In a world rich with cultural treasures and spiritual landmarks, a selection of eight temples beckons travelers with their unique allure and historical significance. The Wat Samphran in Thailand's...
Mosques are known for their stunning architecture and intricate craftsmanship. From the grandeur of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, to the delicate beauty of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul,...
The death of British Queen Elizabeth II earlier this year provoked retrospectives on her reign, as well as reflection on the rule of other female monarchs. Many powerful women leaders of the West are...
Hisham’s Palace, or Khirbat Al Mafjar, is an important early Islamic archaeological site, and one of the few surviving antiquities of the Roman and Byzantine eras in the West Bank area. Located just...
In the Bedouin town of Rahat, during pre-emptive excavations carried out before the building of a new neighborhood by the Israeli government, archaeologists stumbled upon a 1,200-year-old Islamic...
The Qur’an is the Islamic Holy text written approximately 1400 years ago, originally memorized and recited orally, and believed to contain the words of archangel Gabriel revealed to the Prophet...
Scientists from the University of Haifa in Israel have been studying an ancient shipwreck off the Mediterranean coast of Israel. The Ma‘agan Mikhael B shipwreck has provided a rich haul of artifacts...
Discovered in a crumbling desert castle located in modern-day Jordan, a fresco known as the “Six Kings of the Earth” provides a curious glimpse into the early medieval Islamic world . It is...
It is a sad fact that our ancient history was filled with slavery and injustice of all kinds. Great empires and powerful rulers often relied on their slave forces both for building of cities and for...
Renovations in a Spanish tapas bar in Seville , southern Spain, have uncovered a forgotten 12 th -century Islamic bathhouse. The ancient structure was covered up in the early 20th century by an...
Just one month after announcing that the world-famous Hagia Sophia, originally a Byzantine cathedral, would be converted back into a mosque , Turkish President Erdogan has inflamed tensions yet again...
The Ulugh Beg Observatory is an astronomical observatory located on a hill near Samarkand, in modern day Uzbekistan. This observatory, which is often considered to be one of the finest of its kind in...
Just as many now don face masks and do breathing exercises to protect against COVID-19 – despite debates around the science behind such practices – so too did the Islamic world turn to protective...
When vast quantities of discarded ivory fragments were unearthed at the ancient port city of Bhanbhore, they revealed what would be the largest ivory production facility found in the ancient world...
A controversial researcher claims Jerusalem’s place “where God will choose to dwell” was not the famous Temple on Mount Moriah. The Temple in Jerusalem , also known as Mount Moriah , is traditionally...
The remains of a 1,200-year-old mosque have been unearthed in Israel’s Negev desert and it’s being celebrated as one of the earliest known mosques in the world. Hidden beneath the sands of Rahat,...
The Head of the Department of Antiquities and Museums of Hama in Syria, Abdul Qader Farzet, has announced that the ancient Syrian city of Apamea, which was recently reclaimed by government forces,...
The first caliphs of the Islamic World were the Rashidun , or “rightly guided,” caliphs and they controlled a vast empire. According to the Sunni Muslims, the Rashidun caliphs were chosen by Muhammad...
Before the invention of transportation such as trains, airplanes, and efficient, cheap travel over open ocean, people did not usually travel farther than perhaps 20 miles from their hometown. An...
A surprising Google Doodle has greeted users of the search engine in the UK. The image celebrates the 1038th birthday of Persian polymath Ibn Sina. For many in the West, this may be the first...
Wadi Al-Salam, meaning Valley of Peace in Arabic, is an ancient Islamic cemetery located near the holy city of Najaf, Iraq. From an aerial view, it looks like a sprawling city. However, its residents...
According to Australia’s established history, European adventurers and explorers were the first foreigners to step foot on the continent – first Dutchman Willem Janszoon in 1606, and later Captain...
One of the many tragedies that have unfolded in the wake of the Islamic State (IS) is their smashing of statues and the destruction of ancient archaeological sites. Indeed, the rapid and terrifying...
Adding to the list of names among the greatest libraries of the past, the Bayt al-Hikmah (translated as ‘The House of Wisdom’) was established in Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Empire, around...