Hopefully this is the beginning of the introduction of new features to the site (more within a few weeks), but aside from the general look and feel the two (for now!) sub-sites have been given more prominence on the front page. You can always see the latest headlines at 3arabawy and Hatshepsut in the first sidebar, as well as my del.icio.us links for stuff I don’t have time to blog about. The far-right sidebar also contains the latest comment activity to make it easier to follow the arguments, while individual post pages display in the middle sidebar any related posts to the one you’re reading.
Another change you’ll notice is that the Google ads are back, with a disclaimer. For most of the time I’ve been running this site I have not had any or many ads, but considering the effort that goes into it I can no longer justify not having it generate some income. At a later point, I may also add a tip box. The Arabist.net family, all put together, generates a considerable amount of web traffic for a Middle East based blog and we want to leverage that.
One final thing is that my name no longer appears on posts or elsewhere on the blog. I have had to do this for professional reasons, and the alternative would have been shutting down the blog. Although many longtime readers know very well who I am, for now my posts must remain anonymous — it’s a bit weird but necessary.
Please let me know if you have problems with the new design — it should work in modern browsers such as Firefox, but older ones could have difficulties with it. There will be a few more small changes in the week ahead and all remaining bugs are squashed.
P.S. The picture: out with the old fuul cart picture, in with this scene of Sharia Fouad (today’s 26th July) from E.P. Jacobs Le mystere de la grande pyramide.
testing comments
Didn’t work for me earlier.
ah well, it works now 🙂
I like the new look and feel of the place, like when an old friend gets a cool new haircut: you know it’s the same thing underneath, just takes a little getting used to, and you start to notice features you never did before.
Have to say though, I will miss the fuul cart etc – I loved the old blog’s pared down, uncluttered chic look. Although packed with insight and perception, it never felt too busy.
Good to know where the cartoon is from – I had decided it was Tintin.
Thanks Eliza,
I liked the fuul cart pic too but no longer want to endorse the place it’s from (Tarek Mahrous in Garden City) as this Ramadan their service, food and prices all got a little out of control.
The uncluttered look had its advantages, for sure but this is the best way to showcase the sub-blogs.
What happened to Mahrous??? Ack!
I think the varying font sizes (esp the larger font for the main blog) contribute to an air of clutter. Is it possible to use the same font/size throughout?
The banner is really cool, I like it so much. It’s so Tin Tin, but an Egyptian Tin Tin 🙂
I love the new banner, too, but you could expect I might. I also thank you for putting Arabawi and Hatshepsut on the front page, as they both have good stuff that I often forget to check.
bseha ^^, it’s perfect !
this is beautiful, i love the old school look.
Alf Mabruk!
I think it’ll take some getting used to and probably a bunch of tweaking, but it’s just the direction the Arabist needs to be going in.
3o2bal 27 sana.
good style and like the showcasing of other blogs. However, the cartoon gives it a colonialist touch.
‘Fikr Gedid’ -here’s hoping 😉
Very interesting new look, will take some getting used to, but I do love the Tintin, erm, french comic book, look to it.
What happened to Mahrous? I went there once a few years back during Ramadan and it was out of control, but then it went back to normal. Hopefully the current situation is just a passing phase…
Hey Mr. Arabist 🙂
Congrats on the new look, love the new banner. Very ironic in a colonial way…