Cities, education, arts and everyday life from the Maghreb to the Gulf.
Five daily prayers set to the sun's position, shifting a minute or two each day and by latitude: the adhan marks the hours, Friday's midday sermon reshapes the week, and prayer rooms are built into every mall and airport.
Eighteen clubs, an August-to-May season, a Riyadh derby with a global following and a broadcasting setup that changed regional football viewing: a practical guide to watching the Saudi Pro League from inside the kingdom or abroad.
Abu Mohammed means father of Mohammed; ibn and bint chain a lineage; the al- is not always the same al-. A practical decoder for reading, filing and pronouncing Arabic names across MENA.
The Grand Egyptian Museum fully opened in November 2025 with Tutankhamun's complete collection on display; Louvre Abu Dhabi and Doha's Museum of Islamic Art anchor the Gulf's museum decade. A visitor's guide to the region's major museums.
In Modern Standard Arabic, yes. In their spoken dialects, often not without switching. How the Arabic language actually works across MENA: fusha, Darija, Egyptian media reach and the lingua franca that saves every conversation.
The UAE went to Saturday-Sunday in 2022 to align with world markets; Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain shifted to Friday-Saturday for the same reason a decade earlier; Egypt and the Maghreb simply differ. A map of the region's days off.