Photo Essays

The Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa has just had its sixth Car-Free Day, a monthly initiative launched by the government to encourage non-motorised transportation and fight air pollution. By Maria Gerth-Niculescu

Families across Senegal have long enrolled their children in schools called "daaras" to learn Islamic scripture and build character. The tradition of begging for food to instill humility – an integral part of this education – exposes many, however, to abuse and exploitation. By Juliette Jabkhiro

Amid the poverty and deprivation of the Gaza Strip, Palestinian women struggle to find a taste of the normality that so much of the rest of the world takes for granted. By Nidal al-Mughrabi

For more than 10 years, Pascal Mannaerts has been travelling the globe as a freelance photographer. Seeking to do justice to the beauty, elegance and grace of Islamic monuments, he has compiled a selection of his favourite shots taken in Asia, India, Africa and the Middle East.

An exhibition in Frankfurt caused a stir even before it began. That's not because of the clothes on display, but because of the questions it raises: Do veils and women's rights go together? By Stefan Dege

The Arab desert state of Qatar recently opened its own spectacular national museum in Doha, part of an extensive reconstruction plan for the small country situated between Saudi Arabia and Iran. By Sabine Oelze

Located between the Red and the Dead Sea, Jordan is a small country that was long inhabited exclusively by nomads. At the crossroads between the Mediterranean world and the East, it is a place worth visiting – not only for its splendid archaeological heritage, but also for its famed Bedouin hospitality. By Pascal Mannaerts

Countless cultural assets have been destroyed by the Syrian Civil War. The Syrian Heritage Archive Project in Berlin contributes to preserving their memory with an exhibition showing what has been lost — and what remains. By Christina Kufner

Nil Yalter films, draws and describes the fate of people who, like her, have left their home countries and have to search for a place in a foreign land. Today her work is especially poignant. By Sabine Oelze