Cultural heritage

French President Emmanuel Macron and Kenyan President William Ruto during a reception at the State House ahead of the Africa Forward summit in Nairobi on May 10, 2026.

Analysis

Pushed out of Sahel, Macron turns to Egypt and Africa's anglophone countries

Following the French retreat from the Sahel amid growing Russian influence, President Emmanuel Macron is turning to anglophone Africa to rebuild France's diplomatic and economic footprint on the continent.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist , Rosaleen Carroll

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.

MURAT KOCABAS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Culture

How ‘dog mom’ vacuum cleaner ad sparked culture war in Turkey

A Mother’s Day advertisement featuring a “dog mom” triggered a backlash from conservative media, government officials and regulators, turning a soft consumer campaign into a flashpoint over motherhood, declining birth rates, stray dogs and even antisemitism.

A picture taken near Kars on Feb. 28, 2024 shows the ruins of a bridge over Arpacay river, the natural border between Turkey and Armenia.

Turkey, Armenia agree to restore medieval bridge in normalization push

Ankara is pursuing normalization with Armenia ahead of June parliamentary elections in a thaw also positioned to advance its broader Middle Corridor ambitions.

Latest News

Culture

Lebanon's churches, mosques and archaeological sites damaged in Israeli strikes

A man sits watching as Lebanese first responders search for human remains among the rubble the day after a house was targeted in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh, on May 1, 2026.

Interview

Ghassan Salame says Lebanon-Israel talks ‘not negotiations,’ Hezbollah disarmament by force ‘illusion’

Ghassan Salame, then-UN Envoy for Libya, holds a press briefing during UN-brokered military talks on Feb. 18, 2020 in Geneva.

Ghassan Salame

Ghassan Salame

Lebanese Culture Minister

Iran says strikes hit historic Pasteur Institute in Tehran: What to know

pasteur

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.

A woman sells koshary after the Eid prayer in Abu Sir village on April 21, 2023, in Giza, Egypt.

Culture

Egypt’s koshary, Gulf’s bisht gain UNESCO recognition

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has added more than 10 cultural practices from across the Middle East and North Africa region this year.

Visitors at the exhibition of Folk Poetry at the Waterfront of Kalba, Sharjah.

Culture

From oral tradition to modern stage, Nabati poetry bridges generations in changing UAE

As part of its centennial celebrations, an exhibition at Sharjah’s Kalba Waterfront honored the legacy of Nabati poetry and its role in shaping the UAE’s cultural and historical identity.

A man stands atop the kasbah of Ait-Ben-Haddou.

Culture

From Hollywood set to heritage hub: Morocco’s $75M bet on Ouarzazate

Once the Hollywood of the Sahara, Morocco’s desert city is betting on sustainable tourism to reclaim its place on the map.

Mahmoud Said, La fille aux yeux verts

Culture

Christie's London auction shines global light on Middle Eastern art

The online auction for the 39 lots began Oct. 28 and runs until Nov. 11, while the live auction in London takes place Nov. 6.

Mohammad bin Reda, assistant secretary-general for Kuwait’s Antiquities and Museums Sector at the National Council for Culture, Arts and Literature, meets with archaeologists at the site. (KUNA)

Culture

Archaeologists uncover 4,000-year-old temple on Kuwait’s Failaka Island

Four ancient temples have been discovered on Failaka Island, including two dating to the Dilmun civilization and two from the Hellenistic period.

Some Dubai-style Chocolate being made at Melt Chocolatier's masterclass in London.

Culture

From viral fame to fine craft: Dubai Chocolate finds new life in London

Melt Chocolates in London hosts 80-minute workshops twice a week to teach participants how to make the popular sweet treat.

United Arab Emirates

Installation view of Divine Egypt on view Oct.12, 2025 until Jan. 19, 2026 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photo by Anna-Marie Kellen, Courtesy of the Met

Culture

‘Divine Egypt’ brings ancient gods to life at New York’s Met

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's new exhibition on ancient Egypt features nearly 100 pieces from international institutions and focuses on the iconography identifying deities.

A sad and beautiful world

Culture

Director Cyril Aris on Lebanon’s Oscar submission, trauma and cinema

Lebanese director Cyril Aris talks about "A Sad and Beautiful World" — Lebanon’s official submission to the 2026 Academy Awards and winner of the People’s Choice Award at the Venice Film Festival — and reflects on art, trauma and finding humor amid national collapse.

Newly elected Miss Lebanon Perla Harb poses on stage after winning the Miss Lebanon 2025 pageant, in Zouk Mosbeh, north of Beirut, on Oct. 4, 2025.

Culture

Miss Lebanon 2025 crowned in ceremony highlighting culture, heritage

Lebanon crowned Perla Harb as the country’s new beauty queen in a grand ceremony highlighting Lebanese culture.

Khaled El-Enany, Egyptologist and former Minister of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt, speaks during an interview with AFP at a hotel in Paris on April 10, 2025.

Culture

UNESCO backs Egypt's Khaled el-Enany as next director-general, first Arab in post

Enany would be the first Egyptian and the first Arab to serve as the agency’s director-general.

Installation view of CONVERGE in Seven Contours, One Collection at MACAAL © Ayoub El Bardii.

Culture

Marrakech's African Contemporary Art Museum reinvents itself two years after quake

Marking the two-year anniversary of the 2023 earthquake, Marrakech’s Museum of African Contemporary Art highlights the city’s recovery and its growing role as a hub for African art.

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Culture

Saudi excavations reveal 11,000-year-old human settlement

The settlement dates to between 11,000 and 10,300 years ago, to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period.