Until a few years ago, the UK’s deaf community was hard-pressed to access the Qur’an. A project to translate the holy book from Arabic directly into British Sign Language is underway—but it comes with challenges to ensure accuracy and comprehensibility. 

Like Zanzibar itself, the ensemble style of music known as taarab brings together a blend of African, Arabic, Indian and European elements. Yet it stands on its own as a distinctive art form—for over a century, it has served as the island’s signature sound.

An evocative soundscape envelops visitors as they enter the Silk Roads exhibition at the British Museum in London. Huge screens along one wall project images of landscapes and oceans, while visitors are invited to experience the scents of balsam, musk and incense contained in boxes around the exhibition.

Nearly 200 years after his death, Polish adventurer and poet Waclaw Rzewuski’s manuscript documenting his experience in the Middle East has become important  to advancing understanding of 19th-century Bedouin life and customs.

Growing up in London, at age 13, Maryam Hassan decided she’d move to Chicago one day. The city had glittered in her imagination because she was certain that it bore no resemblance to her hometown.

In Georgia Borchalo rugs are making a tentative comeback amid growing recognition of the uniqueness of ethnic Azerbaijani weaving. There’s hope that this tradition can be saved.