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We increase cross-cultural understanding through stories about people, cultures, histories, and geography and their global interconnections.
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.
Spotlight on Photography: Long Exposure Grabs AlUla's Starry Night
Arts
Photographer Waleed Dashash gets away from urban light pollution, adjusts his aperture and shutter speed—and catches the majesty of AlUla at night.
Lamu's Last Dhow Builders and the Craft That Refuses To Vanish
On Lamu, off the northern Kenyan coast, builders of traditional wooden vessels that carried sailors who made their living from the sea for more than a millennium today steer them toward a different economic horizon: tourism.
How a US Filmmaker Reclaimed a Forgotten Syrian Lebanese Legacy
Josh Chitwood belongs to a small group of American descendants trying to document and preserve their Syrian Lebanese history before it disappears. What compels people like him to recover what remains?
Connecting Across Cultures: A Conversation With Author Nawar Shora
Through humor and shared stories, Nawar Shora explores how understanding builds trust across cultures and communities.
In Diverse Nigeria, a Simple Side Dish Holds Universal Appeal
Food
The starchy side dish can be made from a wide variety of grains or vegetables, and its appearance is as humble as its appeal is universal.
Momma’s Maqluba: From Damascus to My Alabama Table
Food
This is how a Damascus dish became my Alabama family story, one generation at a time.
A Conversation With the Keeper of Malaysia’s Peranakan Memory
Malaysian hotelier Chris Ong has amassed an impressive Peranakan heritage collection of at least 10,000 artifacts.
Banjo on the Atlas: An Instrument’s Journey Across Continents
Arts
How did an instrument with West African ancestors, entwined with Americana music, appear in the lineup of a North African orchestra? Two parallel narratives hold the answer.
Threads of Memory at the Venice Biennale
Arts
History
Culture
At the Venice Biennale, which runs through November 22, 2026, the Moroccan, French and Saudi national pavilions show how craft and shared memory can resist cultural erasure.
Ottoman-Era Hijaz Railway’s Legacy Endures, Chugging Toward Revival
History
The legacy of an Ottoman-era project to connect Damascus, Syria, to the holy site of Madinah in modern Saudi Arabia and beyond is breathing new life into today’s vision for rail in the region.
Spotlight on Photography: Navigating Guinea-Bissau's Rainy Season
Inside the Fight To Preserve Samarkand’s Ancient Wonders
With earthquakes, weather, tourism and time threatening some of the world's most celebrated Islamic architecture, restorers ensure that the knowledge behind the monuments survives alongside the buildings themselves.