Photo Essays

China says it faces a serious threat from Islamist extremists in its Xinjiang region. Beijing accuses separatists among the Muslim Uighur ethnic minority of stirring up tensions with the ethnic Han Chinese majority. By Nadine Berghausen

There is one region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Inhabited by yak-herding nomads and wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan at an altitude of 4,500 metres, Pamir is an area of precarious peace. Promoted by the Afghan government in an attempt to attract the more adventurous tourist, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor taken by Marco Polo in the 13th century. By Eric Lafforgue

The Ottoman Empire, founded in 1299, collapsed in November 1922, when the last sultan, Mehmed VI, was sent into exile. The First World War had been a disaster for the empire, with British and allied forces capturing Baghdad, Damascus and Jerusalem. A new government, the Turkish Grand National Assembly, was set up in 1920 in Ankara, which then became the Turkish capital. Constantinople, formerly the imperial capital, was renamed Istanbul in 1930. By Dave Burke

For years synonymous with for sectarianism, a fifteen-year-long civil war, car bombings and suicide attacks, Beirut is slowly undergoing a transformation. Where once militias on either side of the Green Line used graffiti to mark their territory, a group of artists is adding new colour to the streets of the Lebanese capital. Despite the many images highlighting Lebanon′s current political and social dilemmas, there is one overriding message: unity and peace. By Changiz M. Varzi

Iranian politicians like to refer to their country as an "island of stability" in the Middle East. But the country has severe environmental problems and nobody feels responsible – with wide-reaching consequences. By Shabnam von Hein

On the UNESCO World Heritage list since 2006, Harar in eastern Ethiopia is truly a place apart. Considered the fourth holiest city of Islam and boasting 102 shrines and nearly 100 mosques, Harar is a unique blend of the African and Islamic. With its particular character and architecture, animated markets, crumbling walls and charming people, a visit to Harar is likely stepping back in time. By Pascal Mannaerts

The D′Arcy carnival procession in Iran took place in 1933. Under the regime of Reza Shah Pahlawi thousands of carnival revellers, floats and marching bands moved through the streets of Teheran. The following photographs show impressions of Iran′s historic carnival.

Muharram is the first month of the Islamic calendar. On the tenth day, Ashura (the number ten in Arabic) will be celebrated to commemorate the massacre of Hussein and 72 of his relatives and companions by the Umayyad Caliphate in Iraq in the 7th century. By Eric Lafforgue