In 1840, the first Arab ambassador to the United States came to New York, presented credentials and opened an embassy—aboard the ship that brought him there.

Are the "oil-rich" Arabs and Iranians buying the Western world? If not, where are the billions of petrodollar earnings going?

Scientists have long puzzled over the rare Salmon Arab, whose annual disappearance and long migration to the Indian Ocean are marvels of the insect world.

Would Sir Frederick, the invitation read, be the honored guest of the Khedive at the opening of the new canal in Egypt? Yes, Sir Frederick decided, he certainly would.

After eight years of stagnation, no one knew if the Suez Canal could be reopened. No one, that is, but the brave men who opened it.

Before photography became an amateur sport, tourists in the Middle East bought pictures from professional photographers and kept their memories in a tin box.