Cities, education, arts and everyday life from the Maghreb to the Gulf.
Eighteen clubs, an August-to-May season, a Riyadh derby with a global following and a broadcasting setup that changed regional football viewing: a practical guide to watching the Saudi Pro League from inside the kingdom or abroad.
Five daily prayers set to the sun's position, shifting a minute or two each day and by latitude: the adhan marks the hours, Friday's midday sermon reshapes the week, and prayer rooms are built into every mall and airport.
The Grand Egyptian Museum fully opened in November 2025 with Tutankhamun's complete collection on display; Louvre Abu Dhabi and Doha's Museum of Islamic Art anchor the Gulf's museum decade. A visitor's guide to the region's major museums.
Cairo in November, Carthage in the same season, Marrakech after it and Jeddah's Red Sea in December: the region's festival circuit is now a fixed structure with real market power. A month-by-month guide.
The UAE went to Saturday-Sunday in 2022 to align with world markets; Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain shifted to Friday-Saturday for the same reason a decade earlier; Egypt and the Maghreb simply differ. A map of the region's days off.
The sponsorship system that tied migrant workers to employers has been substantially reformed in Qatar and Saudi Arabia since 2020: notice-based job changes, exit-permit abolition and the Gulf's first minimum wage. Where kafala still holds.