Things My Brother Gave Me

A magic lamp. I would be lying if I said I haven't given this baby a good rub or two, squeezing my eyes shut, praying that the legend is true. Nothing escaped of course, but I love how heavy it is - it keeps me guessing whether a large purple genie is in fact held captive.

A picture frame with doors. I'm still unsure what to put inside this, I think the most appropriate thing would be some Quranic script. Or perhaps a picture I took somewhere in Algeria.

An Italian Quran, this might actually belong to my sister-in-law, Stefania who converted to Islam some time ago.

A Moroccan tea pitcher. I believe this is decorative only as the spout has been filled.

I wanted some equestrian boots for the longest time, and I was lucky enough that there was a pair from seasons ago sitting around in just my size (this never happens!). I have yet to wear them, only because they are probably worth more than my entire wardrobe put together and I would panic if I got them damaged.

Books about travel. My brother Adam is the only one in the family who buys coffee table books, which I absolutely adore about him. The top one is called Lyrics of the Sands and has several pictures of various sand dunes across the Middle East. My sister in law is from Naples, Italy so they have both collected several books and items reminiscent of the city.

My brother traveled to the Middle East when I was maybe 8 or 9. I remember asking him to bring me back something, all the while knowing it might not be possible to find something a little girl would like in the streets of Mecca. He came back with a Polaroid camera. It was the best gift I had ever been given. Unfortunately, the film was too expensive to continue purchasing so my mum decided we should give it away (bad idea). So of course, I decided to repurchase one last year in memory of the one I lost. I'll never forget it though. 

Fashion memorabilia. I sorta just took these without even asking, as he's left so much of this stuff here in Australia. When he came back last year to visit he was going to throw them out until I rescued them. They might not be totally relevant now, but to look through them is really fascinating.

My pride and joy. Adam bought this for me after I had finished high school and got accepted to study medical science at UTS. It was only a big deal because I'm the only sibling who decided to go on and continue studying like my parents did. I remember him asking "It's a bag or a laptop - you pick" - would you believe I almost considered the bag? *rolls eyes*