The Mesopotamian marshes in Iraq, once a thriving ecosystem and the heart of an ancient Marsh Arab civilization, are facing a dire threat as they wither away. Parched by a prolonged drought, the...
While ancient history boasts a host of grisly medical recipes, one of the most intriguing and elaborate was the mellified man, a human being mummified into honey candy, which was then used to mend...
The people who lived in the area known as the Southern Levant - which is now recognized as Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Jordan, Lebanon, and parts of Syria - during the Bronze Age (circa 3500-...
Dubai cultivates an ultra-modern image of dazzling architecture and effortless wealth. Yet its deserts conceal forgotten cities and a hidden history which reveal how its early inhabitants adapted and...
The Sahara Desert is the largest hot desert in the world, and the third largest desert in the world (after Antarctica and the Arctic, which are classified as cold deserts). At 9.4 million square...
In 977 AD, a Persian poet named Ferdowsi began on a grandiose poetic journey that would take him 33 years to complete. He used ancient Persian tales which had been told from generation to generation...
The Umayyad- and Abbasid Caliphate of the Arabs had invaded and occupied the Sassanid Persian empire for 144 years when in 10 July 795 AD, a child was born in a village called Balal Abad situated...