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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.
Stitches of Identity: Traditional Patchwork Quilting in Kazakhstan
Arts
Rising demand for hand-crafted textiles has brought about a reinvention of the kurak craft in Kazakhstan, where the cultural symbolism behind each motif goes deeper.
Handmade, Ever Relevant: Ithra Show Honors Timeless Craftsmanship
Arts
“In Praise of the Artisan,” an exhibition at Ithra in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, aims to showcase Islamic arts-and-crafts heritage and inspire the next generation to keep traditions alive.
Stratford to Jordan: Shakespeare’s Echoes of the Arab World
Arts
History
Shakespeare’s works are woven into the cultural fabric of the Arab world, but so, too, were his plays shaped in part by Islamic storytelling traditions and political realities of his day.
From Sultan’s Kitchen to Delhi’s Streets: Ni‘matnāma Lives On
Food
A sultan’s 500-year-old cookbook still ripples across South Asia, from kitchens to street stalls to celebratory tables, preserving centuries of technique and taste.
Recipe: Papri Chaat
Food
One of India’s most popular street foods, papri are crispy chips of fried wheat dough, topped with spoonfuls of zesty chickpea salad, drizzled with sweet tamarind sauce and finished with the crunchy Bombay mix of your choice (I like sev, the crunchy little noodles made with chickpea flour) and a dusting of chaat masala seasoning.
Spotlight on Photography: Drinking in Türkiye’s Coffee Culture
Arts
Conversation With Arabic Proverbs Book Editor Brian Powell
1,001 Arabic Proverbs With English Translation is a comprehensive collection of wise sayings extending over 14 centuries, from classical Arabic to nearly a dozen major modern dialects.
Author Giulia Paoletti Traces History of Senegal’s Photography
Art historian Giulia Paoletti discusses her book Portrait and Place, exploring the rich but largely undiscovered history of photography and portraiture in Senegal.
Cairo Hums Her Name: The Eternal Voice of Umm Kulthum
The late singer known as Kawkab al-Sharq—the Star of the East—was a national treasure of Egypt who lives in history books, diasporic memory and musical reinvention.
‘Home’: Arab American National Museum Celebrates 20th Anniversary
Arts
Arab American National Museum Director Diana Abouali says the facility—which is marking its 20th anniversary in 2025—in Dearborn, Michigan, has aimed to create a home for Arab Americans by preserving and presenting the history, culture and contributions of Arab immigrants as well as their native-born children and grandchildren.
Recipe: How a Spanish Tortilla Got Me Over My Distaste for Eggs
Food
A lifelong egg aversion softens through a recipe by Jeff Koehler for a simple Spanish tortilla and the quiet resourcefulness it shares with Pakistani kitchens.
Art Biennial Reviving the Ancient City of Bukhara, Uzbekistan
History
Culture
Uzbekistan’s inaugural biennial reactivates an ancient stop on the Silk Road through artworks jointly created by international and Uzbek artists.