Andalusian polymath Abbas Ibn #Firnas dreamt of reaching the sky, and in the 9th century, he became the first human to fly with a heavier-than-air machine.

The “evil eye” is a belief rooted in Arab culture and widely held in the countries of the Mediterranean basin. The most important thing is not to attract it, but to protect yourself from it. To counter its effects, the people of North Africa and the Middle East use a variety of means: amulets, incense, Koranic recitations, etc. So what exactly is this superstition of the ‘evil eye’? We tell you all about it!

Tunis is deeply imbued with Sufism, the traces of which are omnipresent in the city.

During Ramadan, when Muslims break their fast, it is customary to do so with an odd number of dates, usually one, three or five. After all, dates are much more than just food.

During the Nazi occupation of Tunisia, numerous Jewish families were saved in the town of Mahdia by Khaled Abdul Wahab, nicknamed the Tunisian Schindler.

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.