Hey, I'm Hibah Fisher and you're listening to Kearning Cultures,

stories from the Middle East and the spaces in between.

And one story that always kind of captures my imagination.

The streets lost culture.

And you're listening to Kearning cultures.

Today, we have a story about two rival inventors.

Two men, one Egyptian, the other from what was at the time called Greater Syria.

Both of these men claimed to have invented the Arabic typewriter.

But as inventions go, there's only one inventor, right?

So what's the true version of history?

We're going to try and figure it out with you today.

Our story starts with the man named Wili Dwekids.

My name is Walid Weakid. What do you want to know?

What do you do for a living?

Where do you live?

So I currently live in New Zealand.

I've been living there for the past almost 10 years now.

And I work as a doctor, as an urgent care physician. But I was, I was born

in Egypt. And growing up, Wili's great-grandfather was something of a legend in the family.

He's basically, to me, he's, he's a mystical character that I've been hearing about him all my life. He was a very

hard worker. He also used to hear another thing. Oh, by the way, you know, your great grandfather

was the sole inventor of the Arabic typewriter. I think we all probably have a similar story.

...