Dear friends, we did it! We spent the last three months in class traveling boldly about a region of the world that is steeped in ancient history, full of peoples who are deeply confident in their cultures, customs and beliefs, where ancestry and tradition, perspective and five-thousand year context, shade virtually every public (and private) political act. We've learned that West Asian and Middle Eastern music can be fast and furious, twirling rhythmically like a whirling dervish, or it can be gripping and even deeply passionate as it accompanies emotive folk dances or provides the musical framework that underpins the recitation of poetry. Since we began our West Asian and Middle Eastern journey we've celebrated holidays that predate the dominant religions of the era and experienced music that stands on the shoulder of thousands of years of song. We've also learned that the people of this region, while they consciously carry the past are, as much as the rest of us, all about the here, the now, and the future.    

I sincerely hope that this journey has been educational, entertaining and, if we've done well, enlivening. Let's spend this final week looking back on our adventures, and taking one more chance to sing our new favorite songs.