MicroView – Anthrow Circus

MicroView: Running Around Bethlehem

STORY AND PHOTO BY JOY BORKHOLDER

“Freedom of movement” wasn’t really on my mind as I trained at home in Seattle to run my first 10K in Bethlehem, a shorter race within the Palestine Marathon.
This 10K wasn’t the real goal of my fourth visit to the region. Instead, I went to help a friend with a book project, see other friends, and visit some holy sites, with a bit of excellent falafel and a 10K on the side.
The marathon organizers hope to build a running culture in Palestine, foster cultural exchange among residents and visitors, and highlight the lack of freedom of movement Palestinians experience.

MicroView: Sagrada Família Was What I Needed

STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAMI L. RICE

I hadn’t even stepped inside yet but had already declared Barcelona’s Sagrada Família my new favorite place in the world.

From the stony stations of the cross built into the façade on one side, to the splashes of color in just the right places all over the exterior, to dripping, stony incarnations of gingerbread house icing, to engraved names here and there of characters in the Bible stories the building tells—it was all magnificent. It was a storybook come to life.

MicroView: Terrible News and Beautiful Fruit

STORY AND PHOTO BY MARINA GROSS-HOY

The headline of my local newspaper’s weekend edition was literally: “I do not have good news.”

It was a quote from Quebec’s premier at a press conference about new measures responding to rising COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

MicroView: Steel Magnolias Albania-Style

STORY AND PHOTO BY C. VANO

Some aspects of life really are the same, regardless of geography. My hairdresser’s shop feels like the Albanian version of Steel Magnolias, with women dropping in and back out again, mostly just stopping to chat or help themselves to my hairdresser’s tools and beauty supplies.

MicroView: What the Pain Protects

STORY BY PETE SHERRY

In June 2019, at the age of 43, I was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer. I underwent colon resection surgery and eight months of chemotherapy, and was then declared “cancer free” in the early spring of 2020.

MicroView From a Pandemic: Hungary

ENGLISH AND HUNGARIAN TEXT BY ZSOFIA GERLEI
PHOTOS BY ARMON MEANS

Just like most parts of the world, Hungary registered its first COVID-19 cases in March. Nine months ago, as I write this in December, which should feel like a long time but honestly it doesn’t. Maybe because looking back at it, it hasn’t brought much of a change for me.

MicroView: Mahboob’s Afghanistan

STORY AND PHOTOS BY MAHBOOB FAIZI

In the newest installment in our roving View From Here series Mahboob Faizi takes us to a quiet spot near Kabul, Afghanistan. With this article, we’re excited to add a new language in our Sans Frontières series of articles published in multiple languages. Mahboob has written for us in both English and Dari, which is the version of Persian spoken in Afghanistan.

MicroView: Jewish Cemetery, Sarajevo

STORY AND PHOTOS BY CAT NORMAN TAHIROVIĆ

Cat Norman Tahirović is particularly gifted at learning of the hidden treasures of her adopted home in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Here, she takes us on a stroll to one of them, in the newest installment in our roving View From Here series.

MicroView: Chenonceaux, France

STORY AND PHOTOS BY JC JOHNSON

During a summer visit to France, JC Johnson toured a chateau that was the site of its fair share of intrigue – making it the perfect setting for the newest installment in our roving View From Here series.

MicroView: Khuruskhul, Cox’s Bazar

STORY AND PHOTOS BY NIHAB RAHMAN

Our View From Here series is back as Nihab Rahman takes us inside a little moment of Bangladeshi life.

Near Chowfol-Dondi Bridge in Khuruskhul, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, Ziyaul Haque, 21 years old, repairs his five-year-old boat for its next destination, which is Sundarbans, the only mangrove forest in Bangladesh.