One wonders what Edward Saïd, (the late Palestinian literary theorist, cultural critic, and political activist) would have made of the recent round of spring collections that just wrapped up in New York. As one flitted through the tents in Bryant Park, it was difficult to ignore a certain whiff of the Middle East permeating through many of the shows.

The City of Light doesn’t often conjure up images of Ramadan warmth and Eid festivities, especially in the last few years.  The social integration of France's Muslim population (the largest in Europe) remains a touchy subject, and yet, beyond the headlines, the city has embraced many aspects of the Middle East...

A look inside Athens’ Benaki Museum of Islamic Art:  How one European institution has been quietly exhibiting its precious trove from the Middle East for close to a century.

September 11th had one unlikely effect on the art world: a reawakened interest in the West for art and culture emanating from the Middle East.  A trend seen throughout Europe, where significant collections of Islamic art, hidden away in the basements of some of the West’s grandest museums, are reemerging from years of obscurity.

Capturing Cairo’s Glamorous Past in a Tale of International Espionage

Housed in the former palace of Princess Fatima El Zahra, the Royal Jewelry Museum in Alexandria is a window into a vanished world that recalls Egypt’s Belle Époque past. Begun in 1919 and completed 1923, the grand building is the perfect example of a 1920’s version of the 18th Century.

Hidden within Jerusalem’s twisted cobble stone streets lies one of the Middle East’s most luxurious and storied hotels, the American Colony.

It’s been voted the “Best Hotel in the Middle East” by Condé Nast Traveler and is a rarity in the region for being a member of the elite Relais & Châteaux association. Thumbing through the pages of its guest books reads like a who’s who of the last century. Sir Winston Churchill, Lauren Bacall, Peter O’Toole, Marc Chagall, and Richard Gere are just a few of its famous guests.

Although the fashion press regularly report on couture’s American clientele and the stars who attend the shows, it is rare that one reads of its regular customers from the Middle East, who constitute a large portion of its buyers.