Reviews
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Schoenhof’s Foreign Books
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Yiddish, Websites, Bookstores/Libraries, Kids
Founded in 1856, Schoenhof’s claims to have the “largest collection of foreign books in North America.” As a student at Harvard, I used to shop at their main store in Harvard Square for my language and literature course materials. I…
Arab American Association of New York
Arabic, Organizations
This mission of this wonderful community resource, notes its website, “is to support and empower the Arab Immigrant and Arab American community by providing services to help them adjust to their new home and become active members of society. Our…
Alwan for the Arts
Arabic, Museums/Cultural
In downtown Manhattan, you can visit Alwan for the Arts for cultural events in the realms of music, dance, film, books, and more. An event I went to there in 2009 was enticingly called “Leyya Tawil’s Dance Elixir,” with clarinetist…
Dahesh Heritage Bookstore
Arabic, Bookstores/Libraries
This is a bookstore and publishing company that I visited a couple of times back in 2009, when it was located at 57th Street and Broadway. At the time of this writing, Dahesh was in transit to a new location, so…
Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
Arabic, Neighborhoods
According to 2000 census data, there were 24,000 Arabic speakers in Brooklyn, with a third of them residing in Bay Ridge. Take the R train to Bay Ridge Avenue (and Fourth), walk over to Fifth Avenue, and you will be…
Brooklyn Maqam Cultural Walking Tours
Arabic, Neighborhoods
Through the Brooklyn Arts Council, you can enjoy occasional inexpensive tours of Arab neighborhoods in Brooklyn. They also post maps online, for Atlantic Avenue and Bay Ridge, should you prefer to tour on your own for…
Central Park
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Yiddish, Parks, Kids
Central Park draws international visitors year round, but if you really want to hear other languages, walk around here during the three non-freezing seasons: spring, summer, and fall. Summer especially is crazy with tourists. You can hear dozens of languages.…
Balady Halal Foods
Arabic, Food and Drink
“The finest Middle Eastern Halal market,” according to its Facebook page. I haven’t bought anything there, but I’ve been inside, and I liked the looks of it! It is located in the heavily Arabic-speaking neighborhood of Bay Ridge…
Älskling
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Shopping, Kids
Älskling, which means “darling” in Swedish, sells baby clothes online in dozens of languages. When I first encountered this product in an Upper West Side shop some years ago, I was fortunate enough to be given a tour by…