My Top 10 New Favourite Blogs

None of these blogs are new per se, but some of them I only came across yesterday (hence, they’re new to me). Others I’ve been following for some time (like Unzipped).

I wonder, where do these bloggers have the time to write? None of them (as far as I know) make their living from blogging. And yet they put together well-thought-out, insightful, engaging stories (not to mention photographs and videos) on a regular basis.

I have complete respect for these writers and analysts (for they are analysts even if they may not say so themselves), artists, activists, journalists, moms, and cultural workers.

Here they are (in no particular order):

http://jonathanmakiri.com/blog/

Jonathan Makiri, American living in Istanbul. Currently in Yerevan. Beautiful photographs. See what he sees.

http://tom.ride-earth.org.uk/

Tom Allen, English cyclist and web guru living in Yerevan with his Armenian wife from Tehran, Iran. His first solo exhibit featuring photographs from touring (by bicycle, naturally) in the Middle East and North Africa opens at the Armenian Center for Contemporary Experimental Art (ACCEA, or NPAK in Armenian) in Yerevan tomorrow.

http://dividingmytime.typepad.com/my-blog/

Dividing My time: Finding the Funnier Side of Life in Russia

Jennifer Eremeeva. American expat living in Moscow. I think the title says it all :)

http://scaryazeri.blogspot.com/

Scary Azeri in the Suburbs

Mom from Baku, Azerbaijan, now living in the UK. I love her writing, and how accessible it is.

http://flyingcarpetsandbrokenpipelines.blogspot.com/

Arzu Geybullayeva. Young blogger, and social and political activist from Baku, Azerbaijan. Lived in the States for a year and has studied in Turkey and in the UK. Returned to Baku, where she works with the European Stability Initiative. Interests include conflict resolution (she writes extensively on conflicts in the South Caucasus), gender studies, and sustainable development.

http://gayarmenia.blogspot.com/

Art Mika. Gay Armenian man from Armenia currently living and working in the UK. I live in Yerevan, but somehow he seems to know more about what’s going on in my city than I do :) A trusted source on just about everything gay and Armenian (not to mention the Eurovision Song Contest :)

http://anastasiaashman.wordpress.com/

Anastasia Ashman (aka Thandelike). US expat living in Istanbul. “Furthering the worldwide cultural conversation: Raising the feminine voice on issues of culture and history, self improvement and the struggle for identity — in one family to entire hemispheres.”

http://rosedeniz.blogspot.com/

“Love, Rose”

Rose Deniz. American expat living in Turkey. Art is Dialogue curator. Writes about identity, mothering, hybrid lives, art. Just came across her blog yesterday and even though I’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg, I want to read more about what this writer and illustrator has to say.

http://arpinegrigoryan.blogspot.com/

“Whatever you are be a good one”

Arpiné Grigoryan. Armenian living in Armenia (can you believe it? Not an expat :) I relate very much to what she writes about, which is simply the day-to-day of living here, in Yerevan and in this life.

http://larajan.blogspot.com/

"Motherhood, Repatriation and other fictions" (I love the title.)

Lara Aharonian. Expat mother of three from Montreal, Canada (but Beirut, Lebanon, before that), living in Yerevan. The title says it all (side note: Lara is a friend of mine.)

And there you have it. Yes, there are many expats and yes, there’s a focus on the region (Azerbaijan, Turkey, Armenia). However, if you’re reading this (and if you read my blog, in general), I think you might be interested in what these bloggers have to say.

And if you’re a blogger writing about similar topics, drop me a line, introduce yourself. I’d love to read you :)

P.S. The idea for this blog came from here.