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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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Al Majalla
Politics

Red Sea defence alliance: opportunities and challenges

08 August 2026

Does the declaration recently signed in Riyadh indicate a gradual transition towards a regional security architecture that will assume responsibilities long borne by external naval powers?

Amgad Fareid Eltayeb
The general manager of the Ras al-Khair water desalination plant inspects drinking water from a tap at the facility in eastern Saudi Arabia on 30 March 2023. FAYEZ NURELDINE / AFP
Business & Economy

The Gulf’s race for water security

10 August 2026

Desalination plants and strategic reservoirs are becoming sovereign assets, but this also makes them vulnerable to attack

Turki Harbi
Opinion

What the Makkah Agreement means for Syria

09 August 2026

The new military pact among Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Türkiye could potentially create a regional environment favourable to Damascus

Ibrahim Hamidi
Michigan Democratic Senate primary winner Abdul El-Sayed arrives at a press conference in front of the Spirit of Detroit statue on 5 August 2026, in Detroit, Michigan. Finn Gomez/AFP
Profiles

Abdul El-Sayed: the progressive Michigander who beat the pro-Israel lobby

07 August 2026

Come November, the Egyptian-American epidemiologist could become the first Muslim senator in US history, despite $70mn spent to defeat him in the Democratic primary

Tarek Rashed
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

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OPINIONS

How the US-Iran war took oil prices on a wild ride

Al Majalla - London
Al Majalla - London

Syria’s parliament can only be as strong as its leadership allows

Haid Haid
Haid Haid

The Gulf’s race for water security

Turki Harbi
Turki Harbi

Artificial intelligence is rewriting the rules of war and peace

Mohammed Mansour
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