Middle Eastern

AbdulMaalik Tailor Tour

AbdulMaalik, a Muslim convert for over 20 years, is London’s first professionally qualified Muslim Tour Guide. A Londoner from birth, he specialises in Muslim heritage in Britain. We met him in Walthamstow for a tour, and then met at a community-focused cafe (despite being a chain) to meet with members of the local Muslim community.

You can follow AbdulMaalik on Instagram:

@muslimhistorytours

Melek Erdal Tour

Melek is a cook, cookery teacher and writer constantly inspired by flavours from her Kurdish heritage and the wider Middle East. We met her at the hotel and went up Kingsland Road to visit the famous Ridley Road Market, full of incredible food stalls. We also went to the local Kurdish and Turkish Community Centre. We then met with her sister and friend.

Faissal, Shukryia & Friends

We had dinner with Faissal El-Malak is a Palestinian designer who is currently studying at Goldsmiths, and his friend, Somali Shukriya, who was born and raised in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Dinner was had in West London along with four of their friends from various backgrounds in Africa and the Middle East.

Aser El-Saqqa Dinner

Aser El-Saqqa is the Palestinian founder of London’s AWAN (Arab Women Artists Now) festival, is a passionate advocate for pan-Arab artists and creatives. He is the Managing Director of Arts Canteen. For the last 11 years, Arts Canteen has been empowering artists from the Arab world and beyond to tell their own stories, change perceptions, and tackle the big issues in today’s world.