Performances, pageantry and the drama of a 6,000-year-old venue made the Second Babylon International Festival an important cultural event. To Iraqis, it was also a link to the nation's history, and a celebration of peace.

Precious Persian carpets and fine textiles, treasured trade items of the past, figured in trade, war and international diplomacy. We study these woven documents to learn about the times that produced them.

For a high school senior, it was the ultimate field trip: to drive across the Empty Quarter - where few explorers had ever gone - to learn more about its creatures, its geology and its climate. And, of course, to keep a journal.

The desert-edged Red Sea includes some of the most beautiful scuba-diving sites in the world. Unique environmental conditions and modern, comfortable facilities ashore attract underwater tourists from around the world.

Hippopotamus teeth and clam shells in the heart of the world's largest continuous sand desert are a hint from history: The Rub' al-Khali was not always as dry as it is today. Indeed, there were even lakes.