Stories of Our City

Welcome back! The first story of this year's fall season comes from Irbid, Jordan. The street is Laila Ajjawi’s canvas. A self-described activist graffiti artist from Irbid, Jordan, Laila sees the mural as a platform for a message that transcends self, given its vast public visibility. For that reason, she pursues her craft with great responsibility by using the walls to raise awareness about loca...

Since she was a little girl, Rasha Mubideen, of Amman, Jordan, always dreamed of being a fashion designer. But as she grew up and began to pursue her dream, she faced a culture that wasn’t yet as forward-thinking as she was. So, she did what any passionate creative would do: blaze her own trail forward—from A to Boutique.  

Previously, we shared the story of Gaith, a street librarian who sold books from his classic Mercedes to spread reading culture in his native Jordan and to raise money for the first bookstore in his hometown of Madaba. Now, he’s finally fulfilling his dream of living in a bookshop.

It’s hard to deny the power of music. Many refer to it as the universal language that builds bridges between diverse peoples and cultures. Music has the power to connect us, move us, take us back, and propel us forward. In this week’s episode, Texas singer/songwriter Melissa Briseno shares how the magic of music has impacted her life and how she hopes her music will have the same powerful impact o...

This week’s episode is part two of a two-part series. If you haven’t had the chance to listen to the first part of Elles’ story, check it out in Episode 189! In the first half of her story, Elles shared about her start and life as a model. This week, she shares some of her other passions and achievements—touching on a multitude of topics such as mindset change, gaining courage to give her first TE...

As a lover of fashion from a young age, Stories of Our City producer Jessica Spann spent her childhood cutting out photos from magazines of gorgeous models wearing brilliant outfits. Now living in a large city, on any given day on her commute she will likely see and admire fashion trends on a billboard or in an advertisement with a model posing for a brand wearing their latest products. One day, J...

Around the turn of the century, Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel group, wreaked havoc in northern Uganda, murdering many and kidnapping tens of thousands of children. JR (not his real name) is one of these thousands. Listen as he shares his story of lost youth, sacrifice, forgiveness, and redemption. Editor’s Note: Due to the sensitive nature of this story, the subject's name ha...

Alaeddin—yes, like the famed movie character, though pronounced correctly—sprang up from the poverty-stricken streets of Amman, Jordan, to become a successful civil engineer. But something wasn’t right. Though he had a good job, he was thoroughly dissatisfied with the standard nine-to-five lifestyle. So, he turned to the only thing he knew and loved: hip hop.

We never know when—or even if —and where love will find us. It happened to find Nazife Uner of Izmir, Turkey, as she travelled home from high school in the early 1960s. At that time in Turkey most marriages were arranged by family members, but the mysterious stranger of fate seemed to have orchestrated Nazife and Mustafa’s relationship as their eyes met on a ferryboat one afternoon 57 years ago. O...

At eleven years old and suddenly an orphan, Sandy found himself without a home and on his own. All he had was a friend with a plan for how they could make it rich. But as Sandy and his friend set off on their adventure, events quickly took a turn, and Sandy found himself even further from home and now even more alone. From collecting scrap metal to make a buck to sneaking into a church to catch so...

It had just started to drizzle again. My family and I were headed to Richmond, Virginia, via Interstate 64, confronting a bit of rain along the way. We had just taken a timed family selfie at the Virginia is For Lovers sign outside the state welcome center, when a man on what I thought was a motorcycle pulled up—camouflage jacket drenched with rain. He asked if I would take a photo of him. I oblig...

Technical project manager by day. Folk dancer by night. This is the life of Rima Sliat, of Amman, Jordan, a practitioner and teacher of dabke—a type of Levantine Arab folk dance. Aside from traversing between the worlds of Information Technology and dabke on a weekly basis, Rima also works at bridging the gap between the historical roots of dabke and its more modern manifestations which sometimes...

Meet Cemre (Gem-ray): a researcher, scholar, and prolific writer in the field of child psychology. Much of her career focuses on the weighty subject of child exploitation and abuse, and she spends many hours in counseling sessions with children and their families working through a variety of problems—trying to bring wholeness to broken family systems. Cemre’s passion for children has led her to wr...

Sami Malik (ma-lik), an Uber driver from Pakistan, and his wife have devoted much of their adult lives to fostering children in the United Kingdom. Since his arrival in Scotland more than 25 years ago, Sami and his bride have fostered nearly 70 children—ranging in age from newborn to five years old. Hear Sami share about his heart for fostering, its joys and challenges, and what keeps this couple...

In the middle of the ongoing Syrian War, Esra, a Syrian national from Kuwait, and her father founded a small orphanage in Istanbul, Turkey, where she is helping oversee and care for a group of high-potential, yet vulnerable Syrian children. Esra credits her father with inspiring and motivating her to do good even when it goes against others’ expectations and to be a source of change in the world....

Sarah Abu Shawish (sha-weesh), of Amman, Jordan, is using her love for sports to challenge commonly-held gender stereotypes throughout Arab society and help her country progress toward gender equality.

Nuray (nur-eye), an accomplished teacher who runs her own language school in Istanbul, has been teaching the Turkish language to foreigners for over a decade. Although an experienced educator, Nuray still considers herself a student of sorts who is consistently learning something new from her diverse pupils who have taught her everything from basic cultural lessons to different parenting technique...

Asmae (as-ma), of Ouazzane (Wazan), Morocco, shares how her sojourn in the artsy Moroccan town of Asilah inspired her to become an artist in her own right. A lover of travel and speaker of five languages, she also shares why she moved from her native country to the cosmopolitan metropolis of Istanbul, Turkey, and why she encourages everyone to travel.

Music is a powerful thing. It’s the language of life that transcends culture and has the capacity to unite people from a variety of backgrounds and belief systems. Music greets and confronts us throughout day-to-day life in a plethora of environments and circumstances. Ayça (ī-cha), of Izmir, Turkey, has been singing since she was a young girl and especially enjoys choral singing. Being in a choir...

The country of Liberia is nestled on the Atlantic coast of West Africa between Sierra Leone and Côte d'Ivoire. In recent history, civil war and disease have wreaked havoc on the country's already small population. The country's healthcare sector in particular has taken a big hit and remains understaffed with a largely undertrained workforce in many areas of the country. Sadly, Liberia is also one...

Bassem Nabeel of Amman, Jordan, enjoys creating clay caricatures in hopes of bringing smiles to his customers.

In some small towns, having long hair can be dangerous business. Such is the story of Ufuk (u-FOOK), a thirtysomething from Istanbul, Turkey, who had long hair and earrings as a university student in a one-restaurant town far away from home. Listen how he overcame prejudice and violence with a combination of a strong spirit, a desire to change the world, and the help of some unlikely allies … some...

Once hailed as ‘the Paris of the Middle East,’ Beirut is a city of contrasts, a cosmopolitan crossroads where East meets West. As such, it is a city that unabashedly embraces art. Retired visual artist and art instructor Mahmoud Safa shares his journey as an artist growing up in this famed artsy city, which began when he was four years old and has taken him around the world.  

Multi-family living arrangements, communal decision making, and arranged marriages are all indigenous elements of Pakistani culture that may seem foreign and unfamiliar to many Western ears. For Kiran, a native of Karachi, however, these cultural components are the formative building blocks of Pakistani family life and culture and are the things she loves most about her heritage. Editor’s Note: Th...

Ever wanted to ditch your job, the nine-to-fiver, the good old daily grind and traverse the world? Meet Nathan and Sarah. This husband and wife pair from Boise, Idaho, did just that. Quitting their jobs last spring, the couple is currently fulfilling a decade-long dream of traveling the world for an entire year. Beginning at Springer Mountain in Georgia they stepped foot on the Appalachian Trail a...