Photo Essays

Egypt from above: today, Cairo is Africa's largest city and home to nearly 23 million people. The sprawling metropolis is host to a quarter of the whole nation's population and is expected to grow by another 500,000 this year. Surrounded by desert and salt water, the city and its citizens need all the green they can get

Cairo's Al-Azhar Park

It's a wonder of human ambition and engineering set in the middle of Cairo. Al-Azhar Park was built on a 500-year-old rubble heap and is ...More

Turkey′s critical cartoonists

With Turkey′s free press increasingly muzzled, how far do cartoonists dare to go? A new exhibition at the Caricatura Gallery in Kassel, ...More

Protesters call for justice: tens of thousands of protesters make their way to Istanbul. The march is in response to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ongoing purges following last year's failed coup and was sparked when opposition party MP Enis Berberoglu was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The march kicked off three weeks ago in Turkey's capital Ankara and is headed to the prison in Istanbul where Berberoglu is held

On the road with Turkey's march for justice

Ongoing purges and the jailing of elected officials recently spurred tens of thousands to march hundreds of kilometres from the Turkish ...More

The need for real freedom in Egypt: the book opens with Nawal El Saadawi, an Egyptian physician, author and well-known women′s rights advocate. She explains why Middle Eastern women have so far failed to make a breakthrough in their fight: "Women can′t be liberated under the patriarchal, imperialistic and militaristic system that determines our lives now. We are governed by power, not justice; by false democracy, not real freedom"

Uncensored: Muslim women on women′s rights

A new book "Usensurert" (Uncensored) by Norwegian non-fiction writer and journalist Birgitte C. Huitfeldt takes a look behind the veil of ...More

Breaking with tradition: this also means challenging perceptions. Feminist issues are less the focus of the exhibition than a questioning of the relationship between body and space. The works especially deal with the exploitation of history and identity in a globalised world

Beyond the veil: Bold art by Persian-Arab women

Super heroes, mythical female figures in the desert: the Suspended Territories exhibition at the Marta Herford museum shows contemporary ...More

For the farmers of Alaba, decorating their houses – both inside and outside – is a long established tradition. The style is truly unique, depicting the home owner′s likes, his life, his religion or his dreams

Ethiopia: the murals of Alaba

Alaba in southern Ethiopia, just a two-hour drive from Addis Ababa, has yet to be discovered by tourists. Those who do pass through the ...More

Mount of Olives then: if it weren't for the ancient Ottoman city wall and the shrine in the background, viewers might not realise this is the same site. The picture was taken on 7 June 1967, when the peak was this brigade's command post at the height of the Six-Day War, or Arab-Israeli War

Jerusalem in 1967 and 2017

This week marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Six-Day War. In less than a week, Israel seized control of the Gaza Strip and the Sinai ...More

Free meals are distributed to the needy in many Muslim countries during Ramadan. The giving of alms forms one of the "five pillars of Islam" – alongside the declaration of faith, daily prayers, the pilgrimage to Mecca and fasting. Followers of the faith refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk. When evening comes, many meet in mosques, on public squares or in marquees such as in this picture from Cairo, to celebrate the breaking of the fast, known as "Iftar"

From Jakarta to Cairo – Ramadan around the world

For Muslims all around the world, Ramadan begins on 27 May. The period of fasting that always takes place during the ninth month of the ...More

October marks the beginning of the seven-month bony fish season when over Iranian 10,000 fishermen brave the cold water and unforgiving Siberian High to fish Caspian kutum, using traditional ″pareh″ or beach seine nets. Kargar Co-operative in Farhabad, about 350 kilometres from the capital Tehran, is one of 122 active fishing co-operatives in northern Iran

Traditional livelihood under threat on Iran′s Caspian coast

For generations the fishermen in northern Iran have depended on the abundance of the Caspian Sea, catching caviar-producing sturgeon, ...More

Refugees' daily lives: a picturesque moment is captured on camera. Photographer Herlinde Koelbl took this photo in Sicily, where thousands of refugees, many from Africa, had just been assisted after arriving. Some rested in makeshift initial reception centres, while others waited in buses. The media hubbub had already passed as this man headed to the toilet. Koelbl happened to be standing nearby and captured the image

The reality of life in Europe's refugee camps

Photographer Herlinde Koelbl travelled to refugee camps in Europe in 2016 looking for images that the world had not yet seen. The result ...More

'Rock the Casbah': filmmaker Laila Marrakchi became famous in Morocco with her 2005 work "Marock," which depicted a controversial romantic relationship between a Muslim and a Jew. In the French-Moroccan drama "Rock the Casbah" (2013), a three-day mourning period after a father's death allows estranged sisters and a mother to deal with conflict issues and uncover secrets within their family

Women in Moroccan cinema

Included in the Moroccan Film Festival now taking place at the Babylon Cinema in Berlin, these movies feature the stories of women or were ...More

These precious finds, now on show for the very first time outside Iran, were once bound for illegal auction in the West. At the very last moment, police succeeded in intercepting the cultural relics and arresting the smuggling ring

Exhibition: "Iran. Ancient cultures between water and desert"

Idyllic gardens, legendary princesses and mythical beasts: ancient artefacts that show 8000 years of early Persian history are now making ...More

Economy or security? China routinely denies pursuing repressive policies in Xinjiang and points to the vast sums it spends on economic development in the resource-rich region. James Leibold, an expert on Chinese ethnic policy says the focus on security runs counter to Beijing's goal of using the OBOR initiative to boost Xinjiang's economy, because it would disrupt the flow of people and ideas

China's Uighur heartland turns into security state

China says it faces a serious threat from Islamist extremists in its Xinjiang region. Beijing accuses separatists among the Muslim Uighur ...More

Fake hair: in the self-portrait, "Covered" (2009), Anna Shteynshleyger is wearing two different wigs – an everyday head covering used by religious Jewish women. Through the end of the 17th century, Jewish women wore a "tichel", a headscarf to cover their hair. Once wigs were in fashion, they became the perfect alternative for the "scheitel", the traditional head covering worn by Orthodox women

How religious women cover their heads

The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but some areas are controlled by conservative Sunnis who insist on the wearing of the burka. Moderate Afghanis have dubbed them the "long beards″, a veiled reference to the Taliban

Afghanistan without the Taliban

There is one region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Inhabited by yak-herding nomads ...More

A mosque and street in the Scutari district of Constantinople, in a fascinating image which gives an impression of day-to-day life during the latter years of the Ottoman Empire

The last years of the Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire, founded in 1299, collapsed in November 1922, when the last sultan, Mehmed VI, was sent into exile. The First World War ...More

Shots ring out: in the early afternoon multiple shots followed by screaming were reported outside London's Houses of Parliaments. Authorities rushed to the scene as the House of Commons went into lockdown. The first reports came in from political reporters barred from leaving the premises

UK capital shaken by terror attack

Abed, 11, a Syrian refugee in Beirut, sitting in front of graffiti by Karim Tamerji, entitled ′Evolution′. Since the beginning of the civil war in Syria, the conflict has spilt over into Lebanon, in the form of both suicide attacks and a huge immigrant influx

Lebanon: Colours of unity in a divided city

For years synonymous with for sectarianism, a fifteen-year-long civil war, car bombings and suicide attacks, Beirut is slowly undergoing a ...More

Dust cloud with toxic particles: in Ahwaz, the instruments that monitor pollution from particulates were out of action for days. "Within hours, there was dust everywhere. Suddenly, I had red spots on my whole body. My skin felt like it was on fire and I was hospitalised,″ says Rosita, a teacher in Khuzestan, the capital of an Iranian province rich in oil

Iran: paralysed by environmental neglect

Iranian politicians like to refer to their country as an "island of stability" in the Middle East. But the country has severe ...More

The blue of Harar: the houses in the old quarter are the most spectacular aspect of the city′s cultural heritage. Deceptively plain in appearance on the outside, the traditional houses always feature a courtyard and feature exquisitely designed interiors. The majority of these traditional houses have been preserved

Harar in Ethiopia – a unique cultural gem

On the UNESCO World Heritage list since 2006, Harar in eastern Ethiopia is truly a place apart. Considered the fourth holiest city of ...More

According to the Institute of Iranian Contemporary Historical Studies, the D′Arcy carnival was celebrated in the spring of 1933. The main reason for the celebration was Iran′s termination of the D′Arcy concession after a dispute with the British government and the Anglo-Persian Oil Company

Tehran 1933 – The D′Arcy Carnival

The D′Arcy carnival procession in Iran took place in 1933. Under the regime of Reza Shah Pahlawi ...More

The most impressive Hussainiya can be found in Kashan, a two-hour drive south of Tehran. The “Mad of Hussein" meet there every afternoon during the month of Muharram. At the mention of his death, screams of pain can be heard in the Hussainiya, men start weeping like children and sobbing

Ashura in Iran

Muharram is the first month of the Islamic calendar. On the tenth day, Ashura (the number ten in Arabic) will be celebrated to commemorate ...More

1. Grape picking on the Al-Natsheh plantation begins at first light. During the harvesting season, some 15 helpers gather the grapes and pack them into crates

Sweet grapes from Palestine – The grape farmers of Al-Baqa'a

In the Palestinian village of Al-Baqa'a to the east of the city of Hebron, is one of the region's oldest vineyards – surrounded by an ...More

1. On the eve of the traditional camel wrestling festival in the western Turkish city of Selcuk, the first priority is to impress the beauty contest selection committee. Candidates are draped in colourful attire and hung with bells. The camels are then led on a rope through the streets accompanied by the sounds of drums and flutes

Traditional camel wrestling in Selcuk: "once in the ring, things get serious!"

You won′t find cockfights or bullfights in the west of Turkey. Instead, elaborately decorated camels enter the ring here – to the pride of ...More

Beyond capacity: On one cold night in December, some 750 homeless people in Tehran went to a homeless shelter – called Khavaran – to stay warm. Until then, the shelter hadn't housed more than 400 people on a single night

Iran's homeless: Cardboard boxes and vacant graves

Iran has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of homeless people in the past few years. Rights activists blame President Rouhani ...More

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Most Recent Photo Essay

Damascus: everyday life for whom?

With fighting around Damascus having ceased, everyday life is slowly returning to the Syrian capital. While the people there enjoy a touch of normality, life in the immediate surroundings could hardly be more different. By Rahel Klein and Marko Djurica

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

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