Technology transforms Ramadan traditions across GCC
During Ramadan, GCC residents are using digital tools that are enhancing the observance of this sacred month, offering new ways...
Arts & Culture
Europe’s largest art fair reports ‘record’ prices for Van Gogh, Picasso
THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS – Europe's largest art fair closed its doors on Friday with organizers saying that sales, including a rare...
Arts & Culture
Arts & Culture
Festivals, guesthouses breathe life into Old Tunis, boost tourism
The government has this month begun bailout negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, as its tourism and import-dependent economy has been...
- Under the Hafsids, Tunis was one of the biggest cities in the Islamic world, and their legacy has remained in the form of narrow, crowded souks.
- The district also has some two dozen small souks devoted to specific artisans such as tanners, perfume sellers and shoemakers.
Arts & Culture
Troubled waters: Iraqi spa reborn after IS massacres
Located 30km south of Mosul, Hamam al-Alil , meaning the baths of the sick in Arabic, built a solid reputation...
- The spa and surrounding village, which shares the same name, is now also known for massacres committed by IS during its occupation of the area.
- After the defeat of IS in 2017, the baths remained popular although the building had fallen into disrepair, with chipped tiles and broken windows.
Arts & Culture
Efforts to save Algiers’ historic Casbah speed up
A UNESCO-listed rabbit warren of 16th-century battlements and Ottoman palaces, the Casbah has been the site of key moments in...
- Some buildings weakened by earthquakes, floods or fires are still propped up with scaffolding, but a plan launched in 2012 is seeking to rehabilitate the area.
- The Ketchaoua mosque, closed since 2008 after being seriously damaged by a powerful earthquake five years earlier, has also been restored.
Arts & Culture
Reforms crucial to revive pandemic-hit culture sector
The sector also saw a decline of 25 percent of its Gross Value Added in 2020. However, while most of...
- The culture was one of the most seriously impacted sectors globally due to COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 10 million jobs lost in 2020 alone
- Revenues from the digital creative economy totalled US$2.7 billion globally in 2020, over a quarter of the sector’s overall revenue, says a report
Arts & Culture
After war, Syrians in Jordan find joy and jobs in dance
Jordan hosts almost 650,000 Syrians registered with the United Nations, but Amman estimates close to 1.3 million Syrians have arrived...
- Jordan hosts almost 650,000 Syrians registered with the United Nations, but Amman estimates close to 1.3 million Syrians have arrived since 2011
- The UN has said that close to 80 percent of Syrians in Jordan live below the national poverty line, surviving on three dollars per day or less
Arts & Culture
ISESCO lists 22 Libyan sites as Islamic world heritage
The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) has listed 22 Libyan archaeological sites on the list of heritage...
- The archaeological sites registered and published by the ministry included Murzuq Castle, Qasr al-Hajj and nine mosques in Tripoli.
- At its 10th session, the Heritage Committee of the ISESCO announced the registration of 49 historical sites and cultural elements on the final list.
Arts & Culture
Women upbeat over guardian-free Hajj
This year's Hajj, the first large-scale edition since the guardian requirement was dropped in 2021, has taken on a different...
- Many of them have abandoned the black robes traditionally preferred by hajj organisers, adding a dash of colour with reds, greens, oranges and blues dotted around the crowds.
- The decision to drop the "mehrem" is part of the social reforms rolled out by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is trying to shake off the kingdom's austere image.
Arts & Culture
Jeddah Season 2022 concludes, 6m visitors attend events
Jeddah Season 2022 lasted for 60 days and was full of exciting shows, programs, activities that took place in 13...
- Jeddah Season this year lasted for 60 days and it was full of exciting shows
- The shows, programs and activities took place across 13 locations in Jeddah
Arts & Culture
High up in Turkish valleys, Afghan shepherds dream of home
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan estimates that 300,000 Afghans now live in Turkey, which also hosts 3.7 million people from war-ravaged...
- President Erdogan estimates that 300,000 Afghans now live in Turkey, which also hosts 3.7 million people from Syria
- Tunceli native Mustafa Acun says the locals have grown used to Afghans taking care of their herds
Arts & Culture
In the ‘borshch war’, Kyiv defeats Moscow
UNESCO inscribes the culture of cooking borshch soup in Ukraine on its list of endangered cultural heritage amid Moscow's opposition.
- Ukraine considers borshch, a thick nourishing soup usually made with beetroot, a national dish.
- UNESCO noted that the war had "threatened the viability" of the soup culture in Ukraine.
Technology transforms Ramadan traditions across GCC
During Ramadan, GCC residents are using digital tools that are enhancing the observance of this sacred month, offering new ways...
Arts & Culture
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‘Sharjah solidifies its global cultural hub status’
Arts & Culture
Israel showcases Roman era weapons
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UAE’s Olympic tapestry woven by pillars of progress
Arts & Culture
Cinematic revolution helps KSA realize cultural dreams
Arts & Culture
Ayodhya mosque design in India altered to resemble Middle East
Lucknow, India - The Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation announced a change in the design of the mosque to be constructed on...
Mandoob shines light on Riyadh’s social transformation
The film is about an overworked delivery app driver in Riyadh, Fahad Nassir, who has taken a bold step into...
Arts & Culture
Red Sea International Film Festival to showcase 14 short films
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - The Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF) unveiled Monday the lineup of international short films participating...
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Arts & Culture
People marvel at ancient Iraq in new ‘Assassin’s Creed’ game
The central character, pickpocket turned master assassin Basim, speaks classical Arabic in "Assassin's Creed Mirage",.
- In the game, the hooded and stealthy hero fights his way through an ancient maze of alleyways, souks and rooftops.
- The entire scene in the game has been rendered in loving detail with what its creators say is the help of historical sources.
Arts & Culture
Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse wins Nobel literature prize
Sometimes compared to Samuel Beckett, another Nobel-winning playwright, Fosse's work is minimalistic, relying on simple language which delivers its message...
- Fosse's writing is defined more by form than content, where what is not said is often more revealing than what is.
- Fosse's oeuvre, written in Nynorsk -- a written form of Norwegian used by 10 percent of the population -- spans a variety of genres.
Arts & Culture
Saudi Heritage Commission unearths neolithic human activity traces in Jabal Irf
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia--The Heritage Commission and the German Max Planck Institute (MPI) of Geoanthropology in the Green Arabia Project revealed...
- The scientists, researchers and specialists from the kingdom, Australia, the UK, Italy and the US are studying archaeological materials from different sites
- The laboratory analyses of radiocarbon (C14) indicate that the peak of human settlement at the site was during the sixth and early fifth millennium BC