To see College Hall in ruins, its landmark clock tower toppled, broke the hearts of many alumni of the American University of Beirut in 1991. But this summer, a worldwide fundraising effort bore fruit with the dedication of AUB's reconstructed original building.

Behind a sweeping, embracing façade that evokes an elemental Arabian theme, Saudi Arabia's new National Museum houses the country's first permanent, multilingual exhibits dedicated to presenting the full range of Arabian history.

The island of Suqutra, closer to Somalia than Yemen, seems in some ways closer still to Through the Looking Glass, with "upside-down" trees, hundreds of plant and animal species found nowhere else, and hospitable people of mysterious ethnic origin.

With wingspans as great as eight meters and sounding bows that produce a deep, booming drone, the competitive kites of the Malaysian state of Kelantan are awe-inspiring craft, and some, adorned with cut-paper decoration, are remarkably beautiful. Building them is a fine art and flying them a joy.

More extensive than the civilizations of Mesopotamia, less centralized than that of Egypt, and less well understood than either, the orderly, peaceful and creative Indus Valley civilization traded widely, built well and succumbed to unknown forces. Or perhaps it still exists, expressed in many aspects of the culture of today's India and Pakistan.