Art and entertainment

A picture shows a section of the external wall and towers of the Saladin Fortress, a UNESCO World Heritage site, in Syria's Latakia province on March 7, 2023.

Culture

Syria advances cultural revival with nine new heritage listings

Nine heritage sites have been added to list of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which restored Syria’s membership last year after a 14-year suspension.

Vehicles move past a giant mural on the side of a building showing an image of the late Lebanese actress and singer Sabah (1927-2014) along Beirut's Hamra street on June 20, 2024.

Culture

Despite war, Lebanon reopens film archive celebrating cinematic history

The reopening marks a major effort to preserve Lebanon’s rich cinematic history.

A person walks past the closed Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center on Jan. 7, 2021, in New York City.

Why did the Met Opera lose its Saudi funding deal?

The deal, announced as a nonbinding memorandum of understanding last September, would have seen the PIF inject up to $200 million into the opera institution over the next eight years.

President of Syria Ahmed al-Shara arrives for the 80th session of the UN’s General Assembly (UNGA) at UN Headquarters on Sept. 23, 2025 in New York City.

Analysis

'Is it worth it?' Syria's Sharaa faces backlash over Missy Elliott performance

Backlash erupts after dancers perform to Missy Elliott’s “Work It,” exposing the tightrope between Sharaa’s outreach to the West and pressure from his Islamist base.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Culture

The weight of war: Erdal Duman’s sculptures probe politics of violence

Artist Erdal Duman's work titled "Whoever Owns the Tank Is Soleiman" takes a dig at power.

Culture

'Gesture of resistance': Gaza war and Iran repression in Oscars spotlight

An Oscar statue at the red carpet at the 96th Annual Academy Awards, Dolby Theatre, Hollywood, California, March 9, 2024.

Culture

Turkish museums celebrate banner year for history, architecture, art

YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images

Culture

Morocco’s next generation of writers fights for a place on the shelf

A customer browses books at a bookshop in the Moroccan capital Rabat on August 9, 2018. On the main arteries of old Rabat, dozens of itinerant booksellers offer books in French, Arabic, and sometimes in English, up to ten times cheaper than their originals. Despite being prohibited, the pirated-books market is largely tolerated in cities across the North African kingdom. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP) (Photo by FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images)

Bijan Khajehpour

Analysis

The Takeaway: Iran hoped to close nuclear deal before economic reforms, says expert

Israeli exodus from Turkey over Iranian threat; Turkey takes aim at Syrian towns; Manbij residents brace for Turkish attack; desperation in Yemen’s displacement camps; Egyptian dance music livens up "Moon Knight."

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Andrew Parasiliti

By Elizabeth Hagedorn , Andrew Parasiliti

Women's art exhitbit

Culture

Istanbul art exhibit celebrates Turkey’s groundbreaking female artists

“I-You-They: A Century of Artist Women,” at Istanbul’s Mesher gallery, explores early artists who have largely been neglected in the canon, inviting today’s artists to re-examine their roots.

An artefact is seen at the Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum on Saadiyat island during the French prime minister's visit as he launched the French-Emirati "Year of Cultural Dialogue," Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 10, 2018.

Culture

Abu Dhabi gears up for first natural history museum in Gulf region

The Natural History Museum in Abu Dhabi, which is being built and is due to open in 2025, organized an exhibition as a preview of the rare natural specimens the museum will house.

Hila Feldman and Renana Raz appear in a screen capture from the 2012 film "Fill the Void"

Culture

Ultra-Orthodox women produce films, inspire Israeli girls

A few courageous ultra-Orthodox women film producers are creating movies for their own audience, completely changing the perception of entertainment in the ultra-Orthodox society.

Amateur musicians play in the Istanbul metro during the performance ban due to COVID-19 in Istanbul on June 9, 2021.

Silenced Turkish singers decry continued music ban

Turkish government persistence on not removing the live music ban draws outcry from the entertainment and music industry.

Rapper and producer Al Darwish.

Syrian rapper embraces NFTs to shake up Middle East music industry

Nonfungible tokens are charting a new course for artists, and one Syrian musician hopes they will help more Arab artists gain independence.

An illustration picture taken in London on Dec. 30, 2021, shows an NFT.

Lebanese artists explore NFTs

The adoption of NFT art in Lebanon seems to be a milestone for artists.

Corridor of Power

Culture

Reverse-Orientalism, feminism inform work of Omani artist Eman Ali

Sexuality, the performance of gender, and religious and socio-political ideologies are at the forefront of Omani artist Eman Ali's art, and her hybrid of artistic expression ranges from photography to installation.

Courtesy of Dia Mrad and Zawyeh Gallery

Culture

Photographer captures surrealist post-explosion Beirut at Dubai art show

Surreal silos and ruins of ancient buildings are the subjects of the new series of works by Dia Mrad, recently presented at the biggest art fair in the Middle East.

Palestinian men smoke waterpipes as they watch the Syrian drama series "Bab al-Hara" ("The Door to the Neighborhood") in a cafe, Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Oct. 8, 2007.

Culture

Hamas, Islamic Jihad finance 'resistance' dramas for Ramadan

Islamist groups in the Gaza Strip argue that films should reflect the realities of the Israeli occupation.

(L-R) Mohamed Diab, director, and May Calamawy attend the "Moon Knight" Los Angeles Special Launch.

Culture

Director reveals Egypt missed out on 'Moon Knight' because of permits

Egyptian director Mohamed Diab, the first Arab to direct a Marvel production, has criticized his country’s bureaucracy and intervention by multiple authorities in obtaining licenses to film international productions on Egyptian soil.

Encanto

Culture

Disney to dub new film Encanto in Egyptian Arabic after 10-year hiatus

The company began dubbing its films in standard Arabic a decade ago, in a decision that was widely interpreted in political terms and which sparked strong controversy among Arabic-speaking fans.