As the Saudi national day approaches, we take a look at one of the cornerstones of Saudi and Arabian culture: poetry. But how did it become so important to the region?

In the northern tip of Oman, where the Strait of Hormuz’s trade currents converge, lies the fishing village of Kumzar. This isolated enclave, accessible solely by boat, boasts an linguistic identity that teeters on the brink of extinction.

Middle Eastern history is replete with episodes of fervor, conquest, and cultural exchange, but few periods evoke as much intrigue as the era of the Crusades in the Middle East. But what is left of that era today?

On September 16, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee met in Saudi Arabia for an extended session during which it evaluated numerous sites nominated for inclusion on the World Heritage List. Here are the three nominations from Arab countries.

In order to highlight the contributions of the Arab world to world history, the United Arab Emirates has launched the Knowledge Circle program to promote the documentation of the region’s historical archives.

Motivated by his passion for collecting and documenting Arabian horses, Wacław Seweryn Rzewuski left his former life among the Polish nobility to spend years in the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula, where he assimilated into the customs of the local tribes and acquired the title of emir.

Greetings, as diverse as human interaction itself, take a variety of forms around the world. They range from commonplace gestures such as the peck on the cheek and the handshake to more unusual practices such as the touch of the shoulder and even the kiss on the shoulder. However, in the vast Arabian Peninsula, there is a very special method of greeting: the nose rub.

Over the past three millennia, Tunisia has been the melting pot of many civilizations, and the Bardo National Museum is the embodiment of this.

Many Western cities are home to buildings constructed in the Moorish style. Most of these buildings were erected in the 19th and 20th centuries, and represent a period when Western architects took a great interest in Islamic architecture.

Nicknamed the son of the desert, the Arabian horse dominates endurance racing and is one of the most expensive horse breeds. But what makes them so special?

In the Bible and the Qur’an, the prophet Solomon is said to have been able to converse with animals, a miracle that only he can claim to have accomplished. Today, a semblance of this ability exists. In the deserts of Arabia, shepherds manage to communicate with camels, but through song.

As the blazing summer sun envelops the northern hemisphere, contemporaries often take refuge in the cool breeze of air conditioning. Yet when we think back to the ancients, particularly in the hottest regions such as the Arab world, a compelling question arises: How did they endure the unrelenting heat without the luxury of air conditioning?

In Europe, during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, European artists had a very strong interest in portraying Biblical accounts. Naturally, as most of these biblical anecdotes and figures relating to Christianity, Europe’s dominant faith during the medieval times, occurred in the Holy Land, artists from the continent, while many of their inscriptions were legible texts in Latin, looked to incorporate languages from the Holy Land. Consequently, they looked to Arabic for inspiration. But there was a problem: Prior to the 16th century, very few Europeans knew Arabic, including the artists themselves. To curb this obstacle, these painters used fake Arabic.

Amid the picturesque streets of Sicily, a unique cultural phenomenon beckons to those with a keen eye for architectural beauty. The Norman-Arab-Byzantine style, a stunning fusion of Norman, Arab-Islamic, and Byzantine architectures, bears testament to the island’s colorful past.