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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.
Artichokes to Ricotta: How Arab Rule Changed Sicilian Cuisine
Food
The cultivation methods, crops and dishes that Arabs introduced in Sicily not only survive but thrive today through foods that are integral and widely celebrated.
Cartier and Islamic Design’s Enduring Influence
Arts
For generations Cartier looked to the patterns, colors and shapes of the Islamic world to create striking jewelry.
Preserving the Imaret of Kavala: Safeguarding an Ottoman Landmark
Culture
Preservation efforts have protected the historical design and cultural legacy of the Ali Pasha-gifted Imaret of Kavala—one of most important Ottoman landmarks in Greece.
Nasreen ki Haveli: Pakistani Textile Museum Fulfills a Dream
Arts
Collector Nasreen Askari and her husband, Hasan, have turned their home into Pakistan’s first textile museum.
Biting Into the Past: Re-creating Gary Nabhan’s Albóndigas Meatball Recipe
Food
What do lamb, pomegranate and a Silk Road secret share? A meatball with a hidden past.
Restoration Uncovers Beauty of Georgia’s Hidden Wooden Mosques
Arts
Until recently few outsiders knew the wooden mosques dotting the highlands of Georgia existed, leaving many of them to deteriorate. The rediscovery of the architectural gems has sparked a movement for their preservation.
Smorgasbords of Andalusi and Mahgribi Dishes, a Conversation With Food Historian and Author Nawal Nasrallah
Arts
In Smorgasbords of Andalusi and Mahgribi Dishes, Arab food historian Nawal Nasrallah breathes new life into an anonymously compiled 13th-century cookbook.
Al Sadu Textile Tradition Weaves Stories of Culture and Identity
Arts
Across the Arabian Gulf, the traditional weaving craft records social heritage.
Family Secret: The Mystery of North Macedonia’s Ohrid Pearls
Arts
Artisans are preserving the elusive technique behind these pearls—handmade from a fish, not an oyster—in a town of Slavic, Byzantine and Ottomon influences.
Meet Sculptor Marie Khouri, Who Turns Arabic Calligraphy Into 3D Art
Arts
Vancouver-based artist Marie Khouri turns Arabic calligraphy into a 3D examination of love in Baheb, on view at the Arab World Institute in Paris.
Recipe for Fennel and Potato Biryani
Food
Biryani is a whole and very elaborate genre of rice dishes, not be confused with pulao or pilaf.
Orion Through a 3D-Printed Telescope
Arts
With his homemade telescope, Astrophotographer Zubuyer Kaolin brings the Orion Nebula close to home.