Somewhere around 2737 BC, a Chinese emperor named Shen Nong was boiling water like a civilized man when a few leaves floated in. Most people would’ve fished them out and gone on with life. Shen Nong, being both curious and a lazy bastard, drank the accident. Boom—tea was born. Humanity has been pretending to “relax”…

Economy class: humanity’s grand social experiment in patience, posture, and pretending you don’t mind other people’s elbows Most people fight to sit at the front like it’s first class without the champagne. Me? I sit at the back. The last row. The exile of the aircraft. And I do it on purpose. Here’s why: •…

There are scholars who fill shelves, and others who fill souls. Ali al-Tantawi (1909–1999) managed both — a man of faith who never lost his humor, a thinker who preferred people over podiums, and a storyteller who could make you tear up while teaching you how to live. Born in Damascus, that old city where…

There was a time when the desert glittered brighter than any crown. From the banks of the Tigris rose a city so enlightened, it made the rest of the world look like it was still rubbing sticks together for fire. This was Baghdad, the jewel of the Abbasid Caliphate, and within it stood the Bayt…

When I was a kid, planets were neat little balls in a schoolbook. Mercury was fast, Saturn had rings, Pluto was still invited to the party. Then life got in the way—three decades of work experience, bills, living in 10 countries, and the slow grind of existence. Now, thanks to Interstellar and a whisper from…

“War is always a failure of humanity” -Alexander Stubb, President of Finland

It took me four decades, a love-hate relationship with late-night shawarmas, and the metabolism of a sleepy sloth, but I finally figured it out. Spoiler: it’s not a magic pill, a “fat-burning” tea, or some influencer whispering “trust the process” while selling you a gummy bear (You know who you are Dr J.S 2000’s) It’s…

Everyone knows the pharaohs. Gold masks, pyramids so massive they make your mortgage feel like pocket change, eyeliner sharper than the dagger in Caesars back and curses strong enough to make Joe Pesci sweat. But here’s the embarrassing truth: ask most people who the first pharaoh was, and you’ll get blank stares or a mumbled…