Stories of Our City

A worldwide project to cultivate community and understanding by sharing real stories from real people around the globe

236: Livin' On a Prayer 03/12/2025

236: Livin' On a Prayer Prayer beads are used by adherents of various religions worldwide, including Muslims. Khalid and his family have been working in the field of making, repairing, and selling prayer beads (misbaha in Arabic) for generations. /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/35652370

235: Against the Grain 07/03/2024

235: Against the Grain Like many fellow natives of the historic town of Bethlehem, Khader Shebat practices the trade of olive woodcraft as he seeks to share this artistic and traditional craft from the Holy Land with the world. /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/31976787

234: The Tea Party 05/22/2024

234: The Tea Party For Ibrahim Al-Ahlas, owner of Rahaf Tea in Amman, Jordan, tea is more than a beverage—it’s a culture. A culture that he celebrates and shares with both locals and expats alike. /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/31416772

233: Resculpting History 04/05/2024

233: Resculpting History Rewriting history is far from a thing of the past. And presently, Bassem Nabeel, a content creator in the Middle East, is putting a new take on the concept by combining his love for both sculpting and history in presenting neutral analysis of historical figures as he sculpts them in stop-motion videos. /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/30692988

232: A Bright Idea 03/04/2024

232: A Bright Idea It is said that necessity is the mother of invention. Zidane Mitoubssi (Zee-dan Mit-wub-see) was a newly graduated college student entering a workplace for which he found himself somewhat unprepared. And then he and a friend had a bright idea. /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/30219448

231: Out of the Ruin 11/29/2023

231: Out of the Ruin Beauty is worship, according to Kamal Aldeen Abu Halaweh. And ruin is just an ingredient for making something beautiful. /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/28841918

230: A New Life Cycle 09/20/2023

230: A New Life Cycle For Radwan Hashem, cycling is more than a sport—it’s a lifestyle. After undergoing a series of knee surgeries, the bike became a lifeline for him—as well as a teacher. /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/28092698

229: Holy Dagger 09/07/2023

229: Holy Dagger As an essential part of their culture, the dagger is sacred among the Bedouin (nomadic) people, according to craftsman Nayif Abu Muhaysin, whose family has been making daggers for four generations. As such, he aims to help continue preserving traditional Bedouin heritage for future generations through his traditional, handmade daggers. /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/27968805

228: Small World 07/19/2023

228: Small World Ahmad Adnan Al-Eriqsousi’s love for the historic version of his hometown inspired him to begin to immortalize it through three-dimensional miniature models during his retirement. /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/27507906

227: Renaissance Girl 04/05/2023

227: Renaissance Girl Even at the young age of fourteen, Ghazal Al-Madadha already has quite an extensive acting résumé and began reciting poetry as young as six years old. As a Jordanian national arts ambassador, she aims to empower other girls to make headway in Arab society and culture through the arts and beyond. /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/26451411

226: Restored: From Corporate to Creative 02/22/2023

226: Restored: From Corporate to Creative As a self-proclaimed small town kid who grew up on her grandfather’s farm, Aubrey learned the value and joy of hands-on labor from observing and working alongside her family. During a successful run in the corporate world, various factors—including impending burnout—led Aubrey to begin seeking a creative outlet to combat and manage stress. A chance encounter with a scrapped piece of furniture at the apartment dumpster during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic led her into the world of furniture resale and restoration—and ultimately to her own restoration as a person and creative. /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/26010012

225: 1,001 Signs 02/01/2023

225: 1,001 Signs When Gazi Khattab began practicing Arabic calligraphy as a child, he would go downtown to study the plethora of shop signage and advertisements on display for guidance and inspiration. This exposure to the environmental street décor of Jordan’s capital city eventually led him to begin collecting and preserving old signs—some of which are now on display in his Old Signs of Amman Museum in the heart of the city. /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/25796721

224: A Cowboy Fantasy 12/14/2022

224: A Cowboy Fantasy When Sanad Albokhari was a child, he had two recurring dreams. One was seeing the ocean. The other was living a rustic life—like a cowboy. /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/25323681

223: El Camino (The Way) 11/23/2022

223: El Camino (The Way) Javier was only five years old when he was separated from his mother and older sister as they tried to cross into the United States from Mexico. His family made it. But he was sent back. After two further failed immigration attempts with a protective stranger, little Javier made a solo attempt in hopes of finally being reunited with his family. Could he find the way? Listen as Javier shares the details of his harrowing journey. /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/25109823

222: Sticks & Stones 10/19/2022

222: Sticks & Stones Osama Al-Issawi first learned how to work with stone from his father, who was a grouter, during summer breaks in middle school. His craftiness and respect for the environment eventually led Osama to seek to turn other people’s trash into treasure by upcycling various objects—namely cardboard—into works of art and décor. /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/24723546

221: Hope Floats 09/07/2022

221: Hope Floats Welcome to a new season of Stories of Our City—real stories from real people around the globe. This week's story comes from Lima, Peru. The daughter of Mexican immigrants to the United States who was born during the Great Depression, Gloria Aguilera Nichtawitz (Nēsh-ta-vitz) has a can-do spirit that perseveres. Coming from a line of honest, hardworking people, she found a way through various obstacles and challenges to realize her dream of helping others around the world through nursing. /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/24300783

220: The New Skool 04/20/2022

220: The New Skool Hip-hop is more than a genre of popular music; it’s a global culture and lifestyle. Having left its mark across the globe in the last several decades, no place has been untouched—not even the farthest islands. Ireland is no exception. Irish native Stevie G, both a music and radio DJ and one of the many worldwide influenced by this global phenomenon, has taken up the mantle of passing the history and culture of hip-hop on to the next generation. Listen as he shares his passion for sharing the knowledge and values of hip-hop culture with today’s youth in Ireland and beyond. /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/22851533

219: Music to My Eyes 03/30/2022

219: Music to My Eyes For fine artist Muhammad Abu Aziz, music and art—particularly that of Arabic calligraphy—share an intimate relationship. The Arabic calligrapher’s pen itself is made from the same material as that of the flute. And, so, the role of calligraphy in Muhammad’s eyes ultimately becomes “making rhythms on its own like music.” /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/22611698

218: Lone Star Love 03/09/2022

218: Lone Star Love Although her collegiate studies initially brought Begum, a native of Turkey, to the United States, love is what ultimately brought her back. As one of only a handful of Turks in a small Texas city, this holistic nutritionist and expectant mother found that breaking out of her comfort zone was eventually the way to home sweet home. /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/22390409

217: Culture Chameleon 02/23/2022

217: Culture Chameleon Lucy Waja is a self-described multicultural cocktail who is a big fan of elephants. As a half Indian, half Sudanese native of the cosmopolitan capital of Jordan, a predominantly Arab country, Lucy naturally developed a love for other cultures and a knack for effectively navigating between several of them on a daily basis, being the daughter of a triple citizen of India, Sri Lanka, and Jordan. Listen as she shares her colorful journey of cultural and self-discovery. /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/22235378

216: Frame by Frame 01/26/2022

216: Frame by Frame For Ribal Jafari, a multi-talented twenty-something living in Amman, Jordan, story is everything. As an aspiring filmmaker, Ribal is looking to make his mark in the world by getting his interpretation of the cosmopolitan culture and story of the Middle East onto the big screen. Ultimately, he’s seeking to expand the world’s perspective toward Arabs through the art form of film—one frame at a time. /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/21891062

215: Soaking Up the Sponge 11/17/2021

215: Soaking Up the Sponge Many across the Arab world use the fully ripened fruit of the luffa genus of vegetables, of the cucumber family, as a soap sponge. But more than a decade ago, retired copywriter and editor Ibrahim Alfar, of Amman, Jordan, began exploring the application of luffa in other ways. /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/21180917

214: Broadcasting Knowledge 11/03/2021

214: Broadcasting Knowledge When Abood Aladham began beatboxing more than a decade ago, he had little knowledge about music in general and the local music scene in Amman, Jordan. Fast-forward 12 years, he's now the host of an Arabic podcast called Wallah Miaow (والله مياو), which currently seeks to spread knowledge about the Arab music world, its artists, and music and art in general. /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/21025817

213: Meats & Beats 10/20/2021

213: Meats & Beats Whether it’s food or music, Issa Dababneh of Jolly Man Food Company in Amman, Jordan, loves to produce. When the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily closed the doors of his restaurant and factory, Issa turned to his first production love—music—and Pandemic Beats was born. /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/20877716

212: Footwork & Folklore 10/06/2021

212: Footwork & Folklore Dance plays a vital role in preserving Circassian culture and customs, as this indigenous people from the North Caucasus have been scattered abroad due to genocide and war in the 19th century. The Highlanders, the dance troupe of the International Circassian Cultural Academy of Amman, Jordan, aims to do just this: preserve its people's rich folklore through fancy footwork. /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/20711798

211: From Heroin to Heroine 09/22/2021

211: From Heroin to Heroine One of two things likely comes to mind when you hear the word heroin: the infamous narcotic or a woman admired for her courage and bravery. This week's story is one that encompasses both. Gretchen Courting first started using cocaine when she was only 15 years old. Later, followed a nearly decade-long battle with heroin addiction. Refusing to sugarcoat the many difficulties she faced along the way, Gretchen describes those years in her 20's as being filled with homelessness and self-destruction. But her story is not void of redemption. Listen as Gretchen shares the story of her transformation from heroin addict to a heroine of sorts who seeks to share her story in hopes of helping anyone caught in the dreadful throes of addiction. Please note: the following story contains detailed descriptions of substance addiction. Listener discretion is advised. /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/20547617

210: These Walls Can Talk 09/08/2021

210: These Walls Can Talk When 14-year-old artist Zeina, of Amman, Jordan, was confined inside the walls of her house during the beginning of the global COVID-19 pandemic, she decided to expand her creative canvas by painting on the outdoor walls of her parents’ villa to share her art with passersby and spread positive messages for all to see. /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/20389946

209: I Ride Camels 05/12/2021

209: I Ride Camels As the world’s second-largest religion, and fastest-growing major religion to boot, Islam and the people who adhere to its tenets are still largely misunderstood worldwide. Sara AlZyoud, a Jordanian university student, relates some of her experiences traveling as a Muslim and some commonly-held stereotypes against her people and region that she encountered along the way. May you be enlightened as Sara sheds light on the broader picture of Islam and the varied nature of the Arab world. /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/19068830

208: Opening a Door to Heaven 04/28/2021

208: Opening a Door to Heaven For many worldwide, the Islamic month of Ramadan is associated only with fasting. But for Sara AlZyoud and other Muslims, this holy month is about intentionally connecting with God and their communities in various ways. Listen as Sara relates how Ramadan is “the epitome of family values” and serves for her as a vehicle for gratitude and sacrifice, as well as a way to keep her grounded in the faith she shares with her family and culture. /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/18893153

207: Back in the Saddle 04/14/2021

207: Back in the Saddle Hannah Walker was only five years old when she was first introduced to horseback riding at summer camp. And she immediately fell head over heels for horses. But when a tragic horseback accident occurred, Hannah hit rock bottom, not knowing if she’d ever get back in the saddle again. /episode/index/show/storiesofmycity/id/18705470

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