The towering history of the tantour

Part of Lebanon's rich cultural heritage, the tall, conical headdress associated with princesses sparked the curiosity of a global audience when it made a cameo at the Miss Universe pageant

Rosette Fadel

The Kemalists' Veil of Tolerance

[caption id="attachment_55246534" align="alignnone" width="594"] Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party MP Nurcan Dalbudak (L) is greeted wearing a headscarf as she attends a general assembly…

Nicholas Birch

Razeq and the Caliph

[caption id="attachment_55246392" align="alignnone" width="620"] Sultan Abdul Hamid II, the 99th caliph and the last sultan to exert effective control over the Ottoman Empire.[/caption] For 1,300…

Abdullah Al-Rashid

A Tale of Five Cities

[caption id="attachment_55246443" align="alignnone" width="620"] The sun rises behind the Blue Mosque in the Sultanahmet area of Istanbul on February 22, 2012 in Istanbul, Turkey. ( Dan Kitwood/Getty…

Vedica Kant

No Time for the Olive Branch

[caption id="attachment_55246307" align="alignnone" width="620"]Samia Halaby"Sunrise Green" (Courtesy of the Ayyam Gallery)[/caption]In her words, Palestinian artist and academic Samia Halaby has the…

Tam Hussein

The Messenger

[caption id="attachment_55246280" align="alignnone" width="620"] Abdulnasser Gharem, Portrait of the Artist from the Performance Flora and Fauna, 2007 (Courtesy Edge of Arabia )[/caption] …

Tara Aghdashloo

Playing in the Dark

[caption id="attachment_55246116" align="alignnone" width="620"] Al Nour Wa Amal playing in Laeiszhalle, Hamburg. (Ati Metwaly)[/caption]Wherever in the world Al Nour Wal Amal perform, they elicit an…

Ati Metwaly

A Power Façade

[caption id="attachment_55246097" align="alignnone" width="620"] 'Missed' by Mourad Salem, mixed media on canvas. (Courtesy:Rose Issa Projects)[/caption] An intriguingly titled exhibition, Sultans…

Juliet Highet

I am Israeli

[caption id="attachment_55246020" align="alignnone" width="594"] Israeli Arab children play inside an air ball in a swimming pool as Muslims celebrate the Eid Al-Fitr holiday on August 20, 2012 in…

Jonathan Cook

Mashrou' Leila's New Project

[caption id="attachment_55245956" align="alignnone" width="620"] Hamed Sinno of Mashrou' Leila. (The Majalla/James Hanna)[/caption]The small concert hall at The Garage in Highbury and Islington is a…

Amy Assad

I Want to Ride My Bicycle

Wadjda is an adventurous pre-teen with a simple enough request: she wants a bicycle. But in Saudi Arabia, bicycles are only for boys. Girls are not supposed to exert themselves in any kind of…

Caryle Murphy