In 1966, a Norwegian-born, Mexico-educated, Beirut-resident photographer and journalist named
Tor Eigeland took his first assignment for this magazine. Since then, his byline has appeared more
than 50 times on some of our most popular stories from around the globe. This is his story of one of his earliest assignments in the Middle East.

Testing, producing and refining from as early as the seventh century CE, alchemists in the Middle East who championed empirical methods developed, over some 500 years, the foundations of chemistry, pharmacology and the modern drugstore.

In 1966, a Norwegian-born, Mexico-educated, Beirut-resident photographer and journalist named Tor Eigeland took his first assignment for this magazine. Since then, his byline has appeared more than 50 times on some of our most popular stories from around the globe. Now living in England, he reflects on a few of his—and the editors’—favorite images.  

Deftly symbolizing an aggrieved citizen’s quest for justice, the rightful heir to the Sultanate of Delhi donned a red robe on the eve of battle. She won the people’s support for four years of prosperous rule, but her rivals proved insatiable.

Along the fertile banks of a few rivers in Bengal, there once grew the world’s finest cotton. From it were woven the original, gossamer cloths called muslin, prized by Mughal emperors, envied by British industrialists and, by 1900, forgotten by all. Until now.

Author Ausma Zehanat Khan talks about her debut duo of detective novels that show up dressed as classic thrillers, but between their covers they turn out to be packing heavy on history, human rights, multicultural dilemmas and even classical Islamic poetry.