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We increase cross-cultural understanding through stories about people, cultures, histories, and geography and their global interconnections.
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Albania’s Resurging Cuisine
- Food
- Foodways
After decades of decline under communist rule, food enthusiasts—including brother chef and baker Bledar and Nikolin Kola—are pioneering the return of the country’s traditional dishes. Chefs and other culinary aficionados are drawing on Albania’s 500-plus years of culinary heritage to reinterpret the foods of their ancestors. Their efforts are re-establishing traditions that were feared lost.
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‘Make It Your Own’: The Self-Belief Simmering in Noorjahan Bose’s Shemai Recipe
Food
A Bangladeshi dessert reflects hard-fought adaptability in life.
FirstLook: Poetic Fusion
Arts
Prior to our modern practice of image manipulation with editing software, photographers worked more with planned intention and craft.
Egyptology Today: A Conversation With Egyptian Archeologist Monica Hanna
History
Until recently, Egyptian archeological sites were filled with foreign archeologists excavating prized treasures from the country’s ancient past.
Mundane to Magnificent: Yale Manuscript Exhibition Illuminates Muslim Knowledge
Arts
Manuscript exhibition reveals handwritten treasures spanning centuries and nations, in graying script and glorious technicolor, on ancient papyrus and gold-coated paper.
How South Africa Came to Popularize Luxury Mohair Fabric Around Globe
Arts
South Africa is the world’s largest producer of mohair, a fabric used in fine clothing. The textile tradition dates to the arrival of Angora goats from the Ottoman Empire in the 1800s.
Quick Summer Salad Recipe: Sea Beans With Fava Beans and Dill
Food
This recipe serves up one of London-based food writer Sally Butcher's favorite lunches—a perfect mezze dish of beans.
Honoring the Life and Legacy of Tabla Master Zakir Hussain
Arts
While mastery of Indian musical traditions is one clear accomplishment, the late Zakir Hussain’s bold pursuit of his art across genres likely best defines his legacy.
Portugal’s Enduring Love of Making Tiles
Arts
Tilemaking is arguably Portugal’s most identifiable artistic expression today. And it all goes back to a 15th-century king’s love of Moorish ceramic design.
Mughal Art's Influence on Rembrandt
Arts
Exposure to the art and culture of India via Dutch trading ships translated to a unique phase of Rembrandt’s oeuvre. The master artist re-created 25 Mughal portraits.
Moroccan Photographer Explores Oasis Culture at Sharjah Biennial
Arts
Moroccan photographer M’hammed Kilito explores richness of oasis culture at Sharjah Biennial
A Reimagined Islamic Garden
Arts
The second Islamic Arts Biennale (Jan 24-May 25, 2025) in Jeddah explores multicultural expressions of faith, healing, regeneration and an appreciation of beauty.
Nakshi Kantha: Tradition and Identity in Every Stitch
Arts
History
A traditional form of quilting in Bangladesh in which women embroider family history, love and memory into the fabric is blanketing markets locally and beyond.