In the 12th century a Christian king and a Muslim scholar collaborated on a project never before undertaken — a 16-year study of the entire known.

Art collectors are avidly seeking the shadowy, dramatic engravings of William Henry Bartlett, who recorded the Middle East as it was a century ago.

Graceful variations on the word Bismillah, and other invocations of the name of God, make up many of the most beautiful examples of Arabic calligraphy.

Last year, as part of the U.S. State Department’s commemoration of America’s Bicentennial, Benny Carter and his Jazz Quintet played in 14 cities in seven Middle Eastern countries.

Among the palace’s collection of clocks, officials discovered lavishly embellished timepieces from the 16th century inscribed with their makers’ names in Ottoman script.

For nearly 1000 years the old city of Tunis — the "Medina" — was a Muslim center of commerce and craftsmanship, learning and beauty. It is still busy Williams and flourishing today.