Muhammara dip recipe from Chef Reem Assil: In every home in Syria, my family would serve multiple mezze dips with dinner, and muhammara was always a centerpiece. It has the perfect combination of tangy, nutty and spicy flavors. And it looks beautiful on a dinner spread.

Since antiquity, foods and food cultures have migrated from the Middle East westward as far as the Canary Islands. After 1492 the Canaries became a leading port of departure to the New World, and new research shows that Canarian culinary influences flowed particularly to the dry lands that today straddle the border between Mexico and the us. Those influences led to crops and livestock that have helped produce the region’s distinctive cuisine today—from albóndigas and atoles to sopapillas and zalabias.

Mohammed Mrabet ran away from school and never learned to read or write. But he told spellbinding stories. A friendship with writers Jane and Paul Bowles got him published in more than a dozen languages. Today he is known also for his painting and drawing.

Lebanon's cedars are symbols of the country itself, a living metaphor of majestic beauty and endurance. Few cedars remain, and their survival is challenged as conservationists work to preserve them.

Few survive, some just in fragments: In the 15th century, the Mamluk sultan in Cairo built up the city’s carpet workshops. The large masterpieces they produced soon graced palaces—notably in Italy and Spain.