Cultural heritage

Ghassan Salame, then-UN Envoy for Libya, holds a press briefing during UN-brokered military talks on Feb. 18, 2020 in Geneva.

Interview

Ghassan Salame says Lebanon-Israel talks ‘not negotiations,’ Hezbollah disarmament by force ‘illusion’

"The idea that you can disarm just by making two phone calls or two check points here and there is just an illusion," Lebanon's minister of culture, Ghassan Salame, told Al-Monitor.

Ghassan Salame

Ghassan Salame

Lebanese Culture Minister

pasteur

Iran says strikes hit historic Pasteur Institute in Tehran: What to know

Iranian officials say US-Israeli strikes have hit Tehran’s Pasteur Institute, a century-old pillar of Iran’s public health system.

An Oscar statue at the red carpet at the 96th Annual Academy Awards, Dolby Theatre, Hollywood, California, March 9, 2024.

Culture

'Gesture of resistance': Gaza war and Iran repression in Oscars spotlight

This year’s Oscars nominations include Middle Eastern films whose themes of war, government violence and protest have shone a spotlight on politics at home.

A woman sells koshary after the Eid prayer in Abu Sir village on April 21, 2023, in Giza, Egypt.

Culture

Egypt’s koshary, Gulf’s bisht gain UNESCO recognition

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has added more than 10 cultural practices from across the Middle East and North Africa region this year.

Latest News

Culture

From oral tradition to modern stage, Nabati poetry bridges generations in changing UAE

Visitors at the exhibition of Folk Poetry at the Waterfront of Kalba, Sharjah.

Culture

From Hollywood set to heritage hub: Morocco’s $75M bet on Ouarzazate

A man stands atop the kasbah of Ait-Ben-Haddou.

Culture

Christie's London auction shines global light on Middle Eastern art

Mahmoud Said, La fille aux yeux verts

Culture

Archaeologists uncover 4,000-year-old temple on Kuwait’s Failaka Island

Mohammad bin Reda, assistant secretary-general for Kuwait’s Antiquities and Museums Sector at the National Council for Culture, Arts and Literature, meets with archaeologists at the site. (KUNA)

The newly discovered chamber in the north tower of the temple at Athribis is pictued in this undated photo.

Culture

Egypt: Archaeologists unearth 2,100-year-old temple in ancient village

The Egyptian government said the recent findings could lead to the discovery of a massive temple as significant as the Luxor Temple.

France's President Emmanuel Macron and Morocco's King Mohammed VI

Analysis

In Morocco, France's Macron dangles Western Sahara concessions to mend ties

After years of diplomatic disputes, French President Emmanuel Macron is adamant on repairing ties with Morocco.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

KAWNAT HAJU/AFP via Getty Images

Tyre, Lebanon's ancient city, bombarded by Israeli airstrikes

Israeli airstrikes are pounding ancient Tyre in southern Lebanon.

Members of Israeli security forces guard the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound following clashes that erupted during Islam's holy fasting month of Ramadan in Jerusalem on April 5, 2023.

Analysis

Why Ben-Gvir's Al-Aqsa compound rhetoric is dangerous and disruptive

Israel's far-right minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, called for the establishment of a synagogue at the sensitive Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount complex, engendering fierce responses from Palestinian and Israeli leaders alike.

Daoud Kuttab

By Daoud Kuttab

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics

This picture taken on April 24, 2018, shows Meroitic pyramids at the archaeological site of Bajarawiya, near Hillat ed Darqab, some 250 kilometers northeast of Khartoum.

Culture

Sudan's war devastates cultural heritage as rival generals vie for power

Sudan’s civil war is now well into its second year, and alongside forcing the population to the brink of famine, warring parties have also come for its heritage.

A visitor looks at portraits of late Franco-Lebanese film director Maroun Baghdadi and pictures from his movies at the venue of an exhibition dedicated to his memory in Beirut on December 12, 2023, as Lebanon commemorates the 30th annivesary of his death in an accident at the age of 43. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Culture

Lebanon's resistance through culture: Return of Beirut’s Metropolis Cinema

As Beirut continues to navigate its path toward recovery, Metropolis Cinema stands as a symbol of the enduring power of art and culture to resist, unite and inspire.

A man checks his mobile phone standing next to his camel while waiting for tourists at the Giza Pyramids Necropolis on the outskirts of Giza on April 30, 2024. (Photo by Jewel SAMAD / AFP) (Photo by JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images)

Culture

Mysterious structure at Egypt’s pyramids could be undiscovered tomb

The l-shaped structure was discovered at Giza’s Western Cemetery, known as a burial place for royal family members in ancient Egypt.

Tourists visit the Chora (Kariye) Church Museum, the 11th century church of St. Savior on August 21, 2020 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Erdogan's Byzantine church conversion roils Greece ahead of PM's Turkey visit

The Byzantine-era cathedral's inauguration as a working mosque came just days before a landmark visit to Turkey by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, which is due to kick off on May 13.

Steinmeier Kabob

Erdogan and Germany's Steinmeier chuckle over doner kebab as ties grow

The German president’s visit, marking the centennial of diplomatic ties between Turkey and Germany, came during a challenging time for Ankara-Berlin relations, given the wide gap over the Israel-Hamas war.

Turkish Van cats play in an enclosure at the Van Cat Research Center on Feb. 8, 2018, in Van, Turkey.

Turkey's famed Van cats see birthrates surge

The exotic cats have been saved from extinction by a research and breeding center.

This picture shows a general view of Lebanon's port city of Tripoli on April 26, 2023. A crushing economic crisis in Lebanon has impelled members of the security forces to take on side hustles to get by, raising concerns about security in the eastern Mediterranean country. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Nearly 1,000 buildings in Tripoli, Lebanon are at risk of collapse: Amnesty

Amnesty International has denounced the local Tripoli government’s lack of action to protect residents who have been living in unsafe buildings since last year’s earthquake.

Hatay Archaeological Museum after the earthquake.

One year after earthquake, Turkey's ancient Antioch still devastated

Scars of the quake that killed 53,000 people and displaced millions run deep, and the road to restoration is fraught with political bickering.