Tripoli, North Lebanon and two recommended books

In the market of the Old City of Tripoli in the North of Lebanon, one can find the most delicious dates. These are fresh ones, but they also have dried ones, very healthy and eaten alot during Ramadan. Dates are dried using a natural process unlike European dates which are dried using chemicals. I have met many Arabs in the world who refer to dried dates from the Levant (including Iraqi dates), as being the most delicious and natural ones.
















Tripoli's old town

Now, on a different subject and as the title of this posting suggests, I want to recommend each month one or two books that I discovered or am currently reading. So for November, my recommendations are as follows:

1) Quil Lawrence's "Invisible Nation". This book recounts the history of the Kurds and their efforts in nation building. I have just started the book and find it fascinating. Quil is actually an acquaintance who I met last year on a MEA flight from Beirut to Amman when I was working at UNRWA in Palestine. We stayed in touch and I had remembered that he mentioned he had just finalised a book about the Kurds. The other day, while at the International Bookstore in Beirut, I saw his book. Of course I bought and started reading it immediately. Quil has been a BBC radio reporter for the past few years and reported from Iraq and Afghanistan, among other places.

2) Youssef Chaitani's "Post Colonial Syria and Lebanon". This book was actually just recommended to me today by Youssef himself. I am met him in Beirut at the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). He is a political affairs officer in the Unit on Emerging and Conflict Related Issues (ECRI). We both went to SOAS and he just defended his PhD there. I have not bought it yet, but it is on my Amazon Wish List...