Articles
The unspeakable loss of Gaziantep's glorious heritage
History is full of lessons of rebirth after destruction - but only if we learn from past mistakes
Metropolitan life in a time of malady
Covid-19 will not be the end of cities, nor will it be a brand new beginning
How the world fell in love with Beirut
There was a time when Lebanon's leaders truly cared for their city, turning it into the jewel of the Middle East
How to lose the presidency in style
Donald Trump is having difficulty facing the music
Isambard Wilkinson’s book hums with humanity and humour
The evident love and knowledge of Pakistan and its people, a prerequisite for the best travel writing, dances across every page of this book
British Arabist and author Robert Irwin to reveal tales that made Arabian Nights
The novelist speaks ahead a series of lectures he will deliver in Dubai.
Book review: Go inside the world’s most troubled country with The Mayor of Mogadishu
The Mayor of Mogadishu is not just the story of one mercurial politician. It peels back the layers of a proud, intensely troubled country that continues to baffle foreigners.
Nekton: an international scientific mission plumbing the depths to help save our oceans
Mission Nekton is a scientific expedition to survey the unexplored deep ocean and establish a baseline for its health. We meet the crew and go for a ride in a submersible.
Book review: Hisham Matar’s The Return tells tale of a son’s search for a missing father in Libya
Hisham Matar’s memoir about his missing father in Libya is a searing work of family history, political portrait and personal mourning.
The National Book Club: The awakening of Gertrude Bell, Queen of the Desert
This month's The National Book Club title is a breathtaking journey through Syria at the turn of the last century by the ‘female Lawrence of Arabia’, Gertrude Bell, which still enchants and resonates today.
Sykes-Picot at 100: Arabs must take the lead
It is no apology for Sykes-Picot to observe that it is too easy to lump all the problems of the Middle East at the feet of Britain and France.
In post-revolution Libya, people are still struggling in the long shadow of Qaddafi’s dictatorship
The anniversary of the dictator's fall was supposed to have been marked with celebrations, but Libya still languishes instead under instability and violence.
Book review: Translating Libya by Ethan Chorin opens a window into a diverse country
An exhaustively excavated array of short stories provides a rare and vibrant survey of a misunderstood country - it's a collection of humour, grief and soul.
The long read: why the battle for Syria and Iraq is often a war waged with words
The destruction of Palmyra’s Temple of Bel shows how ISIL is trying to crush tolerance and diversity - Justin Marozzi looks at the responses of two authors to extremist attacks on human decency.
