Photo Essays

Egypt's most famous revolutionary: Akhenaten

Radical, divisive, fascinating: Pharaoh Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV) had a unique vision of religion which altered the era in which he lived. ...More

Istanbul defies definition: Istanbul is the world's most famous city to rest on two continents: Europe and Asia. Here, unlike almost anywhere else, tradition collides with modernity, religion with secular lifestyles. Many say that is exactly what makes Istanbul so magical

How European is Istanbul?

Europe and Turkey have a lot in common. Istanbul for one. The metropolis of 15 million is not merely geographically part of Europe. A ...More

Three thousand years of women's history on a dress: "tatreez" is an Arabic word for a unique style of Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery. Distinguished by rich colours and textures, it originated in the Middle East some 3,000 years ago. As photographer Fatima Abbadi explains, the craft has always been exclusively a women's territory and it's been passed down from mothers to daughters like family recipes influenced by each generation

Embroidering for emancipation in Palestine

A decorative cloth for some, a sign of resistance for others. All the aspects of "tatreez" come to light in Fatima Abbadi's latest photo ...More

A thick blanket of snow is the defining feature of life in the winter months in the mountainous regions of the western Iranian province of Kurdistan. The village of Hawraman Takht, in the Hawraman region close to the Iraqi border, clings precariously to steep mountain slopes. Hawrami houses are made of stone and built in such a way that each house roof serves as forecourt for the house above

The festival of Pir Shalyar

The centuries-old festival of "Pir Shalyar" is celebrated in the Iranian-Kurdish village of Hawraman Takht at the ...More

According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), Wadi al Salam is the largest cemetery in the world, which ″forms a prominent traditional method of land use.″ In 2011, the cemetery was submitted to UNESCO on the world heritage list

Bearing witness to Iraq′s history – Wadi al Salam

Covering over 1,480 acres and accommodating over five million bodies, Wadi al Salam in ...More

Brown is beautiful: many Pakistanis consider dark skin to be an undesirable trait. In her teens, Shehzil battled with a sense of inferiority to her light-skinned counterparts, regularly drawing comfort from a skin-whitening cream later revealed to contain strong toxins. In college, when she met powerful women from all over the world, she realised that that beauty comes in all shapes, sizes and colours

Illustrator Shehzil Malik′s take on feminism and diversity

Thoughtful, provocative, chic: Shehzil Malik′s new aesthetic seeks social transformation in Pakistan's conservative, male-dominated ...More

'Hands Holding Flowers through Bars' (2016): Muhammad al-Ansi was born in Yemen and was held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp for a total of 15 years under extrajudicial detention practices. He alleges that he was tortured during his incarceration, saying that painting helped him cope with the conditions at Guantanamo. Creating landscapes and flowers helped him escape the reality of everyday life at the notorious prison

Artists of Guantanamo

Prisoners at Guantanamo Bay don't have many liberties. Painting is one of the few activities they have been allowed to pursue in recent ...More

Saudi Arabia abounds with prehistoric petroglyphs at sites that remain unprotected and freely accessible. One recurring motif: the camel

Opening the gates of the Kingdom

Once Saudi Arabia was the world’s most difficult country for a non-Muslim to visit. Only Muslims making the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca were ...More

Bon appetit! In a country that spent decades locked in conflict along ethnic and religious lines, food and cooking is a first step towards overcoming those barriers, says Mouzawak. After all, food brings all kinds of people together. That′s why Mouzawak′s motto is: Make food not war!

Lebanon: "Make food not war!"

Despite the civil war in its past, Beirut is struggling back to its former beauty. Restaurant owners like Kamal Mouzawak are part of ...More

High unemployment, high inflation and a deepening divide between poor and wealthy Iranians: the economic crisis in Iran is a major cause of frustration for many people. The easing of international sanctions following the 2015 nuclear deal has not improved people's living conditions as expected.

Frustration boils over in Iran

The mass protests in Iran were initially about economic woes and foreign policy. ...More

In the Middle Ages, scholars studied the knowledge and findings of ancient thinkers and philosophers. An exhibition by the Austrian National Library, which opened in Berlin on 9 December, is dedicated to this important work. Above: the Greek polymath Aristotle (384 BC to 322 BC) in a Roman illustration dating from 1457

Jews, Christians and Muslims: the birth of science

Contemporary science has its roots in the work of medieval Jewish, Christian and Muslim scholars who set about translating ancient texts ...More

Clashes with police: a Palestinian protester hurls stones toward Israeli police during clashes near the Jewish settlement of Beit Al, close to the West Bank city of Ramallah. Palestinians called for a "day of rage" in response to U.S. President Donald Trump′s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. At least two protesters were killed on Friday during clashes with security forces

"Days of rage": Muslims worldwide respond

Thousands of Muslims worldwide have demonstrated against U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital ...More

Born into bondage: Schweda was born a slave in Mauritania's north-eastern Sahara along with her brother, Matallah. Overcoming virtually insurmountable odds, Matallah succeeded in freeing her and her nine children from slavery in March 2013

In Mauritania, slavery's last bastion

In Mauritania, north-western Africa, slavery is a fact of modern life. It's estimated that 10-20 percent of the ...More

God not geometry: two students at the Al-Nadwa madrasa memorising Koran quotes. This Islamic educational institution is not far from the capital, Islamabad. It is mainly poor families who send their children to schools like these. As well as a religious education, the schools provide the children with three meals a day and a roof over their heads

Pakistan: Education (not) for all

Some 50 million children in Pakistan are of school age, but more than 20 million of them do not attend any kind of educational institution ...More

Lessons continue despite destruction: These girls are attending a class at their school in the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah despite the fact that a wall has been almost completely taken out by a Saudi-led air strike. The country has been enmeshed in a bloody civil war for three years now and the conflict shows no sign of ending. Saudi Arabia has led a coalition fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels since 2015

Going to school in wartime

With several countries in the Middle East in the grip of conflicts, children there are not only in danger but often miss out on schooling ...More

A drama about justice: "In the Fade": with "In the Fade", Fatih Akin is releasing his ninth film in German theatres. The drama takes on the racism within German society, successfully connecting a political story with a private narrative, without feeling moralistic or didactic. It is a "true" Fatih Akin film, filled with strong emotions

"In the Fade": Fatih Akin's latest film

In his latest film, "In the Fade", Fatih Akin puts his leading lady through hell. The acclaimed director draws on the series of murders ...More

For Shia Muslims, Hussein is a symbol of rebellion against oppression. They believe he gave his life to keep true Islam alive

Arbaeen, the world′s largest pilgrimage

Every year, large numbers of Iranian Shias travel to Najaf and Karbala in Iraq to take part in ...More

1955 – first school for girls, 1970 – first university for women: girls have not always been able to go to school like these students in Riyadh. Enrolment at the first school for girls, Dar Al Hanan, began in 1955. The Riyadh College of Education, the first higher education institute for women, opened in 1970

Women's rights in Saudi Arabia: a timeline

Saudi Arabia has announced that women will soon be allowed to obtain a driver's licence without the permission of a legal guardian. Here ...More

A symbol of resistance: the siege of the Syrian Kurdish city of Kobani was launched on 15 September 2014, by "Islamic State" militants. The offensive prompted a mass exodus from the town and surrounding countryside towards Turkey, though many stayed to fight the enemy. The sculpture at the entrance of the city pays homage to Arin Mirkan, a woman who ran towards an IS position and blew herself up with a hand grenade

Kobani, a city reborn after 'Islamic State' expulsion

Remember Kobani? Kurdish fighters freed the besieged Syrian city from "Islamic State" militants in a battle closely followed by ...More

Machghara village in the Bekaa welcomes you with portraits of Iranian leaders and Hezbollah martyrs. For those unfamiliar with geopolitics, a quick glance at the billboards in the streets will reveal who Hezbollah′s friends are

Holidaying in Hezbolland

Since the outbreak of war in Syria, the entire Lebanese border has become a red zone: travellers from the West are advised by their ...More

Marking 50 years on throne: Brunei’s fabulously wealthy sultan marked 50 years on the throne in lavish style, travelling in a gilded chariot pulled by dozens of his subjects

Bolkiah, sultan of Brunei, celebrates 50 years in power

Last week Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah marked 50 years on Brunei's throne with a spectacular and lavish ceremony at his golden-domed palace. ...More

Rouhani pledges 'path of coexistence': Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was sworn in for a second, four-year term in an open parliament session. He called for greater freedom of expression and free access to information in Iran as well as better ties to the rest of the world

Iran's Rouhani sworn in for second presidential term

German mosques – German unity: Mosque Open Day has taken place on the Day of German Unity – Germany's national holiday – since 1997. As the Central Council of Muslims explains, the date was deliberately chosen to express Muslims' connection to the German people and how they consider themselves part of German Unity. Some 100,000 visitors attended – here, some are seen standing in front of Berlin's Sehitlik Mosque

Open house at Germany's mosques

Up to 1,000 mosques opened their doors to visitors on 3 October under the slogan "Good community, better society". We take a closer look ...More

An ancient metropolis: photographer Fatima Abbadi has spent the last 10 years studying the town of Al-Salt in Jordan, which was founded in 300 B.C. and has a population of 90,000. Al-Salt is a cosmopolitan town where Arabian and European cultures co-exist in harmony

Al-Salt – Jordan's religious haven

In spite of current tensions between the Christian and the Muslim world, both religions live in peace in Al-Salt, in west-central Jordan, ...More

Part of the community: Sabriye Sinaic and her family work as farmers and labourers in their village and the surrounding area. She doesn′t know about her ancestry, but believes they came to Turkey from Damascus, Syria. Until the establishment of the Afro-Turk association she said, "I didn′t know there were others like us, then I saw there are many spread around"

Turkey′s African roots

They are descendants of Africans brought to the Ottoman Empire as slaves and domestic workers and said to number up to 100,000. Bradley ...More

Pages

In brief

More

Most Recent Photo Essay

Kiran Kaur, Sikh, UK: "Forgiveness leads to reconciliation. Reconciliation leads to peace"

Peace messages from around the world

Amid growing tension, representatives from various religions and beliefs around the world gathered this week in the German town of Lindau, on the shores of Lake Constance, for The Religions for Peace 10th World Assembly. By Ayu Purwaningsih

Qantara dossier: European travellers in the Orient

(photo: Max Freiherr von Oppenheim-Stiftung im Hausarchiv des Bankhauses Sal. Oppenheim)

Our dossier contains a selection of interesting biographies and reports on renowned European travelers to the Orient from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.More

Hussein Agha: "The Middle East’s great divide is not sectarianism"

Iraqi Turkmen forces man a checkpoint in the northern city of Taza Khormato, 20 kms south of Kirkuk, on 21 June 2014 (photo: Karim Sahib/AFP/Getty Images)

The spectre of Sunni Shia sectarianism haunts the Middle East. It is blamed for chaos, conflict, and extremism. Yet, argues Hussein Agha, wrongly defining the struggles gripping the Middle East encourages misguided remedies.More

Goethe-Institut's Perspektiven: Generational conflict

Goethe-Institut Perspektiven logo (source: Goethe-Institut)

Egypt, Algeria, Lebanon… six young women and men from six different countries put their individual views and experience with the generational conflict into words for this dossier.More

Top 10 books about Muslims and Islam by Saadia Faruqi

Media stereotypes and misinformation about Muslims are nothing new. In post-election America, Muslims are finding more allies who often want to help but don’t know much about Islam. More and more non-Muslims have questions and are seeking answers.More

An eye-catching tableau for resistance: graffiti art in Bethlehem

The trailblazer: in 2005, the legendary British street artist Banksy visited the West Bank and left behind nine stencilled graffiti images on the wall and on private buildings in and around Bethlehem. His satirical and critical commentary on Israel's occupation policy marked the start of an onslaught of international and Palestinian graffiti artists – amateurs and professionals alike – who have adorned the wall with their political and personal messages.

An eye-catching tableau for resistance: graffiti art in Bethlehem

In 2002, the then Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon approved the construction of a barrier wall that would run along the ceasefire line of 1949 with the intention of separating Israeli territories from the Palestinian West Bank. In Bethlehem, graffiti artists have started using the wall as a canvas for political protest and socially critical art. By Laura Overmeyer

Female Kurdish singer rallies the troops

Kurdish singer Helly Luv (photo: Getty Images/Safin Hamed)

Iraqi Kurdish singer Helly Luv was in Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, filming the video to her latest hit. Luv is aiming for international fame as she releases her new English song 'Revolution', calling for action against terrorism and violence.More

Syria's Cultural Heritage in Danger

Over four millennia, Babylonian, Egyptian, Persian, Greek and Roman influences crossed paths in Syria. Today, precious cultural sites from these eras are being damaged as the Syrian civil war takes its toll on the country's cultural heritage. This week, the United Nation's cultural organization UNESCO made fresh reports about damage to Syria's historic sites.

Syria's Cultural Heritage in Danger

The civil war in Syria, which has taken the lives of thousands since 2011, is becoming increasingly brutal. Valuable cultural sites are also being destroyed in the fighting. UNESCO has now provided reports on the damage.

"The Crusades: Holy War"

Dr Thomas Asbridge (source: BBC.co.uk)

In this three-part documentary by BBC 2, Dr Thomas Asbridge presents a revelatory account of the Crusades, the 200-year war between Christians and Muslims for control of the Holy Land.More