In Rome recently, Arab artists exhibited a variety of works demonstrating their growing independence in both definition and content from the influence of modern Western art.

As "Ebla to Damascus" – a new exhibition now touring the United States - shows, Syria, hub of the ancient world, has become one of the modern Middle East's most important areas of archeological discovery.

Many of the great treasures of ancient Egypt are commemorated on stamps issued in the Middle East, and archeological excavations on stamps can be almost as exciting as the real thing.

On a field trip last year, an Aramco geologist found new evidence that a glacier, millions of years ago, had ground its icy way onto the Arabian Peninsula.

So rich in mosaic art that it is often called "mosaic country," the Madaba region of Jordan has - because of recent discoveries - become the focal point of mosaic art from the Hellenistic to the Islamic period.

From the time of lbn Fadlan to the present day, trade and culture have occasionally linked Sweden and the Middle East. One such connection is demonstrated by a series of drawings by Captain Cornelius Loos.