ع
Sections
  • Politics
  • Culture & Social Affairs
  • Business & Economy
  • Science & Technology
  • Documents & Memoirs
Regions
  • Gulf
  • MENA
  • Europe
  • USA
  • Asia
  • World
More
  • Videos
  • Cartoons
  • World in photos
  • Infographics
  • Profiles
  • Newsletter

LATEST ISSUE

Latest Issue
Magazine Archive
النسخة العربية
  • Politics
  • Culture & Social Affairs
  • Business & Economy
  • Science & Technology
  • Tag
  • mecca

The US-Iran war has sent the cost of Hajj 2026 soaring Lina Jaradat

Hajj 2026 could be the costliest season on record

Pilgrims continue to stream into Mecca despite rising travel costs and regional tensions following war in the Gulf.

Amer Ziab Al-Tamimi 26 May 2026
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
Eduardo Ramon
Politics

The Houthis: the final battle?

06 August 2026

Regional and global players have begun to realise that the threat posed by the Yemeni militant group requires comprehensive and decisive action

Al Majalla - London
Opinion

Finding an effective strategy to combat Iran and its 'axis'

03 August 2026

Regional states have come to the realisation that fighting 'axis' members individually will have little effect, and any tactical success will likely be short-lived

Ibrahim Hamidi
Workers are seen through a pipe at a construction site on the extension of Russia's TurkStream gas pipeline. Reuters
Business & Economy

Getting the oil out: exploring Hormuz alternatives

03 August 2026

Al Majalla looks at potential new export routes that big oil producers can use to offset Iran's control over key regional waterways

Sharif Mohammad
A member of the Popular Mobilisation Forces monitors the Iraq-Syria border in Al-Qaim, January 23, 2026. AFP
Politics

Iraq’s armed factions are still three steps ahead of Baghdad

03 August 2026

Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has vowed to dissolve armed groups by the end of September, but this is highly unlikely. Al Majalla explains why.

Salam Zaidan
Migrants walk towards the Fnideq region in northern Morocco after leaving Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta following an attempted crossing at the Bab Sebta border crossing, on the outskirts of Fnideq, on 1 August 2026. Abdel Majid BZIOUAT / AFP
Culture & Social Affairs

The Ceuta tragedy: illusory homelands and unattainable paradises

05 August 2026

Where social media offers magic solutions, the real world delivers slammed doors

Samer Abou Hawwach

Sign up for the Weekly Newsletter

Get the best of Al Majalla, straight to your inbox.

Your newsletter subscriptions are subject to Al Majalla privacy policy and terms and conditions.

OPINIONS

Syria cannot build lasting stability in a political vacuum

Haid Haid
Haid Haid

Red Sea defence alliance: opportunities and challenges

Amgad Fareid Eltayeb
Amgad Fareid Eltayeb

Rushdy Abaza: the Don Juan of Egyptian cinema

Wael Said
Wael Said

Why the United States keeps losing wars

Stephen M. Walt
Stephen M. Walt
MORE FROM OPINIONS
logo
  • Politics
  • Culture & Social Affairs
  • Business & Economy
  • Science & Technology
  • Documents & Memoirs
  • Gulf
  • MENA
  • Europe
  • USA
  • Asia
  • World
  • Videos
  • Cartoons
  • World in photos
  • Infographics
  • Profiles
  • About Al Majalla
  • Al Majalla Team
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact us
logo

© Al Majalla Magazine. All Rights Reserved.

0:00:00
0:00:00