Arwad, Fortress at Sea

Arwad, Fortress at Sea

Three kilometers offshore from Tartus, Syria, lies Arwad, the sole island along the Eastern Mediterranean coast, a tiny rocky fastness with an outsize history.

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The Unlikely Sisterhood of Seattle and Tashkent

The Unlikely Sisterhood of Seattle and Tashkent

In 1973, the us port renowned for rain and the Soviet-run capital in semi-arid Central Asia could hardly have appeared more different, but what began then as the first us-Soviet sister city pairing has blossomed into 43 years of mutual enrichment and heartfelt friendship—at first despite the Cold War, and later boosted by Seattle’s economic growth and Uzbekistan’s independence.
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Malika I: Khayzuran & Zubayda

Malika I: Khayzuran & Zubayda

One born destitute, the other to opulence, two malikas, or queens in Arabic, open our six-part series on some of the most notable historic women leaders in Muslim lands.

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In Fragments from Fustat, Glimpses of a Cosmopolitan Old Cairo

In Fragments from Fustat, Glimpses of a Cosmopolitan Old Cairo

Founded in 641 CE as Egypt’s first Islamic capital, Fustat was much like the modern Cairo it helped give rise to: polyglot, multi-confessional and, in its time, prosperous.

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FirstLook: Youth of the Nation

FirstLook: Youth of the Nation

For a week in December 2009, Abduljalil and I created a studio-style “photo booth” for kids at the Saudi Aramco Oil Exhibit Eid Program in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
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Saving Sarajevo’s Literary Legacy

Saving Sarajevo’s Literary Legacy

Braving sniper bullets, Mustafa Jahi and friends carried the historic volumes of the Gazi Husrev-beg Library from one hiding place to another throughout the three-year Siege of Sarajevo. Last year, the library found a new, permanent haven—close to where it was founded nearly 500 years ago. 

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