Erragab Eljanhaoui writes about Captain James Riley and Sidi Hamet, and his role in catalysing the end of slavery in 19th century America. Image via SFGate

Compiled by record store owner Mohamad Rifaï (aka @ri_fo) who's behind @thelickrecords in Beirut, and features some of his favorite Arabic interpretations of international hits that even your grandad might know.

According to Ramzi Gosn, a bottle of arak requires 5 kilograms of grapes, 180 grams of aniseed, 13 hours of labor, 11 months of aging, and an afternoon to drink. In this blog, we dive into the history & cultural legacy of this much-loved drink.

Inspired by our recent conversation with Fadi Boukaram, we’ve put together a list of English words that you’d never guess come from Arabic.