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النسخة العربية
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Installation "The Black Arch" by Saudi sisters Raja and Shadia Alem is seen at the pavilion of Saudi Arabia taking part in the Venice Biennale for the first time on 2 June 2011, in Venice, Italy. Marco Secchi / Getty

Shadia Alem and the art of sacred continuity

From Mecca to the global stage, Saudi artist Shadia Alem's work unfolds as a continuous practice shaped by memory, spirituality, and place

Mimoza Al-Arrawi 18 March 2026
Lady Evelyn Cobbold, a Scottish aristocrat who converted to Islam and performed the Hajj in 1933, becoming the first British Muslim woman to do so. Getty Images

The Orientalists who entered Mecca in disguise

For centuries, Mecca was the pinnacle of exploration for Western travellers. Shrouded in mystery, it captured the imagination of a small but daring group of European Orientalists

Abdullah Al-Rashid 06 June 2025
Lina Jaradat

The world's first coffeehouse was in Mecca

In 1511, there were places in Mecca specifically designated for selling and drinking coffee, known as coffee houses. Decades later, the first café opened in Istanbul.

Abdullah Al-Rashid 15 November 2024
  • Popular
  • Editor's Pick
Axel Rangel Garcia
Politics

Why a cornered Iran is also a problem for China

02 May 2026

Even when appeals to open the Hormuz Strait come from a close ally like Beijing, they fall on deaf ears in Tehran. But hope is not yet lost.

Xiaotong Yang
Sara Padovan
Business & Economy

Global airfares soar amid ongoing US-Iran turmoil

04 May 2026

Airspace closures, rising fuel costs, shifting flight maps and delayed aircraft deliveries have repriced flights around the world, with some travel routes hit worse than others

Abdel-Rahman Ayas
A man holds a flag featuring the late leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the late Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei and the new leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, at a rally in Tehran on 29 April 2026. Majid Asgaripour / Reuters
Politics

Real Iran splits and the myth of division

04 May 2026

The argument is over the price and presentation, not the basic instinct to preserve the system

Alex Vatanka
A Lebanese guard stands in front of  Magen Abraham, the last Jewish synagogue in Lebanon at Wadi Abou Jmil, Beirut's former Jewish neighbourhood, in the war-devastated city centre. JOSEPH BARRAK / AFP
Culture & Social Affairs

New book recalls Beirut’s once-vibrant Jewish quarter

01 May 2026

Veteran Lebanese journalist Nada Abdelsamad transports readers back to the time when Beirut's Jewish quarter, known at the time as Wadi al-Yahud, was thriving

Abdul Rahman Mazhar Halloush
Turkish fighter jets fly over a warship in Kyrenia, in the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. AFP
Politics

How the Iran war changed Türkiye’s security calculus

05 May 2026

Ankara's national security priority is no longer Kurds or Gülenists, but Israel. Likewise, in Tel Aviv, Türkiye is increasingly seen as a future Israeli adversary. Both are preparing accordingly

Rustum Mahmud

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OPINIONS

Trump's blockade of Iran's blockade

Fares Garabet
Fares Garabet

A deeper look at the life of 'the first Arab Cinderella'

Fadi El-Abdallah
Fadi El-Abdallah

Damascus is keen to improve Lebanon ties. But is Beirut?

Alia Mansour
Alia Mansour

Farage emerges as viable PM contender amid Labour losses

Con Coughlin
Con Coughlin
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