A Wall in Your Script
A wall that reads in the script of whoever stands before it.
Why this image
A tall brick wall glows at sunset, every brick painted with a letter from a different script, and across it falls the shadow of someone reading a book. Since 1992 more than 120 wall poems in dozens of languages have appeared on Leiden's facades, the first a poem by Marina Tsvetaeva on the Nieuwsteeg 2. Russian, Arabic, Turkish, Chinese, Sranantongo and Frisian stand there beside English and French: the wall reads in the script of whoever reads it 1. Not painted, but the same many scripts: Tetouan, Bahrami, Le Thi and Erbil hang above the stalls of the market on the Nieuwe Rijn 4; a Middle Eastern Studies student starts with Arabic, Persian, Turkish or modern Hebrew 3; and the university's 33,839 students come from more than 120 nationalities 5.
What it draws on · 5
de talen op de muren
The poems are not in Dutch — or not only. On Leiden's facades stand Russian, Arabic, Turkish, Chinese, Japanese, Hebrew, Greek, Sanskrit, Urdu, Javanese, Buginese, Sarnami Hindustani, Sranantongo, Berber, Basque, Frisian and Muskogee, beside English, French, German, Spanish, Catalan, Italian, Portuguese, Polish and Swedish. That is the point of the project: the wall reads in the script of whoever reads it.
Sources · 2
- Nederlandstalige Wikipedia — Lijst van muurgedichten in Leiden: talen en schriften
- Muurgedichten Leiden — muurgedichten.nl
meer dan 120 muurgedichten
Since 1992, more than 120 wall poems in dozens of languages have appeared on Leiden's facades; the first was a poem by Marina Tsvetaeva on the Nieuwsteeg.
Sources · 1
- Stichting TEGEN-BEELD / muurgedichten.nl
wat je hier kunt studeren
Anyone starting Middle Eastern Studies in Leiden chooses a language at the outset: Arabic, Persian, Turkish or modern Hebrew. Beyond that a student can focus on the modern Middle East as a region or on Islam itself, and Islam can also be studied within Religious Studies. Turkish, in other words, is simply in the prospectus.
Sources · 2
- Universiteit Leiden — Midden-Oostenstudies (BA): keuze uit Arabisch, Perzisch, Turks of modern Hebreeuws
- Universiteit Leiden — Arabische taal en cultuur (BA); Religiewetenschappen
de namen van de kramen
Read the official market plan and you see the city itself. Among the seventy-odd stalls of 2025, alongside Van der Reijden, Overdevest, Verplancke, Severs and Polak, hang Tetouan, Bahrami, Le Thi, Shenoy, Ilias, La Nostra Terra, Señor Empanada, Silk Road Cuisines, Erbil, Hamza, Kaba and Mabroek. Leiden's variety is not inside the stall; it is on the sign above it.
Sources · 1
- Gemeente Leiden — officiële marktflyer en plattegrond 2025: namenlijst van de kramen
wie er nu studeert
In the academic year 2024-25 the university had 33,839 students, with more than 120 nationalities among them. There are 16 English-taught bachelor's programmes and 78 English-taught master's programmes, together offering nearly two hundred specialisations.
Sources · 2
- Leiden University — Engelstalige Wikipedia: 33.839 studenten (2024-25)
- Universiteit Leiden — Internationalisation: 120+ nationaliteiten, Engelstalige opleidingen
Shares its places with · 13
Flowers on the FlatsPublic Art and Street Art · Market at the Nieuwe Rijn
The Next HouseLeiden University - Islamic Studies · Leiden University (Academy Building)
A Flower Named After a HatPublic Art and Street Art
A Language as a VoicePublic Art and Street Art
Behind the FacadePublic Art and Street Art
The Name RemainsMarket at the Nieuwe Rijn
Where Waters MeetMarket at the Nieuwe Rijn
Forever RenewedLeiden University - Islamic Studies
Come and LookLeiden University - Islamic Studies
The Same RouteLeiden University - Islamic Studies
East Through BooksLeiden University - Islamic Studies
The Sky TurnsLeiden University (Academy Building)
The Refilled CityLeiden University (Academy Building)
Painted with an image model from the facts on this page, and chosen by hand. City in Motion.