Culture
Now a treasured annual fixture in Muscat, the Royal Opera House Muscat has been hosting Sufi and Inshaad concerts to celebrate the Holy Month of Ramadan for several years, bringing together regional and local artists for a spiritual journey through the medium of sound.
Few genres evoke the depth of spiritual connection and emotional resonance quite like Sufi and Inshaad music. These musical forms serve as profound vehicles for spiritual elevation and communal expression.
After many dark years filled with a succession of conflicts and occupations, the Bytna Foundation for Heritage and Culture is a small renaissance of the heart of Mosul and Iraq. Mosul means “the linking point” in Arabic, and thanks to Bytna’s work, the city can once again live up to its name. Bytna is much more than just a foundation; as well as their museum, Bytna is home to a cafe, a craft shop, a book collection, an art gallery, and more.
To mark Pride Month, we’re sharing a list of resources for anyone who’d like to learn more about LGBTQIA+ issues across the Middle East and North Africa, and in diaspora communities around the world, updated for 2023 with some brilliant new additions.
This year has been anything but easy, but a host of stellar movie releases from the Middle East made 2022 a remarkable year for filmmaking across the region. We’re ending this year by looking back through these triumphs of cinema, so that you can start 2023 with a ready-made list of outstanding and poignant films to watch. Bear witness to the horrors of the Nakba with Farha, gain a sense of the struggles faced by artists and filmmakers working under Iranian censorship in Jafar Panahi’s No Bears, see life through the eyes of a Syrian family starting a new life in Belgium in My Paper Life, follow Yusra and Sara Mardini’s perilous journey to safety in The Swimmers, and feel true fear with Reem, a Palestinian woman whose life is plunged into disaster in Huda’s Salon.
Following in the footsteps of her mother, renowned tatreez artist Feryal Abbasi-Ghnaim, Wafa Ghnaim of Tatreez & Tea is on a mission to preserve and promote tatreez, proudly claiming this beautiful textile art form for Palestinians across the globe and encouraging new generations of embroiderers to practice this age-old art.
In the heart of Jebel Al-Weibdeh, Amman lies the Jordanian National Gallery of Fine Arts and its beautiful sculpture garden. A quiet haven in the middle of the bustling city, the park and the gallery play host to an ever-changing array of art from across the Middle East and beyond.
To mark Pride Month, we’re sharing a list of resources for anyone who’d like to learn more about LGBTQIA+ issues across the Middle East and North Africa, and in diaspora communities around the world.
For 5000 years, frankincense has been coveted across the globe for its otherworldly fragrance and health and beauty benefits. This extraordinary resin has helped ancient empires to rise, graced churches and temples around the world, and been obsessed over by kings, queens and pharaohs.
This week, we’ve put together an introduction to the month of Ramadan, from key terminology to the festive treats that are served. If you’d like to learn more about Ramadan, here’s some of the most important aspects of the month to know about, and if you’re learning Arabic we’re sharing all the Ramadan vocabulary you’ll need!