From a young age I've been involved in art, both in developing artistic practice myself, and also visiting museums and other cultural institutions, and studying it academically. This concerns visual/material art, but I do enjoy collecting and listening to music, as well as cinema, and I like doing photography myself while traveling. Furthermore, I'm interested in history, religion and politics, and their relation to cultural expressions. I like to travel to be able to understand what countries, cultures, artworks and people are really about in all of the dimensions that remain invisible in texts or pictures.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Couchsurfing gives me a perfect starting point from which to discover cultures by giving the opportunity to stay with people in their homes. As I mentioned in the 'about me' section, the 'dimensions' of domesticity, family and direct interaction with people may offer experiences that could remain hidden when you travel in a different way.

Interests

• contemporary art
• traveling
• religion
• cinema
• middle east
• travel photography
• black music
• postcolonial studies
• cultural history
• islamic architecture

Music, Movies, and Books

Hip Hop music and all of its earlier influences (and building blocks), like Funk, Soul, Jazz, Blues etc. I particularly enjoy James Brown, Gil Scott-Heron, John Coltrane and A Tribe Called Quest.

My favorite movies include 'Pan's Labyrinth', 'The Motorcycle Diaries', 'The Land of the Enlightened', 'The Grand Budapest Hotel', 'The Prestige' and 'Malcolm X'.

Lately I've really enjoyed reading Shahab Ahmed's profoundly innovative 'What is Islam?', but I also like reading works of fiction such as Naguib Mahfouz's 'Palace Walk', Zia Haider Rahman's 'In the Light of What We Know' and Ronit Matalon's 'The One Facing Us'.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

In summer 2017 I had the opportunity to visit Rudkhan Castle in Gilan Province, Iran. It used to be populated by the Nizari-Isma'ili's in the 11th and 12th centuries, who remain an obscure sect whose political order (along with their great library at Alamut) was destroyed by the Mongols. Throughout history they've been mythified by Sunni scholars, Christian crusaders, later European writers and recently the game developers at Ubisoft. All of this historical and mythical layeredness, along with the very real physical presence of the awesome brick-laid building (which was still beautifully intact) was an amazing experience to me.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, India, Iran, Morocco, Spain, Turkey

Countries I’ve Lived In

Netherlands