Since it is International Literacy Day, 📕 📚 here is an ostracon from Deir el-Gizaz showing a Coptic monk practicing the alphabet to write in ‘Bible Majuscule’ style script. (P. L. Bat. 25.11, 550-650 CE, image via the Papyrological Institute at Leiden University). sarahemilybond.com/2016/02/18/a...

Cats might be the last thing a visitor to a monastery would think of or expect to see. And yet, the furry residents of Sinai have made themselves part of the monastery scene.
If you are a cat lover, this is for you:
English (vevianzaki.com/2026/08/13/c...)
Arabic (vevianzaki.com/2026/08/13/%...)

My friend and colleague @vevianzaki.bsky.social wrote a wonderful blog about "Cats on Mount Sinai". Highly recommended read for all lovers of cats and ancient monasteries 🐈‍⬛🐈

A leaf in a Vatican Syriac manuscript records Arabic-speaking Christian group travelling from Tripoli to Egypt via Cyprus. Read part 2 of this journey in the deserts to St. Catherine's Monastery in 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗚𝗜𝗡𝗦 𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗞 blog (Ar & Eng.)
vevianzaki.com/2026/07/21/f...
#MSCA #MSCActions #EUfunded #HorizonEU

My Poster presentation for the 4MZ workshop, 12 June 2026. Not bad for a day's work! 😊☺️😀
#MSCA #MSCActions #EUfunded #HorizonEU #eufunds #MSCANetwork #mobasc #St_Catherine_Monastery

Nothing quite like second proofs to expose the limits of my understanding of English grammar…

One folio of a Vatican manuscript informs us about an eighteen months journey from Tripoli, Lebanon through Cyprus and Egypt to Mount Sinai. Read about the Cyproit part of this journey in Margins Speak Blog:
In English: vevianzaki.com/from-tripoli...
In Arabic: vevianzaki.com/%D9%85%D9%86...

Imagine opening old torn book only to discover that someone once repaired it using strips of paper. These strips are pieces of correspondence bearing interesting stories. Read more about them in Eng. and Ar. vevianzaki.com/hidden-corre...
𝐒𝐔𝐁𝐒𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐁𝐄 and 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐄 #mobasc #MSCA #MSCActions #Mariecurious

Manuscript scribes introduced themselves with strikingly humble formulas—turning self-effacement into an art.
Read 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑩𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑯𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒆: 𝑺𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒆𝒔 𝑨𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑴𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑨𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒄 𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒖𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒕𝒔 in English & Egyptian Arabic.
vevianzaki.com/the-art-of-b...
𝐒𝐔𝐁𝐒𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐁𝐄 and 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐄 if interested

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗽🥱🥱 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭? As he woke up, he accidentally left a blank page... Read the whole story in 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗚𝗜𝗡𝗦 𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗞 blog, in English & Egyptian Arabic.
vevianzaki.com/when-a-scrib...
vevianzaki.com/%D8%A7%D9%84...
𝐒𝐔𝐁𝐒𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐁𝐄, and 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐄 if interested.

My friend Vevian Zaki @vevianzaki.bsky.social has started a blog called "Margins speak: Hidden voices from Christian Arabic manuscripts". Big bonus: Posts are in both English and Arabic. Check out Vevian's fascinating first post on a "thief blessing":

The aim of 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐒 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊 blog is to make manuscript margins accessible to wider audiences. It gathers the few lines left by scribes, binders, owners, travellers, and readers, shaping them into narratives that survive only in the margins.
Please subscribe and share.
vevianzaki.com/homepage/

The often grim picture of Coptic life under Mamluks becomes colorful when we look at the remarkable story of Tūmā ibn al-Ṣāʾigh, a 14th-century Coptic scribe. My paper, published in Manuscript Cultures Journal reconstructs his life.
In open access! journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/hup4/mc/arti...
#mobasc

On the 9th of September, I presented a paper in the the 35 Deutscher Orientalistentag, Erlangen (DOT) about an incident of 2 monks who drowned in the Red Sea and how the monastery dealt with it. This is described in a document from the 17th century-St. Catherine's Monastery.

I am humbled by three amazing days of the conference and by the warm, collegial group of outstanding scholars who “Once were here in Munich 🥰😍.” 2 keynotes and 17 presentations, none of which passed without learning, reflection, and meaningful discussion. Truly indebted to all of you!

A conference soon in Munich (8-10 July)☺️☺️
Once, We Were Here: Traces of Mobility across the Ottoman Empire.
All are welcome: those who are close to Munich and those who can journey toward it. Please share this with anyone who might be interested. Here is the program ⬇️⬇️