to force Obama to reconsider his mantra of non-intervention and to make Assad look like a harmless puppy. We've read about them, we've seen tons of maps showing their advance, we've heard rumours and conjectures. In case you've missed half of it, there go a few basic things you need to know about them. And yes, they are creepy!
Post a Comment
Read more

Migrating

By
Aunque el título pueda referirse a uns de las varias mudanzas a los que me conocéis personalmente estáis acostumbrados, se refiere simplemente a este humilde blog, que tantas alegrias me ha dado. A partir de ahora podréis encontrar todos mis artículos en la página https://discoveringmena.blog Although the title could well refer to one of the rushed and unpredictable decisions those amongst you who know me are by now you used to, 'migrating' refers here to the new site this humble blog - which has given me so much joy - is moving to. From now on you can find all of my articles on the page https://discoveringmena.blog
Post a Comment
Read more