Rites of Flight: Falconry in Japan

Rites of Flight: Falconry in Japan

For more than 1,000 years, falconry—hunting with birds of prey—symbolized power for the emperor and, later, the elite samurai. The most highly trained keepers of the tradition were based in the mountains west of Tokyo, where late last year the 18th generational head of what is today called the Suwa Falconry Preservation Society received her title, prepared to teach a new generation devoted to Japan’s place in global falconry culture.

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Street Food, Istanbul Style

Street Food, Istanbul Style

From an eggy morning menemen to an afternoon tantuni wrap to a late-night handful of roasted kestane and more than a dozen delectables all in between, a search for the very best proves why Istanbul claims title as the street food capital of the world. 

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The Great Migration of the Bani Hilal

The Great Migration of the Bani Hilal

In the 10th century, herders fled drought in Arabia, but the sultan of Egypt used them against his rivals. Their story went viral—oral-folklore style—as Sirat Bani Hilal, or the Romance of the People of the Crescent Moon.
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Malika V: Nur Jahan

Malika V: Nur Jahan

Wife and mother, businesswoman, fashion designer, real estate developer, garden plan-ner, philanthropist devoted to women, battle commander, tiger hunter: For the woman with a royal name meaning “Light of the World,” those were all part of Nur Jahan’s main job—running the Mughal empire.
 
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FirstLook:

FirstLook: "Intersections"

Using a single light suspended from the ceiling to shine through a laser-cut sculpture 
in wood that is painted black, Pakistani-American artist Anila Quayyum Agha transforms the Rice Art Gallery in Houston into an allusion to Islamic sacred spaces where geometric ornamentation and patterns themselves allude to the infinity of creation.
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The Sultan's Fountain

The Sultan's Fountain

In 1759 the Ottoman sultan adorned a public water fountain and school along a canal in Cairo with some 2,500 tiles painted in Amsterdam. Recent restoration revealed a remarkable story at the sabil-kuttab of Sultan Mustafa III.
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