Biography

I should not tell you of Berenice, the unjust city… Instead, I should tell you of the hidden Berenice, the city of the just, handling makeshift materials in the shadowy rooms behind the shops and beneath the stairs,

- Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities

HIDDEN CITIES is a blog of stories from the Middle East written by Frederick Deknatel, a 2008-2009 Fulbright Fellow in Syria. Currently based in Cairo New York.

A freelance journalist and writer, I’ve written for the Christian Science Monitor, GlobalPost.com, the UNHCR News Agency, Daily News Egypt, Al Jazeera English, the Architect’s Newspaper and others. I blog for the Huffington Post.

Some recent stories:

“Egypt: American University opens in desert. New Cairo to follow?” CSM, 26/10/2009.

“West Bank brewery celebrates success with Oktoberfest,” GlobalPost.com, 3/10/2009.

“In Syria, delicate preservation work is pushing against profit-driven speed,” CSM, 31/08/2009.

“Syria: Where war hides history,” CSM, 26/08/2009.

“The road for Damascus,” GlobalPost.com, 23/08/2009.

“Syria: Iraqi artists, now refugees, struggle to pursue art in exile,” CSM, 28/07/2009

“Disaster tourism at the edge of the Golan Heights,” Huffington Post, 06/05/2009.

“Refugee Chess,” Wunderkammer Magazine, 19/04/2009.

“Iraqi artists in Syria get a rare chance to exhibit their work,” UNHCR News, 25/03/2009.