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For decades, expedition cruising meant rugged ships and spartan comforts at the ends of the Earth. Now a new wave of purpose-built, eco-conscious vessels is redefining polar travel, led by Ponant’s trailblazing hybrid icebreaker, Le Commandant Charcot.
Editor's Pick
This place in Riyadh transforms a former equestrian club into a unique all-in-one MDLBeast destination encompassing a restaurant, club, lounge, pool concept and soon a boutique hotel too, with eclectic music and diverse culinary delights throughout.
Cee elevates Beirut nights with a fiery red rooftop sanctuary where the air feels lighter, the drinks taste better, and the views speak for themselves, capturing everything rooftop bars promise: escape, glamour, and perspective.
Gathering several artists and galleries in Cyprus – including many from the Arab world – Vima (which in Greek means platform) sought to form meaningful connections between the growing local art ecosystems of this little island nation and its neighbouring countries.
We love good hotels, but we also love classic cars, and the Peninsula has found some clever ways of joining the two. As a result, they’ve become the quintessential choice for the world’s most important classic car lovers. This association with the world of vintage cars began when the Pe…
Back in February 2019, we (like everyone else) were taken aback by the announcement from the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (popularly known as MBZ) that there would be a new project on Saadiyat Island grouping – for the very first time – a house of worsh…
Staged across Abu Dhabi and the archaeological site of Al Ain under the theme Public Matter, this new biennial bridges past and present, recontextualising historic spaces as canvases for creative expression.
Far away from the dense urban sprawl of Istanbul, Ankara or Turkey’s multitude of crowded coastal resorts, the northern Black Sea is a region that has much to offer, especially to those with a desire to explore some lesserknown spots in this diverse country. Blessed with a rich blend of…
In a city with as rich a legacy as Istanbul, it’s easy to forget that this gorgeous Turkish city is actually home to one of the fastest growing arts and culture scenes in the world. Amidst the iconic Byzantine and Ottoman-era architecture, there are new galleries and art initiatives app…
You’ve probably heard of slow food. Slow fashion too. But, while there’s no recognised subculture for slow travel, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express certainly fits the bill. Of course, the VSOE is not slow per se, but a ‘Slow Philosophy’ is not about doing everything at a snail’s …
After decades closed to travellers, Saudi Arabia is welcoming visitors under its Vision 2030 plan. Though e-visas have existed since 2020, cities such as Riyadh and Jeddah remain unknown to many curious global explorers.
On the edge of a town in South Tyrol's renowned wine region, MoDusArchitects' Casa Visibilio replaces an older structure, its hollowed, scooping southern volume drawing the elongated site inwards into a reciprocal relationship.
Artists gathered from across the globe in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh this January for the beginning of the annual Tuwaiq Sculpture symposium, a month-long creative residency in which the participants create large-scale works in a public setting. Previously, the event was a comp…
Built in the artist’s hometown and designed by architect Jawdat Arnouk, Mohtaraf Anachar Basbous (MAB), which translates as ‘workshop’ rather than ‘museum,’ opened last September, gathering around 50 artworks across Basbous’ career, from his first at the age of 10 to the very late…
Heritage and Museum Director Sébastien Vivas reflects on showcasing Audemars Piguet's historic timepieces in Le Brassus, recalling how the idea took shape, how the architect was chosen, and how the hairspring-like design evolved.
Florian Boje of Giò Forma — the studio behind AlUla’s mirror-clad Maraya, the world’s largest mirrored building — on designing an epic landmark that reflects its UNESCO surroundings and all but vanishes.
After the catastrophic explosion of 4 August 2020, we return to Fairuz's lament for a city destroyed eight times over, and ask how much more Beirut and its people must endure.
In a remote Palestinian town south of Hebron, an international consortium has reclaimed Roman, Byzantine and Crusader vestiges, restoring centuries-old courtyards and turning a place left for ruin into something resembling renewal.
From an 18th-century coral watchtower to a thriving cultural quarter, Abu Dhabi's oldest building has been reborn — crowned by CEBRA's award-winning Musallah, a prayer hall that rises from the water like rock.
Clarens, Switzerland, April 2020: Boosting our immune system has rarely felt more urgent, especially with the current pandemic swept across the world. Maintaining a healthy immune system can help protect your body from foreign invaders and is paramount for your body in becoming and stay…
With a display that lasted from January 31st till March 7th, Desert X helped shed light on how self-expression is a hot new topic in the Kingdom. The desert sands are slowly slipping through the hourglass, bringing change to the long-cloistered Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Nowhere is this m…
One of Dubai's oldest malls weathered the rise of glossier rivals, then quietly reinvented itself. A new southern walkway lined with Middle Eastern debuts marks Burjuman's return to the fashion conversation.
Following last year’s first edition of the music and culture festival at the Mada’in Saleh, Saudi Arabia is now betting big on cultural tourism with a handful of luxury hotels and a Jean Nouvel-designed resort due to emerge in the Al-Ula governorate. Pick any major publication fro…
Philippe Jabre’s imposing art collection will soon have a new home in the mountains above Beirut. Gaby Daher and Jean-Louis Mainguy, art dealer and interior architect, are remodelling Jabre’s summer residence, a 19th century traditional Lebanese house, and adjacent bell foundry in Beit …
Can one man’s dump ever be another one’s Eden? Apparently so. The Wasit Natural Reserve Visitor Centre in Sharjah boasts eco-friendly credentials that make it the ultimate haven for migratory birds. The UAE emirate of Sharjah is showing the way when it comes to eco-friendly projec…
Paris’ first digital art museum, the Atelier des Lumières, opened last year in a disused 19th century foundry in the city’s 11th arrondissement. And, following sold-out shows on Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and the history of the Vienna Secession, they’ve outdone themselves this yea…
The late Iraqi-British architect's final airport opened in September at a cost of eleven billion dollars, claiming the title of world's largest and arguably its most advanced and greenest.
With more than thirty galleries serving fewer than three million residents, Kuwait appears to boast a thriving art scene. Dig deeper, however, and questions arise about how much of that work is truly homegrown.
As the Beirut Institute Summit convenes in Abu Dhabi, a moderator and five designers debate the circular economy, craft heritage and whether the Arab world can finally be seen as a creator rather than merely a buyer.
The Italian architect behind Milan's celebrated Bosco Verticale is now bringing his greenery-clad vision to Egypt's New Administrative Capital, building three structures that promise to transform the architectural essence of the region.
Qatar is readying for a defining moment in its young history. In just over three years, football fans worldwide will descend on its shores for the 2022 World Cup, the region's first ever.
Chaps & Co’s motto of “bringing back the old-school traditions” of the barbershop may be great and all but it’s the approachable staff, stylish décor and affordable prices that’ll have you coming back for more. A trip to the local barber has the power to be rejuvenative.…
From Blade Runner's replicants to emotionally intelligent robot dogs, as we imagine, so we build. The Barbican's arresting AI: More Than Human surveys the creative and scientific evolution of artificial intelligence to date.
Arriving at Charles de Gaulle at five in the morning after twelve hours from Abu Dhabi, our writer was utterly shattered. Yet, as the saying goes, there would be no rest for the weary.
Amsterdam may be small and easy to navigate by bike, but it’s never dull. A prime example of progressive living, bottled inside a charming 17th century city, it offers art, culture and gastronomic delights in spades. For decades, Amsterdam was characterised as a drug-dealing, sex-crazed…
The V&A's sold-out Designer of Dreams exhibition celebrates Christian Dior's couture as ephemeral architecture devoted to the female form, an exquisitely curated journey across light and dark that confirms his enduring influence.
Saint-Barth’s glamorous sailing regatta returns once again in April and we caught up with its chief sponsor, Peter Harrison – CEO of Richard Mille Europe, Middle East and Africa. WHEN DID RICHARD MILLE FIRST GET INVOLVED IN THE REGATTA? – This year marks the tenth anniversary of t…
Milan is best known as a fashion mecca but only real insiders know where to find the city’s best shopping. Here are our top picks. CORSO COMO 10 Corso Como 10 is a restaurant with pretty unexceptional food but with an exceptional choice of all the best designer clothes of t…
Following three years of work on its new HQ, YSL has finally moved back to the Rive Gauche into majestic new headquarters on Rue de Bellechasse in the French capital’s 7th arrondissement. The building, which dates back to 1671 has served many purposes over the years, including as …
The Jean Nouvel-designed National Museum of Qatar opened on March 27th 2019 and it’s a stunning celebration of a young Gulf nation’s heritage – as well as its future. Following his widely acclaimed work on the Louvre Abu Dhabi, French starchitect Jean Nouvel is putting his final t…
In the fourth room your heart stops: three red sandstone colossi in white kilts, lit so perfectly you scarcely notice two are headless. Unearthed at Dedan, they anchor a compact but powerful exhibition.
When Saudi Arabia's Abdulrahman Al Sudairy Cultural Centre resolved to renovate its ageing library, it launched a global architectural competition drawing 150 applicants. The Dar Al-Uloum Library sits within a compound created in 1983.
Watch what happens when you mention the Trans-Siberian to people – you’ll get one of two reactions. From some you’ll get a moment of reflection, and then of understanding. From others, you’ll get saucer-eyes and a look of longing. Whether or not the Trans-Siberian is on your radar, ever…
It’s said that La Perle won’t turn a profit for the first five years. That provides some inkling into how much money was spent conceptualising this mind-blowing show and turning it into a reality. Indeed, the four credits pages at the back of the show’s official programme read like a Ho…
It’s a similar problem for most cities: what to do with that enormous 1970s eyesore? In the case of the Allen Center at the corner Smith and Dallas streets in Downtown Houston, the solution was not to knock the whole thing down and start afresh, rather its owner, Brookfield Property Par…
Saudi Arabia’s capital city has become a hub for the nation’s most visually pleasing new architectural landmarks. There’s the Kingdom Centre with its majestic skybridge, the King Fahad National Library and its lozenge-shaped textile awnings and stately Al Faisaliah Tower, featurin…
In Lebanon, a country that has collapsed, been built and then rebuilt multiple times, it is no surprise to find remnants of a glorious past. From the ancient Roman ruins of Baalbeck to the dilapidated, war-ravaged carcass of a former Holiday Inn hotel in Ras Beirut, there is no shortage…
In Granada's Gorafe Desert, summer temperatures soar to fifty degrees. Long before air-conditioning, hardy souls carved their homes into subterranean caves, emerging only at dawn and dusk. These cave dwellers endure to this day.
As part of an ongoing series, the photographer turns his lens on the working offices of Dubai's design firms, finding an abundance of new spaces but few of the historic buildings that define other cities.
The Costume Institute's most ambitious show yet spans 25 galleries across two New York sites, tracing how Catholic imagery and symbolism have shaped haute couture from Chanel to McQueen.
What is love? It’s an age-old question that elicits many answers; from the overwhelming feeling of tenderness we have for a newborn to the impractical kind that keeps us up at night. But there’s also the kind of love that drives people, a passion so profound it fuels ambitious ventures …
The Brit adventurer behind this travel company will bring you to places you’ve only seen in pictures.
At the sixteenth Venice Biennale of Architecture, Lebanon's first pavilion argues that what is not built matters as much as what is, a brain-teasing premise for a thoughtful national debut.
Alongside the customary exhibits, Art Dubai introduced a Residents section, inviting eleven artists from around the world to spend weeks in the city creating work inspired by the local environment.
For World Health Day, Canadian photojournalist Lindsay Mackenzie shares images made for the World Health Organisation inside a camp near Raqqa, home to some 18,000 of Syria's displaced.
First there was what seemed like a pale shadow in the sky. It brightened to become a distinct green, twitched a little, then danced around above our heads as we looked up in wonder. The shape-shifting shaft of light engorged to slowly spread across the entire night sky, washing its inky…
Held over five days at the DIFC, the third edition of Dubai Watch Week traded insider stories on fakes, etiquette and icons, with Bovet, MB&F and H. Moser among the headline names.
If real estate is all about location, little can rival this. Ramsay Short surveys No.1 Palace Street, an address fit for a king that sits beside the Queen of England with views across her gardens.
The Palestinian Museum honours the country’s history and represents an optimistic investment into its future. It’s also a remarkable architectural project. A museum to represent any one people, or nation, seems destined to be a reductive project, all the more so when the nation in quest…
Just a hundred metres from St Mark's Square lies a new Dolce & Gabbana boutique that holds its own as a cultural destination. Bucking convention, the label tailors each store to its setting rather than replicating one identity.
It was a tall order if there ever was one: build a Louvre in the desert, in a city with a negligible tourism industry and a dubious (at least from a European perspective) cultural scene. But there was no turning back once a 400 million Euro deal was signed between the UAE and France in …
The region's love affair with motoring rolls on this autumn, as the Dubai International Motor Show and Riyadh Motor Show open their doors to more than 150 manufacturers and a market hungry for growth.
Once the capital of the old kingdom of Oman, Mleiha is now part of the UAE and it happens to be a treasure trove of ancient sites and artefacts. As a result, the Sharjah Department of Antiquities has built a stunning new archaeological centre to attract tourists and residents alike. In …
When Jochen Zeitz first came to Africa for a two-week safari in 1989, he fell in love with the sights, sounds, smells, and soil. Indeed, his reaction was much like that of the characters played by Robert Redford and Meryl Streep in the 1985 Oscar-winning classic. “What inspired me thirt…
As odd as it sounds, a walking safari tracking endangered black rhinos through the Kenyan bush is a tranquil adventure, at least as long as you do not let the rhinos track you first.
Danae Mercer travels through Indonesia, named among the world's happiest nations, to understand the joie de vivre of its island archipelago and how, in a place that has so little, contentment can amount to so much.
Steeped in Moroccan history and culture, Marrakech is a city that also embraces modernity and creativity. CNN International’s James Williams, host of travel series ‘In 24 Hours’, takes us on a whirlwind tour. Marrakech is like a colourful jewel wrapped in a rich red dustiness, just wait…
It’s already the capital of fashion, but leave it to Milan to also be thinking outside the box when it comes to brand extensions, the latest of which is one of the most stylish gyms around. The highly sophisticated fitness emporium comes courtesy of the Canadian twins behind Dsquared2, …
It is a special, daunting experience when a curious adolescent polar bear plods over to say hello. Our writer wonders whether five metres of icy water is quite enough, yet refuses to lower the camera.
As the region's flagship maritime gathering returns to Dubai Harbour, megayacht unveilings, debut flybridge cruisers and a vast new marina project are stoking bullish confidence across the Gulf's boating industry.
Whispered reverently among scuba divers, the Raja Ampat Islands lie at the far end of the world's largest archipelago. Our writer leaves civilisation behind, flying via Jakarta in pursuit of this fabled diving paradise.
The Middle East's only fair devoted to museum-quality collectible design returns to Dubai Design District, raising the benchmark with fifty international galleries, a strong British showing and a record turnout of Emirati talent.
Alila Jabal Akhdar opened last spring on the Al Hajar mountains range, which is one of Oman’s most magnificent, untouched landscapes. Perched over 2000 metres above sea level, the hotel overlooks a dramatic gorge and is perfectly positioned to explore the region’s rugged landscape, maki…
Beirut's name is thought to derive from be'erot, meaning wells, a nod to the fertility of its water table. Fittingly, a sunken well lies at the heart of the winning design for the Beirut Museum of Art.
Sinatra's vagabond shoes still long to stray through the heart of New York, only now they are more likely to be red-soled Louboutins, and their owners are buying a place to stay.
Cross Herzog and de Meuron's de Young with Koolhaas's Casa da Musica and you arrive at Rock House in Kuwait. Thanks to AGi Architects, it is among the most innovative residences imaginable.
Built layer by layer in just 17 days, the Dubai Future Foundation's new headquarters marks an architectural and engineering breakthrough, and the opening salvo in an ambitious bid to reinvent how cities are made.
Caught between transformation and disintegration, Lebanon still nurtures the Middle East's most developed artistic community, and the Beirut Art Fair is where its galleries, institutions and rising talents converge each year.
By candlelight on a wind-swept beach, researcher Jonathan Belt muses that a helicopter may burn less fuel than a boat. It is hard to say what is truly sustainable, which is precisely why we must talk.
Anyone who knows Dubai knows it stops for no one, not even a global economic crisis. From its choked arterial roads at rush hour to the official statistics, every measure confirms a relentlessly bustling city.
Richard Mille’s Concours d’Elegance may be a newcomer but it has managed do the unthinkable and attain almost equal status with the legendary events of Villa d’Este and Pebble Beach. There it lay, casually on the table in front of me, a 139,000 USD RM 11-03 between a bottle of Evian and…
Far from an ordinary boutique, Milan's Palazzo Ralph Lauren is conceived as an ultra-exclusive luxury club, offering its members the full brand experience within the intimate setting of a private residence.
Set near Notre-Dame in central Paris, the Institut du Monde Arabe ranks among Mitterrand's celebrated Grands Projets. A museum, library and more, this urban scheme remains a work of striking architectural character.
Susan Sontag's line that everything exists to end in a photograph came to mind at the first Dubai Photo Exhibition, where the Moroccan showcase paid moving tribute to the late photographer Leila Alaoui.
The sun blazed over Tokyo's airport, yet a freak blizzard had hit western Japan. Amid travel disruption almost unheard of in the country, our design writer pressed on towards snowbound Fukuoka and Kyushu.
Riding a hot, slow train towards Weligama along the southwestern coast, our writer trades air-conditioned comfort for the glue-thick heat of summer, rewarded by chilli-sprinkled pineapple and the unhurried life beyond the window.
On Opera Gallery's opening night in Beirut, it was neither the pre-Cubist Picasso nor the early Dali that captivated. The real star was Korean artist Seo Young Deok's terrace sculpture, 'Meditation 16'.
When Verdi's Aida played Qatar's Katara Opera House in 2012, it was a regional first. With new houses rising in Kuwait and Dubai, a fresh fascination with classical opera is sweeping the Gulf.
At Davos, KAEC chief executive Fahd Al Rasheed talks to John Defterios about a 100 billion dollar city the size of Washington DC, Saudi oil reform and the long road from 5,000 residents to two million.
Step through the door of Electra House, Lee Broom's Shoreditch showroom, and you might assume the brand long-established. From its signature grey backdrop to its tactile materials, everything conveys sophisticated, hard-won confidence.
Dubai's forest of residential towers suggests a glut of empty homes, yet the reality is more nuanced. With over twenty per cent of properties held by absentee owners, common assumptions about oversupply deserve scrutiny.
Our pick of the regional fairs that actually merit your time, from Doha's growing jewellery and watch showcase to Dubai's vast boat show and a Mediterranean photography festival in Beirut.
On the opening night of the Beirut Art Fair, a live sheep named Faro, shorn and inscribed with a mysterious pattern of black dots, wandered among the elegant crowd as the show's improbable centrepiece.
Now seventy-six, the American-born sculptor pioneered the use of non-traditional materials, from fibreglass and molten lead to his beloved steel, shaping colossal, site-specific works that express the very tension of their weight.
There’s nothing like Central Italy. With its medieval fortified villages and ochre-coloured villas, set within a landscape of vineyards, cypress trees and hills rolling down to the coast, it’s little wonder the region charms everyone who visits. But this bountiful, picturesque part of t…
A flawless blue sky mirrors in the azure tiles of an enormous, waterless pool, ringed by dust and dry concrete. Behind it, the skeleton of a palatial building rises from the desert like a fossilised civilisation.
High in Sursock Tower, an eighteen-floor Ashrafieh high-rise designed by the late Pierre Khoury, our writer meets its makers. The firm of Jamil Saab kept several floors of the building to serve as their corporate headquarters.
In 2010, painter Nabil Nahas marked forty years of creativity with a retrospective at the Beirut Exhibition Centre. Remarkably, it was the prolific artist's first show at home, ending an eighteen-year absence from his country of birth.
It is not big brands, celebrity guests or social-media campaigns that move our restless writer to travel. In a word, he seeks authenticity, and finds it where places stay true to themselves.
Beyond the fluorescent bikinis, blasting bars and poolside parties lies another Miami, a city of vast, ultra-cool design-district warehouses and unexpected nuance that rewards the visitor willing to look a little closer.