Mount Carmel Arabic Immersion

Thinking about learning Arabic in the Carmel? Be in touch with us regarding individual or shared programs this summer and in the months ahead

Looking for a good place to practice your Arabic in the Haifa region? Try deciphering the texts at the Yaqout Calligraphy shop in Wadi Nisnas - high Arabic culture just uphill from the famous humus and falafel stops! The poetic texts rendered in beautiful lettering by the gifted calligrapher Ahmad Zoabi (whose work is also featured at Café Fattoush on Sderot Ben Gurion) are often excerpts from medieval and modern classical Arabic poetry, with timeless messages ranging from love and nostalgia to self-motivation and a positive outlook. New texts are always being produced! The decorative poetry can be bought on paper, loose or framed, as well as on tote bags. If you are lucky, Ahmad Zoabi will be inspired to write out your name in classical Arabic lettering. 🤩✍️🙏

https://www.instagram.com/yaqout.calligraphy/?next=%2F #

(@yaqout.calligraphy) • Instagram photos and videos 3,987 Followers, 15 Following, 174 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from (.calligraphy)

Intensive Arabic January Program
2-week intensive Arabic program (January 7-19, 2024) for NIS 6300 (around $1575) for at least 50 hours of group / shared instruction (5 hours per day for the 10 workdays), and including 2 weeks of room and board (three meals per day).
* additional 3rd week (25 hours of instruction; including room and board): NIS 3500 (around $875) for individual instruction, or NIS 2250 (around $565) pp for shared instruction.
* additional 4th week (25 more hours of instruction, including room and board): NIS 3400 (around $850) for individual instruction, or NIS 2150 (around $540) pp for shared instruction.
* We can add additional days instead of weeks.
Be in touch with your dream for studying Arabic this winter ❄️🌿, or whenever you'd like 🌞💐🍂🍁🌊🏖🍹

July 2-28 2023 programs! Two group tracks:
1. Beginning level (no previous Arabic study experience)
2. Beginning Spoken Arabic for participants with 1-2 years of previous MSA study
For both groups: 100 hours of instruction, activities and room and board included for NIS 7300 (not including weekend meals) or NIS 8150 (including weekend meals).
*In the event of cancellation, any payment made will be returned and an alternative plan will be proposed.
** The above program can be offered throughout the year and for any level or learning goal (including Classical Arabic and MSA for literature and Media Arabic) for a group of at least 3 participants. So if you have 2 friends with similar levels and goals, let us know when you'd like to put a program together!

Do you have a background in MSA and would like to learn the spoken language? 🗣️🤝 Vice versa? 📺📚📖📰📈
Be in touch with us with your ideas and visions for learning Arabic, this winter and beyond. ❄️🌷🌞🍂🎉

A few photos from recent programs in Daliyat al-Karmel 🤩💐🎉

New programs at various levels are being planned. Let us know when you'd like to come. :-)

معلوم!

Why I would choose an immersion course over a language degree After a disappointing four year degree in Arabic, it was only in an immersion course that Fred McConnell discovered the magic of language learning

Poetry in Classical Arabic (fus'7a): الأطلال
Umm Kulthuum sings Ibrahim Nagi's "al-'Atlaal"
(transliteration and translation below)
Composition by Riad al-Sunbati.
One of her greatest pieces, and a masterpiece of contemporary poetry written in classical Arabic in its own right.
With fus'ha poetry, the classical Arabic noun case system (suffixes -a, -i, -u and -an -in -un) is crucial in understanding the meanings of verses, and the occasional ambiguousness of a verse is often by design, hinting at multiple possible meanings simultaneously.
Note that Umm Kulthuum's pronunciation follows Egyptian tradition in her pronunciation of the letter jim (ج) as a hard "g", and in her tendency to pronounce the letter tha (ث) as an "s" sound. (The latter also explains why some call her Umm Kulsuum.)
The translation is adapted from that appearing in the link at the bottom.
الأطلال
يَا فُؤَادِي لا تَسَلْ أينَ الهَوَى ... كان صرحاً من خيالٍ فهَوَى
ya fu’aadii, la tasal ayna ‘l-hawa .. kaana Sar7an min khayaalin, fa-hawa
My heart, don't ask where the love is ; It was a citadel of fantasy, and has collapsed
اسْقِنِي واشْرَبْ عَلَى أطلَالِهِ ... وارْوِ عَنِّي طَالَمَا الدَّمْعُ رَوَى
isqiinii wa-ashrab 3ala aTlaalihi … W-arwi 3annii Taalama ad-dam3u rawa
Give me to drink and I will drink on its ruins, And tell the story on my behalf [or: quench thirst using me] as long as the tears flow
كيفَ ذَاكَ الْحُبُّ أَمْسَى خَبَرَاً ... وَحَدِيثاً من أَحَادِيثِ الْجَوَى
Kayfa dhaaka ‘l-7ubbu amsa khabaran… wa-7adiithan min a7aadiithi ‘l-gawa
How that love became past news, And a story of the stories of heartache
لستُ أنساكْ وقدْ أغريتَنِي ... بفمٍ عذبِ المُنَادَاةِ رَقِيقْ
Lastu ansaak, wa-qad aghraytanii … bi-famin 3adhabi ‘l-munaadaati raqiiq
I haven't forgotten you, [as you] had seduced me, With a sweetly-calling and tender mouth
ويدٍ تمتَدُّ نحوي، كَيَدٍ ... من خلالِ الموجِ مُدَّتْ لِغَرِيقْ
Wa-yadin tamtaddu na7wii, ka-yadin … min khilaali ‘l-mawgi muddat li-ghariiq
And a hand extending towards me like a hand stretched out through the waves to a drowning person
وبريقٍ يظمَأُ السَّارِي لَهُ ... أينَ في عينيكَ ذيَّاكَ البريقْ
Wa-bi-riiqin yaZma’u ‘s-saarii lahu … ayna fi 3aynayka dhayyaaka ‘l-bariiq
[You seduced me] with the saliva (of a kiss) that the night traveler thirsts for; Where is the sparkle in your eyes?
يا حَبِيبَاً زُرْتُ يَومَاً أَيْكَهُ ... طَائِرَ الشَّوقِ أغنِّي أَلَمِي
ya 7abiiban zurtu yawman ‘aykahu .. Taa’ira ‘sh-shawqi aghanniy alamii
How lovingly I visited his thickets by day! [As a] bird of desire singing my pain
لَكَ إِبْطَاءُ المُذِلِّ المُنْعِمِ ... وَتَجَنِّي القَادِرِ المُحْتَكِمِ
Laka ibTaa’u ‘l-mudhilli ‘l-mun3imi … wa-tagannii al-qaadiri ‘l-mu7takimi
You have the hesitance of the disrespectful, the spoiled; And you inflict harm like the powerful, the tyrant
وحَنِينِي لكَ يكوي أضْلُعِي ... والتَّوَانِي جَمَراتٌ في دمي
wa-7aniinii laka yakwii ‘aDHlu3ii, … wa-at-tawaanii gamaraatun fii damii
And my longing for you sears my ribs, And the waiting [like] embers in my blood
أعْطِنِي حُرَّيَتِي أَطْلِقْ يَدَيَّ ... إنني أعطيت ما استبقيت شيَّ
‘a3Tinii 7urriyatii, ‘aTliq yadayya … inanii ‘a3Taytu, ma istabqaytu shayya
Give me my freedom, release my hands – For I've given; I did not withhold a thing
آه مِن قَيْدِكَ أَدْمَى مِعْصَمِي ... لِمَ أُبْقِيهِ وما أَبْقَى عليَّ
Aah, min qaydika adma mi3Samii … lima ‘abqiihi wa-ma abqa 3alayya
Ah, your chains have bloodied my wrists; I haven't kept then nor have they spared me
مَا احْتِفَاظِي بِعُهُودٍ لَم تَصُنْهَا ... وإِلَامَ الأَسْرُ والدُّنْيَا لَدَيَّ
ma ihtifaaZii bi-3uhuudin lam taSunha? … wa-ilaama ‘l-‘asru, wa-‘d-dunya ladayya
Why do I keep promises that you do not honor? For the captivity is reprehensible, with the world in my grasp!
أينَ من عيني حبيب ساحرٌ ... فيه عزٌّ وجلالٌ وحياءْ
Ayna min 3aynii 7abiib saa7iru? Fiih 3izzun wa-galaalun wa-7ayaa’
Where is he, out of my sight, my enchanting beloved? [He has] in him pride, majesty and delicacy.
واثقُ الخطوةِ يمشي ملكاً ... ظالمُ الحسنِ، شهيُّ الكبرياءْ
waathiqu ‘l-khuTwati, yamshii malakan … Zaalimu ‘l-7usni, shahiyyu ‘l-kibriyaa’
Strong of stride, he walks royally, with oppressive beauty and rapacious glory
عَبِقُ السِّحْرِ كَأنفاسِ الرُّبَى ... ساهمُ الطَّرفِ كأحلامِ المساءْ
3abiqu as-si7ri ka’anfaasi ‘r-ruba … saahimu ‘T-Tarafi ka-‘a7laami ‘l-masaa’
Redolent of charm like the breeze of the hills, Pleasant to experience like the evening's dreams
أينَ مِنِّي مَجْلِسٌ أنتَ بِهِ ... فتنةٌ تَمَّتْ سَنَاءً وَسَنَى
Ayna minni majlisun anta bihi … Fitnatun tammat sanaa’an wa-sana
Where [is it] from me, the [time when we would] sit together, you in[cluded]? Magic completed splendor, and [it all] radiated.
وأنا حُبٌّ وقلبٌ هَائِمٌ ... وفراشٌ حَائِرٌ منكَ دَنَا
Wa-ana 7ubbun wa-qalbun haa’imun .. Wa-faraashun 7aa’irun, minnaka dana
I, a wandering love and heart, And a bewildered butterfly, approached you
ومن الشَّوقِ رسولٌ بيننا ... ونَدِيمٌ قدَّمَ الكَأْسَ لَنَا
Wa-min ash-shawqi rasuulun baynana … Wa-nadiimun qaddama al-kaa’sa lana
And desire was a messenger between us, and a companion that presented the cup to us
هل رأى الحُبُّ سُكَارَى مثلنا ... كم بنينا من خيالٍ حولنا
hal ra’a al-7ubbu sukaara mithlana? Kam banayna min khayaalin 7awlana
Had love seen drunkards like us? How much fantasy we had built up around us
ومشينا في طريقٍ مُقْمِرٍ ... تَثِبُ الفَرْحَةِ فيهِ قبلنا
wa-mashayna fii Tariiqin muqmirin, tathibu al-far7ati fiihi qablana
And we walked in a moonlit path, joy skipping along it ahead of us
وضَحِكْنا ضِحْكَ طفلينِ معاً ... وعدونا فَسَبَقْنَا ظِلَّنَا
wa-dha7ikna dhi7ka Tiflayni ma3aan, wa-3adawna fa-sabaqna Zillana
And we laughed the laughter of two children together, And we ran and raced our shadows
وانَتَبَهْنَا بعدما زَالَ الرَّحِيقْ ... وأَفَقَنَا ليتَ أنَّا لا نُفِيقْ
Wa-intabahna ba3adama zaala ‘r-ra7iiq… wa-afaqana, layta anna la nufiiq!
And we became aware after the euphoria and woke up; If only we did not awaken!
يقظةٌ طاحَتْ بِأَحْلَامِ الْكَرَى ... وتولَّى الليلُ، والليلُ صديقْ
yaqaZatun Taa7at bi-‘a7laami ‘l-kara … wa-tawalla al-laylu, wa’al-laylu Sadiiq.
Wakefulness ruined the dreams of slumber; The night came, and the night is a friend
وإذا النورُ نذيرٌ طالعٌ ... وإذا الفجرُ مُطِلٌّ كالحَريقْ
wa-idha an-nuuru nadhiirun Taali3un … wa-idha al-fagru muTillun k-al-7ariiq
And then the light was a rising omen, and the dawn was towering over like a conflagration
وإذا الدُّنُيا كَمَا نَعْرِفُها ... وإذا الأحبابُ كلٌّ فِي طَرِيقْ
wa-idha ad-dunya k**a na3rifuha … wa-idha al-‘a7baabu kullu fii Tariiq
And then the world was as we know it, with each lover in [their own] path
أيُّها السَّاهِرُ تَغْفُو ... تذكرُ العهدَ وتَصْحُو
Ayyuha as-saahiru taghfuu … tadhkiru ‘l-3ahda wa-taS7uu
Oh sleepless one, may you slumber, … may you remember the promise once you are awake
وإذا مَا الْتَأَمَ جُرْحٌ ... جَدَّ بالتِّذْكِارِ جُرْحُ
wa-idha ma ‘alta'ama gur7un … gadda bat-tidhkaari gur7u
And if a wound begins to recover … [another] wound crops up with the memory
فتعلَّم كيفَ تَنْسَى ... وتعلَّم كيفَ تَمْحُو
fa-t’3allam kayfa tansa … wa-t’allam kayfa tam7uu
So learn how to forget … and learn how to erase [it]
يا حبيبي كلُّ شيءٍ بِقَضَاءْ ... ما بأيدِينَا خُلِقْنَا تُعَسَاءْ
ya 7abiibii, kullu shay’in bi-qaDHaa’! … ma bi-aydiinaa khuliqna tu3asaa’
My beloved, everything is by [Divine] ordination! It is not by our hands that we make ourselves unfortunate.
رُبَّمَا تَجْمَعُنَا أَقْدَارُنَا ... ذاتَ يومٍ بعدما عزَّ اللقاءْ
Rubbama tagma3una aqdaaruna … dhaata yawmin ba3adama 3azza al-liqaa’
Perhaps our fates will bring us together … one day once [the desire or destiny] to meet is strong enough
فإذا أنكرَ خلٍّ خِلَّهُ ... وتلاقينا لقاءَ الغرباءْ
fa-idha ankara khillun khillahu … wa-talaaqayna liqaa’a ‘l-ghurabaa’
For if a friend denies his friend… and we run into each other, meeting as strangers,
ومضى كلٌّ إلى غايَتِه ... لا تقل شئنا فإنَّ الحظَّ شَاء
wa-maDHa kullun ila ghaayatihi … La taqul shi’na, fa-inna ‘l-7aZZa shaa’
And if each [of us] follows his or her own way … Don't say [it was by] our own will, but [rather] that destiny willed [it].
Notes on the transliteration:
3 = ع (‘ayin, ע)
7 = ح (ha, ח)
dh = ذ
DH = ض
gh = غ
kh = خ
S = ص
T = ط
th = ث
Z = ظ
Sources:
Arabic lyrics taken from:
http://lyrics.wikia.com/.../%D8%A3%D9%85_%D9%83%D9%84%D8...
Translation is based on the translation appearing on Arab Music Translation dot com.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibrahim_Nagi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrAgILE5vLs

Oum Kalthoum. The Ruins الأطلال English subtitles. The Ruins الأطلال English subtitles.

Lebanese singer and actress Remie Akl comes with another captivating video, with Arabic (both fus'7a and 3amiya) and English translation (The song itself starts at 1:18)

You killed the heart/قتلت الحب هذا الفيدو يدور حول فتاة في حداد حداد عميقThis video is about a young lady who has gone through a separation and is in deep mourning. In this piece she expre...