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النسخة العربية
  • 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
  • Popular
  • Editor's Pick
Eduardo Ramón
Documents & Memoirs

Exclusive interview with the man who caught Eli Cohen

30, Sep 2026

Ibrahim Hamidi spent years following the story of Mossad's 'spy in Damascus ', but some secrets remained untold. He then learned that the man who could answer them was still alive

Ibrahim Hamidi
A supporters of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva holds a Brazilian flag after a closing campaign rally, one day before the general election, in Sao Paulo, on 3 October, 2026. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli
Politics

Who will be Brazil’s next president?

04, Oct 2026

Neither Lula nor Bolsonaro won an outright majority, so the two men will face off on 25 October in an election that could serve as a bellwether of Donald Trump's influence in Latin America

The Economist
Opinion

Russia boosts its defence budget with an eye on Europe

02, Oct 2026

Putin seems to have concluded that to secure a decisive victory in Ukraine, he needs to go after the countries in Europe that are supporting Kyiv

Con Coughlin
A digital billboard displays fuel prices at a petrol station in Berlin on 2 October 2026. John MACDOUGALL / AFP
Business & Economy

G7 agrees to release 100 million barrels of reserve diesel

03, Oct 2026

Analysts believe that Trump is hoping to lower domestic fuel prices before the November midterm elections, which could see Democrats win a majority of seats in Congress

Alexandra Sharp
A US Navy sailor directs a Eurocopter AS-332 Super Puma helicopter on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which is supporting US military operations in the war with Iran on 16 August 2026. US. Navy/REUTERS
Politics

US troops leave Iraq, but double down in the region

30, Sep 2026

Why 30 September should be understood less as a US exit from the Middle East than as the end of a particular model of American intervention

Caroline Rose

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OPINIONS

How Australia fits into Saudi Arabia’s mining ambitions

Alice Gower
Alice Gower

Fatima Mansouri: Morocco's first female prime minister?

Mohamed Sharki
Mohamed Sharki

Global oil supply under increasing threat

Fares Garabet
Fares Garabet

Who will be Brazil’s next president?

The Economist
The Economist
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