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  • Politics
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  • 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
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Former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party, waves an Israeli flag following the exit polls at his party headquarters, on the evening of Israel's national election, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on 28 October 2026. REUTERS/Shir Torem
Politics

Is Israel ready for its first non-Ashkenazi prime minister?

07, Nov 2026

Gadi Eisenkot, who may form a government, hails from a Moroccan-Jewish family. Israel's 15 prime ministers have all had European or Russian heritage. Is it time for a change?

Kamal Alam
Sara Padovan
Politics

The muted impact of electoral change on foreign policy

09, Nov 2026

Despite domestic shifts, new leaders often face structural constraints and have limited parameters to operate

Christopher Phillips
Pep Boatella
Science & Technology

Climate change is redrawing national borders

10, Nov 2026

Whether it is rivers, glaciers, or sea-level submergence, the implications of rising temperatures are becoming an increasingly urgent issue for states

Alaa Emara
Mohsen Rezaei attends a farewell ceremony on 3 July 2026 for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on 28 February in a US-Israel strike in Tehran. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
Profiles

Mohsen Rezaei: the unlikely peacemaker

09, Nov 2026

The former IRGC general was recently appointed as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. For the US, the danger is mistaking his prominence for a willingness to deliver concessions

Alex Vatanka
Culture & Social Affairs

Five Arab novels that paint an AI-dominated future

10, Nov 2026

From machines that develop human emotions to societies governed by artificial intelligence, Arab novelists explore the promises and perils of a radically transformed future

Ibrahim Adel

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OPINIONS

US-Iran conflict: from nuclear diplomacy to all-out war

Al Majalla - London
Al Majalla - London

Misleading Middle East reporting is on the rise

Saud Al-Masaud
Saud Al-Masaud

Climate change is redrawing national borders

Alaa Emara

Five Arab novels that paint an AI-dominated future

Ibrahim Adel
Ibrahim Adel
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