Culture - AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

culture cover image

Culture

Latest News

Culture

Ancient wells, Abbasid coin: Saudi Arabia unveils archaeological finds

Archaeologists work at Ra’s Qurayyah Port in Al-Ahsa Governorate, Eastern province. (Saudi Heritage Commission)

Culture

Ramadan opens in Turkey as secular-conservative divide resurfaces

Turkish drama

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Nazlan Ertan

In Izmir and Istanbul, reporting on culture

Danny Makki

In London, reporting on Syrian politics and culture

Naima Morelli

In Rome, reporting on Middle East culture

Rebecca Anne Proctor

In Dubai, reporting on culture

A man and a woman ride their motorcycles past a billboard in the background bearing a portrait of Iran's late President Ebrahim Raisi in central Tehran, on May 21, 2024.

Culture

Iran mulls lifting ban on women driving motorcycles: What to know

Women face a number of restrictions in Iran, among them an effective prohibition on riding motorcycles.

Divers watch as a crane pulls an artifact from the waters at Abu Qir bay in Alexandria on Aug. 21, 2025, as part of an event organized by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities to recover sunken antiquities.

Culture

From the depths: Egypt raises archaeological relics from sunken city

The raising of three massive artifacts from an ancient sunken city in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Alexandria is Egypt's first such operation in 25 years.