He never planned on Egypt. Having learned Swahili while studying linguistics at York University, in his hometown of York, United Kingdom, R. Neil Hewison expected his first assignment with the international charity organization Voluntary Service Overseas would be in East Africa.

In 1975 AramcoWorld dedicated an entire issue to celebrating the lives of Arab Americans and their impact—from renowned heart surgeon Michael DeBakey to White House correspondent Helen Thomas to entertainer and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital founder Danny Thomas.

The depiction of the Taj Mahal in the works of Indian and British artists in the 1800s helped bolster enthusiasm for the country’s rich culture, architecture and society. One such painting, “The Taj Mahal by moonlight,” stirred a bidding frenzy at a recent auction, and some experts argue that such paintings have helped change perceptions of India in the West.

This group of five young folk musicians became the voice of Morocco in the 1960s and beyond. Martin Scorsese called them “the Rolling Stones of North Africa,” but to Moroccans they were the sound of an entire generation in a charged moment of global pop culture.

In the March/April 1992 issue, writer and photographer John Feeney took AramcoWorld readers on a walk through the streets of Cairo during Ramadan.

Saudi couture designer Tima Abid merges contemporary fashion with Arabian heritage. Her glamorous collections are earning recognition from Paris to Riyadh. With her latest designs Abid not only is making her mark on the runways, she is redefining bold elegance amid changing times in the Arabian Gulf.

The exhibition Dining With the Sultan, on view at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, offers a feast for the eyes—and is the first to consider historical Islamic art within the context of serving fine food in various Muslim empires, according to curator Linda Komaroff.

The late Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz favored nuanced portrayals that focused on how his characters handled events political and personal, and this contention is clear in the first English translations of his nonfiction writings from 1974 to 1994 reviewed here.

A 1,500-year-old gem-encrusted Byzantine bracelet reveals more than just its own history; it symbolizes an empire’s narrative.