Vivian Salama at PostGlobal

Vivian Salama

USA/Middle East

Vivian Salama is an award winning reporter, producer and blogger. She has reported for various publications from across the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Balkans, the United States and North and South Korea. She has also appeared as a commentator on the BBC, South African Broadcasting Corp., Iran's Press TV, NPR and as a reporter for Voice of America radio. A native of New York, Salama is currently based in Dubai where she reports for The National. Salama has an MA in Islamic Politics from Columbia University and she previously worked as a lecturer of international journalism at Rutgers University. Close.

Vivian Salama

USA/Middle East

Vivian Salama is an award winning reporter, producer and blogger. She has reported for various publications from across the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Balkans, the United States and North and South Korea. more »

Main Page | Vivian Salama Archives | PostGlobal Archives


Christmas an Egyptian National Holiday

Egypt celebrates Coptic Christmas in a much more serious fashion than does the West.

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All Comments (64)

Levent Alkan:


sana edebiyat dusmez, bu ulkede orduyu dusur. ordu kendi dussun. cok buyuk bas oldu, kendi icinde bile. ordu bugun beles yasam yeri. ne ekonomisi var ne getirdigi huzuru. ne Ataturk var 1940'tan sonra, ne onun getirdigi iman ve sulh.

ordu bitecek. kendi bitirecek.

Levent Alkan:


Ahmet'inden Israil'ine, Portekiz'inden Efes'ine kadar, duzelteceksin BAsbakan.

Malatya'sindan Somuncusuna, NAsreddin'inden George'una kadar. Alevi diyenle Sunni diyeni birlestir. farki dusur. dusureni ustunden dusur. bir daha ne musluman de ne de turk. bilen demez. demen gerekmez.

hesap soran degil hesap verensin. bilesin.

Levent Alkan:


askeriye ile sen bile farkliyken ve ben duzeltmisken, araya ben girmisken, cumhurbaskanina kadar devreye ben girmisken, bitireceksin Basbakan.

o siirin hakkini vereceksin BAsbakan.

Levent Alkan:


Pervezi yetistirdiniz, gidin Pakistani duzeltin Basbakan, bu ulkedeki yedikleriniz haram, ve harac. baskasinin mali ve kanini dokerek yiyorsun.

Irak'ta yasananlar hala Osmanli ile biliniyor, guzellikle bilinen yok bu dunyada Osmanlidan, herkes katildigi icin utaniyor be adam! Osmanli ile ovunen bir ulke gosterin, Sudan dahil.

Murted diye bir havalani ve hava kuvvetleri sende var be adam!

Levent Alkan:


ne buzdolabi, ne bilgisayari, ne televizyonu, ne cep telefonu be adam! biraz utanin be, indirin basinizi gogsunuze degsin bir be!

kimseye bir lokma huzur giremiyor anlamiyor musunuz, bir turlu de girmeyecek siz ozur dileyene kadar!

Levent Alkan:


yahu adam indiriyor para birimini de sen altindaki sandalye cekilince kalacaksin yerde!

arkana aldigin ordu bile yine borca girecek, bitmeyecek bu surunceme sen utanincaya imana gelinceye kadar!

Levent Alkan:


bir tek ulke var ki bu dunyada, baskasinin evine din iman diye girdi de imansizlikla kufurle tokadi yedi de gitti be adam!

Levent Alkan:


senin Malatya'da birilerini oldurtmen ne demek biliyor musun? burasi Cehennem be adam Cehennem!

su adalarda oturan insanlarla senin evlerine oturttugun insanlarin arasindaki iman farkini goruyor musun be adam! vallahi Yunanistan Disileri Bakani Istanbul derken o cennette sen cehennemdesin be adam!

Levent Alkan:

turizmden elde ettigin gelirler ne demek biliyor musun sen? ticaret orgutunde yerin nedir biliyor musun? bir rahat uyku uyuyamazsin be adam!

Levent Alkan:


o gorustugun insalardan biraz utanmadin mi kiliseleri camiye cevirirken? senin Allah dedigine Israil bak ne diyor?

basbas bagiriyorsun da cesitli ulkelerde camilere yapilanlara, hic mi gelmedin sen bu dunyaya? hangi imanla sereflenmekten soz ediyorsun sen?

Levent Alkan:


herkes seni buradan cikarmaya calisirken, nasil İzmir'e gidiyorsun, nasil Rize'de findiktan soz ediyorsun? nasil anlasmalara imza atmaktan bahsediyorsun?

Avrupa Birligine girmek ne demek biliyor musun sen be adam?! ha hic utanmadin mi, biraz yuregin aglamadin mi? biraz turistlerin ne soyledigi kulaklarina gelmedi mi be adam?

Levent Alkan:


sen ne yuzle burada ahkam kesiyorsun, devlet hukuk medeniyet diyorsun, ne hakla bayrak dikiyorsun sen burada serefsiz! git kendine utanmayacagin bir yer bul da su dokunabilsin yuzune!

Levent Alkan:


sen ne diye burada duruyorsun be adam? ne yuzle baska ulkelerin baskanlari ile gorusuyorsun? Ulucami'deki sarhos kilicini tutmaktan utanmiyor musun be adam?!

bir turlu namaz kilmaktan haya etmediniz mi be!?

Levent Alkan:


ne kadar basit degil mi? senin Osmanin ile Orhanin tecavuz ederek kacirttigi rahibelerin kaldigi manastirin icinde yatarken, seni de nezaketle cikarmak isteyenler var.

Ege'de karilarini kizlarini rahibelerini yitiren insanlar var. ruslarin anasi var, babasi var. sen hala ne yapiyorsun be adam?

Levent Alkan:


siz duzelin butun dunya duzelecvek BAsbakan, yaziklar olsun orduyla ovunene yaziklar olsun Pervezi yetistirene.

Levent Alkan:


yaziklar olsun Demirel'ine, yaziklar olsun Evren'ine. yaziklar olsun derisini degistirmeyene, yuzune bir su tutmayana.

herkes bir yere cekilmis de utancindan edemiyor bir soz, ne Demireli bir ayagi cukurda, ne Evreni bir ayagi boyada!

yaziklar olsun.

Levent Alkan:


Allah belanizi versin sizin. Allah belanizi versin. belki siz de birlik butunluk sozunuzu hak hukuk hakkaniyet sozunuzu hatirlarsiniz da bir kitaba yararsiniz. Allah belanizi versin sizin.

Levent Alkan:


yuh olsun sana hukumetine yuh olsun bu orduya topuna tufegine, ucagina havaalanina. yuh olsun techizatina uydusuna. Marmaris'ine Rize'sine. yuh olsun.

Levent Alkan:


it was one of cloudy first summer days in 2005. i had visited Nicaea of Sophia and Nicholas. i stepped onto the stairs for chorus and voiced as i could.

the roof of grave of Sophia was open, i kneed in front of her. i put my left hand in and there was a gentle breeze caressing, and then all began. this is the beginning of philosophia, with the stone of it.

benim onurum bu oldu BAsbakan, orduyu ve sizi gorunce. ben utandim siz belki alniniza yazarsiniz.

Levent Alkan:


evet BAsbakan, toplu igneye bir kitap sigar da birak kagidi mushafi, deri ve kemiklere yazilmis olan kafaya islemez bazen.

kendi colugunu cocugunu korursun da baskasinin cocugunu korumaz, kotu bildiklerinin onunu kapatmazsin ahir zaman diye.

bir seferde 360 kisinin oldurulmesini duyurabilmen ne demek biliyor musun? iste bu kadar agir konusmamin sebebi bu, seni Yildirim Bayezid bile kurtaramaz.

Levent Alkan:


i had driven her attention on Washington Post to her education and spiritual background. i had driven attention of Pervez too.

Levent Alkan:

before noon, thank you.

i had warned Benazir to be kind and gentle with her spirituality but she spoke so hard yesterday on TV.

Levent Alkan:

Viviana, what time is it?

Levent Alkan:


radyasyon iyi gelmisti herhalde. gogus kanserinden vefat etti matematik ogretmenim, evine cagirip butun kitaplarini bana vermisti.

Bursa'da Ogretmen Okulundan cikmis Fransizca ogretmeni cikmis hocamiz da yatakhane muduruydu, parasiz yatili girmistim. kutu kutu kalem ve iccamasiri verilirdi, sonradan bir ceket verdiklerini hatirliyorum. bilisime girince biz seni doktor olacaksin biliyorduk demisti de yerin dibine gecmistim. zaten felsefesini ve dilbilimini okudum sevdim. baskaca ellemedim.

Levent Alkan:


liseucte matematik dersinde donem odevim Cahit Arf ve Halkalari uzerineydi, hani bugun internetin ekonominin felsefenin ve bircok konunun temeli olan, 1955 yilinda aramiza karisan Cahit Arf.

aramistim henuz lise duzeyine inmedi demisti, kizi acmisti telefonu, tekerlekli sandalyesi ile telefona gelmisti.

ben Nermi Uygur'u sevdim, edebini terbiyesini, dilini sevdim. liseucte Eskisehir'den annemin akrabasinin kizi kimya ogretmeni, ortauclere kimyada bilesik kurma ve elektron duzenlerini gostermem icin derse gondermisti.

Levent Alkan:


lets see whether Vivian is sleeping, ah she is snoring. lets take her to the right side. good, she is smiling. ah her hands are under her cheek. ah she has a blanket, a white blanket till her shoulders.

Levent Alkan:


sayin Mr President Head, bizde boyle
Akdeniz ancak biter Okyanus var daha

haydin vira bismillah yelkenler fora
gidip bir de biz bakalim su haritaya

Finland dedikleri calar Apokaliptika
bizde islik nothing else matters ama

Levent Alkan:

Alaburs Samsung Basbakan gozunun yagini yidigim Basbakan
Anasi Avradi Olasi hatta yaninda Kaynana Ziriltisi Olasi
YAsin BAsin Gecmis Torunlari Anali Babali Olasi BAsbakan

Levent Alkan:

yanlis anlasilmasin, Bursa'ya bir tek kelime laf ettirmem. Gumussuyu'ndan sonra dorduncu hakem kurul KAsimpasa Deniz HAstanesinde.

Levent Alkan:


ah there was a 3:00 AM Club in USA. is there still such a club active or are all asleep in mastery and peace?

Vivian Vivian wake up, get the presents of the morning in the fresh air, take a breath in.

gozgoz olmus cigerlerim onde gidiyor, nazara karsi kursun dokturuyor. evlerinin onu boyali Idris, yerden yere vurdun sen beni Oniki gezegen.

Levent Alkan:

Tuzukcu ile Isgalci Gelenekci Bakanlari bir gorelim bakalim nerede otururlar ki gelince? Koza’da Kursunlu Kubbe’nin altinda mi dinlenirler acaba? Gumuslu Kubbede mukim Kollari Sivamis Bir daha Ask ile Serbet ile Ise Koyulmus Ahi Osman ve Oksuzoglu Efendilere de bir ugrasalar bari, Sehadet Kilisesini de ziyaret etsinler gelmisken, karsisinda Garnizon Komutaninin oturdugu hani!

Saka bir yana, panik atak gecirmisken ve yeni ayrilmisken okuldan, muayenemiz gelmisti de doktora hani iki yilimiz vardi, simdi yapamayacagiz demistik. Ustumuzden bakip gulerek pantolonunu degistirmek istemisti. Kurul’da bir obez bir de birbirlerinin arkalarina dizilmisken cektirilmis fotograflariyla siraya girmis olanlar vardi. Kuran dili gibi oldu.

Vivian, the boron mineral, dove dung, i am on, and all of my family members have a relation to, especially known with Aghartha, has a name BURAQ in arabic, which is for Flying Carpet, Pegasus, Horse that Carried Ahmet to His Golden Holiness genetically, and Saba of Solemon, Technology knows it with superconductivity, nuclear plants, heat management, spacecraft, informatics and houseware.

Vivian, in case you have studied Manu and Tantric Yoga, not Kama Sutra, the way to weave unity, as South Americans weave baskets with fruits in, you shall be aware of the gold in Alaska and Nebraska, one of four transliterations of it. first, spaceship is a woman, second, Moon is a ship tied to the port, with its fixed orbit, to the Earth.

i am waiting for 28th of December for Jupiter to be with the Sun and Mercury in Sagittarius, President Head, central sun, sun and human, in divinity.

Levent Alkan:


ITU Universitesinden yeraltindaki madenleri binalarin icindekileri gorecek alet gelistiriyor, sana odul veren kurumun basindaki yatakodasi sirlarindan soz ediyor. basima geldi de ondan biliyorum, senin Gokturk ile Kenan Evren'in parsomenlerine gerek kalmayacak tabii.

er ya da gec kurmayi daha dogrusu yuklemeyi dusundugun acil servisler Bogazici Universitesinde Isletme Yuksek Lisansi yapmaktir, dillere vakif olman lazim. santraforlar gol atacaklari gibi nereden yiyeceklerini de takimina anlatmali degil mi?

once Aksemseddin'e vermislerdi sayin Alaburs Samsung GunesSapkasi Takanlara Muhatap Gunesten bihaber Kirk Firin Ekmek Yiyesice BAsbakan, su Idrisgilleri Akrebe bir gecireyim de bespara etmez saatin islesin Yusuf'un Got Korkusunun Basmudavimi Refrefsiz Serefsiz Herif. olmadi mi sayın BAsbakan, sil bastan, yine yazariz. mesin kafaya islemiyor tabii.

butun Karamursel ile Gemligi ayaga kaldiririm BAsbakan da elli kisilik filona gul yapragi olur. Pasaya silahini iade edin, uniforma ile namaz kilan Teleferik alti Nurlari Heykel’e indiririm. Temenyeri guzel olmus BAsbakan, Dilek Kuyusunun basina gel de siirimden al bir tane.


Levent Alkan:


BAsbakan, siralardan, hani yogurtlu koftenin yaninda ictigimiz, onlardan iste, hani Cekirge'de varmis ya, karlarin altindan kapip gelenin hurmetine.

holy christmas.

Levent Alkan:


Vivian, it is nine o'clock. it is nine of clock. it is a newspaper office, there must be tables and coffees, groups of journalists talking on foot, with shirts folded till sleeves, and pens hanging in the hair.

what a lovely day.

Levent Alkan:


the vineyard in my poems is in Cappadocia and Ankara, dove is for peace. once i had seen walking somewhere in rose red with a man and a woman in grapes and roses, it was Kalecik that i would love to be a tourist guide at its college.

two nights ago, someone poured a golden liquid into a glass in front of my eyes from a bottle and the other half into his glass. they were in a plate.

every rose has a duration to be a scentful rose. and this is what Prime Minister of Portugal knows.

Levent Alkan:


he was posting original copies of the documents signed that he had sent on facsimile.

Pope Benedictus has asked what St Gregory in Cappadocia would say today. in Cappadocia there are chimneys. he would call all to Cappadocia, it would be easier, you know.

Levent Alkan:


good morning Vivian, while i was working at a patent trademark registration office, i had a partner in New York, he was at six am at his office. there is a company Chocolate Company SOLEN that i had registered its MAdrid Agrement.

anlaman yeter Basbakan, halden anlaman yeter.

Levent Alkan:


silence in throat is peace, transliterated.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vkejOp9wOc

i grew up with them. and it is Sibirian Colds here nowadays, how did it come here?

Levent Alkan:


saygiyi getir.

Levent Alkan:


getir ticareti TAyyip Erdogan, getir ticareti, Osmanliyi kurtaracagina OSMAN'in dahil oldugu KURUMU kaldir ayaga! saygiyi getir yurduma!

Levent Alkan:

turban taktirsan serbest biraktirsan ne ise yarar allah belasini veresice.

gonder simitcilerini de, bak nasil tukuruyorum suratina, kredi karti borclarindan dolayi bosanan dagilan ailelerden odemeyen durdurmayan insanlardan utanmaz ici aglamaz sahsiyetsiz herif!

Levent Alkan:


olmayiversin seker, olmayiversin SHOW MUST GO ON Sampiyonlarin Yiyecegi, olmayiversin Hero BAby yiyecegi, COCA COLA'nin filmini anlamaz, FIAT reklamlarindan utanmaz anlayissiz herif.


Levent Alkan:


bir laf daha edeyim sana, ben bir battaniye daha alirim ustume dogalgaz olmasa da olur, zaten cesmedeki suyla yikanirdim ben kis vakti,

Kuran'da gordugunun hepsini ustunde yasarsin, ya da tabanindan tavanina kadar zaten sahsen anlatirsin.

Levent Alkan:


tasaklarinda spermlerini degistiriler de baska cocuklarin olur ama kilolarca altinin olsa topun namlusunu degistiremedi Erbakan.

Levent Alkan:


koca bir Burdur'lu komando taburu, baslarindaki kalp krizi geciriyor, kayboluyorlar.

cukun kalkmaz cukun, karninda rahim bulursun genetik mekanik uzmanlari sayesinde.

anladin mi gardirobu genis zat, ne yarar elbiselerin ustunde yokken terziden izahat?

Levent Alkan:


once dil ogren. arkana milyonlarca yeniceri alsan da otururlar Cinli ordu gibi yerlerine. anladin?

Levent Alkan:

istersen ben bu emanet guvercin bokunun ustunden gideyim de sen de rahat rahat Koy Hizmetlerinden Ankara'ya binbesyuz kisi cikar saatte.

ne dersin Alaburs BAsbakan?

Levent Alkan:


kablolu televizyonlardan ne tetkikler yapilabiliyor, elli kisilik filon biliyor mu? o kadar basit ki!

sen Nubuk ayakkabi giyerken seyredenlere ne girdi haberin var mi?

Levent Alkan:

suslenip puslenip gittigin cikolata yedirdigin ama bir lokma huzuru bogazlarindan geciremedigin yetistirme yurdundaki cocuklara neler olabilecegini biliyor musun?

Levent Alkan:


bankalarla anlasmali tek kartta ehliyet pasaport nufus cuzdani toplamanin karsi taraf icin ne demek oldugunu biliyor musun?

bir telefon uzerinden kameralarla gorusmenin yukunu kaldirabilir misin, maneviyati anaokullarindan baslasan veremezsin.

makine muhendisi Erbakan ile bir daha gorus de anla biraz halden. bir metre altini goruyorsun da Gokturk uydusu ile, teknolojinin su haliyle neler olacagini bilmiyor musun?

Levent Alkan:

Tayyip Erdogan

olay mahallindeki kokuyu bir kavanoza koyabilmeleri ne demek biliyor musun?

gumruk kapilarinda gozbebegi taramasi yapilmasi kanunu ne demek haberin var mi?

dun gece uyandim geldim ben, iki yil sonra.

Levent Alkan:

back of foot is Black Sea, where a Russian Riverbank Ship with petroleum broke into two out of the entrance of Ukranian Port, relatively to Mediterranean Sea and MArmaria Sea, there is one another in the city of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Rize, those who murdered Hrant Dink and Priests in Malatya, in relation with Israel,

once dil ogren Anasi Avraadi Olasica Alaburs Serefsiz Onursuz Tayyip Erdogan,
dinini imanini tasaklarindan cikarirlar nasil olsa. dualar ettigin genelkurmay baskani da konusacak erdil ile.

rus bombardimanini sen de evinde karinin ustunde colugun cocugunla yasarsin insallah, Temel REis insa etsin! allah belani versin hain herif

Levent Alkan:

the village that is the focus of 17 August 1999 (88.99) earthqwuake that Navy Commander was deranked in jail now.

Levent Alkan:


and i think, ECHELON is searching for a hole in the back of one of feet of someone here.

in reflexology, back of foot is "before birth" of someone.

Anonymous:

and i think ECHELON is in search of a hole in the back of one of the feet of someone here.

Levent Alkan:

a village where AudioVisual Plant ECHELON is in, Karamursel, is just one hour by car from here.

Levent Alkan:


good night Vivian,

i am not able to sleep while neighbour is watching television. so i took two of mates covered with aluminium one under the bed, one as a blanket. this morning i got up fresh. i am under a Mountain known as Olimpos and Russian tourists are on for Christmas. and i think there is heavy traffic of communication. Telegraphs with mors alphabet beated my ears for nights. but i think tonight there were beams of light.

gold is in the save of a ship (in Alaska), supported by a spaceship (taken to Nebraska). This is the guidance of wealth and richness. For me, this is an invitation to Indigos in Last Vegas. but an evangelist german who supports the man knows better.

in a text in which a man is in a cave, followed by a group of men, where the entrance is woven with spider web and there are pigeons around, i can transliterate that this man has an education in North of Mesopotamia.

in a text in which a man has 40 billions of USD made with natural gas, i can translate that within his family relations he has found spiritual prosperity and maturity.

Levent Alkan:


i am not able to enter the email account and i have lost the sim card the second time.

i have just Washington Post to write at least eight months or a few days more.

eugene:

I have lived in Egypt since 1985 and have witnessed the downgrading of the Christian spirit in Cairo for 22 years. When I came here all of the big buildings (I said ALL) had their sided decorated with Christmas trees, candles, signs saying "Merry Christmas, etc. This tradition has dwindled until now (this year) there isn't a single building with a 'Christmas' decoration on it. There used to be (20 years ago) festive lights celebrating Christmas everywhere. Now, there are none. Don't be persuaded by some romantic disillusioned writer that 'Christmas' is celebrated in Egypt. It isn't. It used to be, but it isn't anymore. It is a fact that December 7 is a national holiday now, but you'd never know it. The streets are quiter because the Copts are all at home having private celebrations, but that is the only sign that it is a religious holiday.
Figure out for yourself which way the country is going.

Levent Alkan:


http://www.pbs.org/edens/manu/history.htm
http://www.seslisozluk.com/?word=manu

"a free inca, a merry inca" africa america
oh my deer goodness, lets render.

Levent Alkan:


Vivian Vivian

are you sleeping? where is her hearth? she has a pine tree, ah lovely. where is her shoes? ah there you are. a present. no no. three presents. where is the chimney? oh she is silent in the throat. ah she is about to marry. lets give her milk and honey.

Prime Minister of Portugal
Jose Emmanuel Durao Barroso, thank you.

International Youth Service Finland
thank you. for posting messages manually.

Levent Alkan:


i hear hymns of ceremonies and a prayer
we are within Unity we are One Together
it is inna lillah ve inna ileyhi raciun
i am withness Hay'dan Gelen Hu'ya Gider

http://seslisozluk.com/?word=med
http://seslisozluk.com/?word=succour

Levent Alkan:


Today's TeleGraph in Mors' Alphabet
Euro's Port Sledge Series

hohoh jingle bells, jingle bells hohoh
tell me who, tell me what, tell me how

Ataturk is known as a Coptic Christian
Mediterranean Union is a Medicine Ally

postdoctorate is what the doctors post
medallion is the thymuse gland to heal

who did light candles before the Cross
to put a light to ease the bridge home

Prov. Candlelight:

What a lovely and enjoyable post.

Providence

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