Travels in the Orient
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The Middle East's cosmopolitan traditionBack to a Levantine future?
As regional and global problems rise, the once mixed cities of the Eastern Mediterranean may offer ideas for how we can escape our distress
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"Sufi Hotel" by Juergen FrembgenKarachi's hidden underbelly
Juergen Wasim Frembgen's new book "Sufi Hotel" is a milieu study of Karachi's underworld that shines a light on a totally unfamiliar side of Pakistan. Marian Brehmer read it for Qantara.de
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Tourism in Saudi ArabiaJourney to al-Ula
Saudi Arabia used to be more isolated than North Korea. Now the country is presenting its friendly face to the world and wooing Western tourists. Text by Karin A. Wenger, photos by Philipp Breu
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Pakistani cuisineLahore’s maverick restauranteur
Welcome to Baking Virsa, a hole-in-the-wall in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore described as the country’s most expensive restaurant for what it serves – household favourites like flatbreads and kebabs
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Middle East literatureAl Saqi, Europe’s largest Middle Eastern bookseller, to close
London-based Al Saqi Books, Europe’s largest specialist bookseller for publications from the Middle East, has been forced to close because of the hike in prices of Arabic-language books and because Brexit has been "detrimental" to business
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Archaeological mysteryAncient Elamite script from Iran deciphered?
For a long time, the writing system known as "Linear Elamite" was considered illegible. Now a team of archaeologists claims to have partially deciphered the writing system. But other researchers are more hesitant. Katrin Ewert has the details
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The hidden treasures of SufismIn the footsteps of Rumi
Rumi's poems, though generally stripped of their Islamic symbolism, are hugely popular around the world. Yet Islamic mysticism is still very much at the heart of these verses. Marian Brehmer has spent more than ten years exploring the form Sufism assumes today. By Lisa Neal
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Archaeology in IraqDrought reveals Bronze Age city
Extreme drought in Iraq has given German and Kurdish archaeologists the unique chance to examine an ancient Bronze Age city that was hidden beneath the water of a reservoir for decades. Experts believe the ruins could be those of the ancient city of Zachiku. It was a race against the clock to complete work before the city was once again covered by the reservoir's rising water level. By Alexander Freund
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Gobekli TepeThe Turkish hilltop where civilisation began
On a sun-blasted hillside in southeast Turkey, the world's oldest known religious sanctuary is slowly giving up its secrets. Gobekli Tepe, which means "Potbelly Hill" in Turkish, is arguably the most important archaeological site on Earth
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Saints of IslamCapturing the light of sages
For over fifty years, British photographer Peter Sanders travelled across the Middle East and further afield, seeking out the saints of Islam. His work uncovers a little-known world. By Marian Brehmer
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Sensational find in TurkeyTurkish archaeologists discover subterranean city of Matiate
Welcome to the underground! In Midyat, Turkey, the gateway to a huge underground city has been discovered. It was used for over 1900 years and could accommodate up to 70,000 people. Hannah Fuchs has the details
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Yemen's youthFighting to retain a national identity
War has been raging in Yemen since 2015. Now some fear that Yemeni culture is also being hijacked by the warring parties. Whether it's coffee, particular species of bird or dragon trees, Yemenis have a lot to lose. By Dunja Ramadan