Topic: Antiquities and historical monuments

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Wheelchairs arrive in Mosul (photo: RIRP)

Reconstruction and humanitarian aid in northern Iraq

100 wheelchairs for Mosul

Two and a half years since its liberation from the Islamic State group, large areas of Mosul still lie in rubble. Germany is contributing in a variety of ways to the reconstruction of the city in northern Iraq. Brigit Svensson reports from IraqMore

Iraq post-IS: Mosulʹs cultural comebackInterview with Nihad Salim Qoja: “Iranian hegemony in Iraq is very strong”Islamic State′s destruction of Mosul: Razed to the ground
Nihad Salim Qoja, former mayor of Erbil (photo: Shamal Sharef/DW)

Interview with Nihad Salim Qoja

“Iranian hegemony in Iraq is very strong”

For 12 years, Nihad Salim Qoja was the mayor of Erbil, capital of the autonomous Kurdish regions of Iraq. Christopher Resch spoke to the local politician in Erbil about the future of his city and the current political problems in IraqMore

Overcoming cultural divisions: "Iraq is full of inspiring stories" Iraq post-IS: Mosulʹs cultural comebackThe uncertain future of Kurdish autonomy: What next for Iraqʹs Kurds?
Excavation site in Mertola (photo: Marta Vidal)

Uncovering Portugalʹs Islamic roots

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Where Christians pray facing Mecca

Archaeologists in Mertola have spent the last 40 years looking for traces of Portugalʹs Islamic past. What they found shows that Islam is not alien to Europe and has in fact deeply influenced Portuguese history and culture. By Marta VidalMore

La Mezquita in Cordoba: Is Cordoba denying its Islamic heritage?Spain and Ibn Arabi′s heritage: The great master of MurciaThe Maghrebʹs Moorish-Spanish legacy: Andalusia begins in northern Morocco
The Umayyad Mosque in Damascus (photo: Issam Hajjar)

The "Syrian Heritage Archive Project"

Syria's cultural landscape lives on – in Berlin

Countless cultural assets were destroyed by the Syrian Civil War. The Syrian Heritage Archive Project in Berlin contributes to preserving their memory with an exhibition showing what has been lost – and what remains. By Christina KufnerMore

"Syrien – ein Land ohne Krieg": Syria, as it once was Aleppo soap: Balsam from a war zoneReconstruction of Aleppo: ″Others destroy and we rebuild″
Yemenʹs old town, consisting of thousands of high-rise loam houses up to eight storeys high, was surrounded by a city wall with eight gates, of which only one survives: the Bab al-Yaman (Yemen Gate), built in 1875 and brought into its present form by the Turks in 1905 (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

Sanaa in the 19th century

A city of gardens, Greeks and Turks

Often steeped in prejudice and fed by ignorance, travelogues penned by Europeans travelling to the Middle East between the fifteenth and twentieth centuries nevertheless remain fascinating for the cultural insights they provide. Renzo Manzoniʹs "Yemen: A trip to Sanaa" is a case in point. By Mohamed ShaabanMore

Evelyn Waugh′s ″Labels: A Mediterranean Journal″: Egypt revisitedMax Baron of Oppenheim: An encyclopaedic travelogue free from the arrogance of the timeBook review: Mathias Enard′s ″Boussole″: In love with the Orient
German anthropologist Dieter Haller (photo: Karima Ahdad)

Interview with German anthropologist Dieter Haller

"Freedom of speech has long been empty rhetoric"

Two years on from the publication of his book "Tangier: port, people and pleasure – an ethnographic study", anthropologist Dieter Haller met with Karima Ahdad to discuss the clash between indigenous inhabitants and newcomers, Tangierʹs international outlook against the backdrop of the city today and the desire of young Moroccans to emigrateMore

Morocco and the return of autocracy: Playing with fireMoroccoʹs sentencing of Nasser Zefzafi: When civil liberties contractMorocco youth transform traditional festival to gain voice
View of the historic old town of Chefchaouen, Morocco (photo: picture-alliance)

The Maghrebʹs Moorish-Spanish legacy

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Andalusia begins in northern Morocco

Any journey to southern Spain, to Al-Andalus, is akin to the start of a dream that finds its beguiling continuation beyond the Pillars of Hercules, in the Andalusian cities of northern Morocco – Tangiers, Chefchaouen, Tetouan, Fes, Meknes, Larache and Asilah. The relationship between Morocco and Spain is closer than we think. By Mourad KusserowMore

Spain: Islam returns to AndalusiaSpain and Ibn Arabi′s heritage: The great master of MurciaLa Mezquita in Cordoba: Is Cordoba denying its Islamic heritage?
Tunis Old Town, a picture postcard idyll (photo: Sarah Mersch)

Urban development in Tunisia

Keeping the speculators out of Tunis

While there is a gradual reawakening of interest among the inhabitants of the Tunisian capital in their historical old town, the cityʹs colonial districts are at risk of falling prey to property speculators. Sarah Mersch on the development of TunisMore

Urban appropriation in Jerusalem: Mamilla and the Tower of DavidGentrification in Egypt: Urban counter-revolution in CairoAnti-construction protests in Turkey: ″Reclaim Istanbul!″ – policy vs. architecture
View of Hasankeyf (photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Turkeyʹs controversial Ilisu dam project

Dem Untergang geweiht

A huge dam project in Turkeyʹs southeast is forcing residents of an ancient town earmarked for flooding to uproot. Yet many still donʹt know where they should go. Diego Cupolo reports from HasankeyfMore

Anti-construction protests in Turkey: ″Reclaim Istanbul!″ – policy vs. architectureCulture in Turkey before and after Gezi: The end of Cool IstanbulThe Palestinian village of Susiya: Archaeology of a dispossession
A bronze statue of the Greek God Apollo is pictured in Gaza in this September 19, 2013 picture provided by Gaza's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (photo: Reuters)

Gazaʹs cultural heritage

The Palestinians' vanishing legacy

As well as giving the nod to the reckless redevelopment of ancient historical sites, Hamas and its de-facto government have also been fingered in the disappearance of countless archaeological finds. Gazan activists, archaeologists and historians are now fighting to protect what remains of their Palestinian heritage. By Abdalhadi AlijlaMore

Trump's Jerusalem decision: Unleashing a new wave of radicalisation?Palestine and its Arabic neighbours: Gaza – a city no one wantsPalestinian territories: From self-determination to dictatorship - With a rod of ironMohammad Sabaaneh′s "White and Black: Political Cartoons from Palestine" : Punching through the glass
Monument of the Muslim philosopher Averroes (photo: Manolo Blanco; source: Flickr)

Averroes' Enlightenment legacy

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An intellectual earthquake

Koert Debeuf, director of The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy posits that it is high time the West revised the exclusionary narrative of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment and restored the historical truth to its rightful placeMore

The decline of Islamic scientific thought: Don't blame it on al-GhazaliIbn Rushd and Maimonides in ''Out of Cordoba'': The Muslim-Jewish heritage of Islamic SpainIslam and enlightenment: Beware of the myth
The ruins of Aleppo’s bazaar (photo: Nunnerich-Asmus Verlag & Media GmbH)

Reconstructing Aleppo

The hidden power of investors

The reconstruction of Aleppo is turning out to be quite difficult, especially because the authorities in Syria responsible for historic buildings and monument preservation hardly have any influence, while foreign investors seem to hold all the cards. Konstantin Klein discussed the situation with the Syrian historian Mamoun FansaMore

Reconstruction of Aleppo: ″Others destroy and we rebuild″Reconstruction in Syria: The next battlegroundSyria's cultural heritage under threat: "Virtually nothing is left"
Historian and author Michael Sommer (source: University of Oldenburg)

Non-Fiction: Michael Sommer′s ″Syria. Geschichte einer zerstoerten Welt″

Before the truth wars: The history of a destroyed world

In ″Syria. Geschichte einer zerstörten Welt″, Michael Sommer masterfully succeeds in throwing a spotlight on the past, every distinct detail illuminating a complex context. Questioning stereotypes, such as the alleged separation of Orient and Occident, he has produced a highly readable work for our time. Marius Meller read the bookMore

Palmyra's ancient queen: Zenobia, secular Arab heroineCultural heritage in Syria and Iraq: Casualties of warArchaeological artefacts and sites in Syria: When historical treasures become pawns in a civil war
Afghan architect Masouma Delijam, Kabul (photo: DW/B. Schulke)

Hindu Kush

Reconstruction in Afghanistan: The strong women of Darul Aman

Kabul's Darul Aman Palace was originally built to house Afghanistan's parliament. After four decades of war, it had become an ever-present reminder of violence and destruction. Now a team of architects and engineers, many of them women, are rebuilding the ruins. By Sandra PetersmannMore

U.S. operations in Afghanistan: War without endNegotiating with the Taliban for girls′ education: Treading carefullyEmancipation in Afghanistan: Breaking down cyber barriers
What remains of the al-Hadba minaret belonging to Mosul′s 12th century Great Al-Nuri Mosque (photo: Reuters)

Cultural heritage in Syria and Iraq

Casualties of war

The wealth of cultural sites strewn throughout present day Syria and Iraq bear ample witness to the fact that this area was once revered as the cradle of civilisation – sadly, many of these sites have fallen victim to war, violence and looting. By Mey DudinMore

Islamic State′s destruction of Mosul: Razed to the ground Between Tigris and Euphrates: Mesopotamia: the cradle of civilisation Destruction of historic sites: Syria is losing its history
Exhibits from the exhibition in Bonn's Bundeskunsthalle (photo: Bundeskunsthalle Bonn)

Iran exhibition: "Ancient Culture between Water and Desert "

The cradle of civilisation

Ancient Persians were visually oriented and close to nature. Artefacts that only narrowly escaped theft are now on show for the first time outside Iran. The German exhibition reveals the origins of present-day Iran. By Sabine OelzeMore

Cultural policy and architecture in Iran: Far from an Islamist UtopiaThe ''Roads of Arabia'' exhibition at the Museum of Islamic Art: Saudi Arabia's surprising treasuresIslamic Archaeology: Samarra, centre of the world

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