Photo Essays
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Afghans unite for the game of soccer
Afghan soccer fans celebrate the country's first premier league football final. By Waslat Hasrat-Nazimi
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Islamic Architecture on Zanzibar
Zanzibar has long been a place of religious tolerance and diversity, and this characteristic is reflected in its architecture. The East African archipelago in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Tanzania enjoys a reputation as a melting pot of religions. In the maze of narrow alleyways that make up the old quarter of Stone Town on the main island Unguja, mosques stand side by side with Hindu temples and churches among houses made of coral by Muslim Arabs some 300 years ago. Impressions and images by Arian Fariborz.
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Libya's Rich Legacy
A year after Libya's revolution and the death of leader Moammar Gadhafi the country is still struggling in its transition to a democratic and just society. Remembering cultural traditions may help the process. Impressions by Gaia Anderson and Sabine Hartert
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Women Leading Change in the Arab World
The "Arab Spring" has led to a revision of our picture of the Arab woman: they've been on the streets, playing an active role in the protests, demonstrating their strong commitment to democracy, human rights and rights for women – and that has surprised and impressed many onlookers. But now that the dictators have been overthrown and new political structures are in the process of being created, many fear that women will once more be pushed out of the public space. But their courageous stand in favour of justice has shown: women are by no means the weaker sex. Arab women won't give up, and they plan to carry their revolution into the future.
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Pre-Islamic Art from Saudi Arabia
What is ancient Italian glass doing in the southern Arabian desert, how did Roman hair fashion look under date palms, and why were ancient Egyptian art styles found beside West Iranian ceramics at Arabian caravan stations? The exhibition "Roads of Arabia", currently on show in Berlin, Germany, presents spectacular artefacts from prehistory and early history, as well as from ancient Saudi Arabia: This pre-Islamic archaeological heritage, long blanketed by sandstorms and eradicated from the collective memory of the "motherland of Islam", has been the subject of research by Saudi universities, in cooperation with international colleagues. Qantara.de presents some of the most unique exhibits in this slide show.
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Children in Afghanistan
Journalist Martin Gerner has made several trips to Afghanistan since 2004, reporting for various German radio stations and print publications. The photographs he has taken in the country represent an attempt to capture the everyday life of children in Afghanistan.
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Mosques in Germany
These days, mosques in Germany are as diverse as the Muslim communities they represent. There are those that reflect the architectural tradition of classical Ottoman mosque design, but Germany has in the meantime also become home to several modern and innovative mosques such as those in Penzberg or the Cologne district of Ehrenfeld. Every year on October 3, the mosques operate an open-door policy for interested visitors. But in actual fact, it's possible to visit a mosque at any time.
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''Little Syria'' in Reyhanli, Southern Turkey
The city of Reyhanli situated on the southern border of Turkey currently represents a haven for numerous refugees from Syria. Some of them have already started to build a new life there, developing creative business projects. Impressions by Gaia Anderson
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50 years of women's voting rights in Iran
50 years ago, in 1963, Iranian women secured the right to vote. Fahimeh Farsaei looks back at five decades of progress and setbacks for the women's movement there.
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Egypt: Graffiti of the Revolution
The January Revolution and the toppling of the Mubarak regime left conspicuous marks on numerous facades in the cities and towns of Egypt. The provocative messages of graffiti artists and activists were almost exclusively political in nature and focused on issues such as repression, violence and arbitrary police conduct.