With its awe-inspiring landmarks, its dense woodlands, and the delightful coolness of its mountain tops, the region of Asir stands in sharp contrast to the usual patterns of Saudi Arabian landscape. “This could have been the site of the Garden of Eden,” wrote St. John Philby in the 1930s, and as this extraordinary book of photographs demonstrates, the claim still holds true today. The story of the author’s two journeys around the Asir region is told through the architecture, frescoes and lifestyles of the people. Granted royal approval for his second project, Thierry Mauger has been able to gain access to previously unseen interiors and to win the trust of the people. In the process, he reveals how the art of the Asir region, the hand-painted, brightly colored interior decoration, the painted facades, the symbolism of the architecture, and the unique landscape form a complex code which provides valuable insights into understanding this little-known culture. In the midst of Westernizing trends, the author demonstrates the strong traditional forces which imbue the art and architecture of Asir today. New architecture is taking up forms and ornamentation from traditional regional styles, and as the author shows, the painted interiors by Asiri women resonate with the traditions of magic and religion, blended with new images drawn from the contemporary culture. الأبواب الألواح الألوان التقليدي الجدار الدرج الرسام الزخارف الطراز الطين الفن الكوارتز المعماري المملكة العربية السعودية المنازل المنطقة النوافذ أبها تهامة رجال ألمع زخارف الجدران سنحان شبه الجزيرة شريفة صورة عسير قحطان decoration frescoes house majlis men motifs mud patterns Qahtan quartz region Rijal Alma Sarat Saudi Arabia Sherifa Sinhan style Tihama Tihamat traditional tribes women Bilad Qahtan construction couleurs de quartz décoratif en évidence façade fenêtres fresque la maison la Sarat majlis matériaux modèle ouvertures région Rijal Alma rupture Sherifa Sinhan style terre Tihama tribus Yémen إصدارات وزارة الثقافة وشركة العبيكان للتعليم Abdulfattah analyse anciennes apparaissent arabique architecture climat Golvin identiques la maison Rijâl Alma mouvement nomades nouveau photographies Piémont najdi production réalisation ressources succession terrasse Tihâma des collines structure troisième Yémen Arabia Arabian Tableland architecture Asir colours construction cultural decoration expression Fatmai geometric houses materials murals patterns Qahtan quartz region Rijal Alma Sarat Saudi Arabia Sinhan style system Tihama tribes women Yemen الألوان الأمطار الأنماط البناء التشكيل الفني التقليدية الحجر الزخارف الطلاء الطين الفن القبائل الكوارتز المملكة العربية السعودية المنازل المواد النساء النوافذ اليمن أبها تهامة سنحان شريفة عسير غرفة فاطمة تيري موجيه Thierry Mauger façade Tihamah décors hutte Qahtan Najran huttes nomades Yémen tribus pluies Rabi’ah tribu Wadi Abha chameaux souk Hobab chèvres Jazan chevriers police Wadi Dala’ Dala’ tentes animals Arabia architecture Bedouins butter coffee desert flowers hair houses hut leather materials men mountain nomads people police Qahtan region road Saudi Arabia silver souk Tihama traditional tribe village wadi women Yemen Murrah animaux campement monde chèvre couleurs Najran sable bédouins des femmes dromadaire nomades enfants majlis la vie bédouine le désert porte les femmes les hommes patriarche place Rub al Khali tente Najran Rub al Khali bédouins campement cette région cheikh chèvres femmes hommes jeune maisons montagne nomades passage pierres piste pistes porte présence Saoudite soleil temps terre Tihama tribu véhicule village visage voiture Abha Arabia architecture art Asir colors decoration frescoes house majlis men motifs mud patterns Qahtan quartz region Rijal Alma Sarat Saudi Arabia Sherifa Sinhan style Tihama Tihamat traditional tribes women champ supérieur compositions compositions murales croissant de lune Fatma de la famille Zaïd de Rijal du champ Fatma Abu Gahas l’art mural de la façade de pilier la famille Zaïd la maison la peinture industrielle la Tihama la Tihama des collines le peintre les femmes les peintures les peintures murales Magali motifs mural de Rijal murales peintures murales pilier Sherifa supérieur de la façade tradition tradition esthétique travail aesthetic art artist Asir colors compositions decoration family Fatma houses men moon motifs mural painter paintings patterns photographs pillar principle region room Saudi Arabia Sherifa style sun Tihama tradition village women Bilad Qahtan construction couleurs de quartz décoratif en évidence façade fenêtres fresque la maison la Sarat majlis matériaux modèle ouvertures région Rijal Alma rupture Sherifa Sinhan style terre Tihama tribus Yémen al Murrah animal Arabia Bedouins camel civilization coffee desert dunes Emir family goats host life men Najran nomads people region Rub al Khali Saudi tent traditional tribe women Yabrin Abha Arabia area ASIR Bedouin camels COASTAL coffee colour DESERT highlands Hobab houses huts Jazan local mountains Najran PLATEAU Qahtan Rabi’ah Sarat Saudi Arabia souq tent Tihamah tree tribe UNDISCOVERED ASIR village Wadi water women years Yemen الإبل الأرض الأطفال الأمير البدو البدوية الحياة الحيوانات الخيمة الربع الخالي الرجال الرمال الشمس الصحراء القهوة الكثبان الرملية الماعز المخيم المملكة العربية النساء آل مرة صحراء قبيلة نجران يبرين الأشكال الألوان الأنماط التقاليد التكوينات الجزيرة العربية الحقل الخانات الدعامة الرسامة الزخرفية الشمس الصور العمود العناصر الغرفة الفن الفن الجداري القمر اللوحات المملكة العربية السعودية المنازل تهامة رجال ألمع شريفة عسير فاطمة مثلثات الأرض الأمطار الأمير البدو التقليدية الجبل الحيوانات الخيام الرجال السوق السيارة الشرطة الشمس القبائل القهوة الماعز المملكة العربية السعودية المنازل النباتات النساء الوادي اليمن أشجار أوراق تهامة شبه الجزيرة الأرض الألوان الأمطار البحر البدو الجبال الجدران الجرف الرجال الزهور السوق الشرطة الشمس الماعز المرتفعات المملكة العربية السعودية المنازل اليمن تهامة ربيعة شبه الجزيرة العربية قبيلة قحطان منطقة نجران

‘A wonderful, rushing, crowded, enlightening voyage . . . A book which, in its ingenious understanding, its acceptance of a very imperfect world, and its energetic and constant fascination with human variety, should do a great deal to dispel the easiest and therefore the most prolific paranoid deception which the Western imagination has now fabricated in its desperate attempt to avoid facing reality’ Angus Wilson, Observer ‘A gem of a book, full of events and people and philosophy’ Sunday Telegraph ‘With an eye for the striking scene and entertaining incident he combines a perceptiveness of deeper realities that makes Arabia more than an amusing travellers’ journal’ Daily Telegraph ‘A very enjoyable book . . . It is racy and entertaining travel writing’ Cosmopolitan ‘The advent of a new travel writer of the first rank is an occasion to celebrate. Such a discovery is Jonathan Raban, whose Arabia is a tour de force’ Yorkshire Post

This book describes all aspects of Saudi Arabia, including its government, economy, society, and culture, as well as its role in the Middle East and its position internationally. In this comprehensive introduction to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, author Sherifa Zuhur reveals the fascinating people, culture, politics, and economic development of the largest Arab country of the Middle East. The book provides a detailed summary of Arabian history from the earliest settlements on the Arabian peninsula to the present day, with a focus on the rise of the current Saudi regime. It provides essential background on the oil politics of the Kingdom dating back to the discovery of oil in the late 1930s, an account of Saudi Arabia's subsequent economic advancement, and explanations of emerging societal issues such as labor importation and the changing roles of women. Saudi Arabia also details the Kingdom's cultural and religious milieu, including its music, poetry, architecture, legal system, and prominence in the Islamic world.

Michael Korda’s Hero is an epic biography of the mysterious,Englishman whose daring exploits made him an object of intense fascination, known the world over as ‘Lawrence of Arabia. An Oxford Scholar and archaeologist, T.E. Lawrence was sent to Cairo as an intelligence officer in 1916 and vanished into the desert in 1917. He united and led the Arab tribes to defeat the Turks and eventually capture Damascus, an adventure he recorded in the classic Seven Pillars of Wisdom. A born leader, utterly fearless and seemingly impervious to pain and danger, he remained modest, and retiring. Farsighted diplomat, brilliant military strategist, the first media celebrity, and acclaimed writer, Lawrence was a visionary whose achievements transcended his time: had his vision for the modern Middle East been carried through, the hatred and bloodshed that have since plagued the region might have prevented. The democratic reforms he would have implemented as British High Commissioner of Egypt, are those the Egyptians are now demanding, 91 years later. Ultimately, as this magisterial work demonstrates, Lawrence remains the paradigm of the hero in modern times.

Growing up wild in the 1970s, Nik was always the artist, always in a band. His beloved sister Denise was his most passionate fan. But now Denise watches as Nik retreats into a strange and private world of his own creation, leaving her to navigate the real world on her own. When her daughter, Ada, decides to make a film of Nik's life and work, and tragedy strikes very close to home, Denise must try to make sense of what it means to be a sister, a daughter and a mother. Evocative, honest and fiercely original, Stone Arabia is about how we become the adults we are. It's a story of family, obsession, memory and the urge to create, no matter what.

With over thirty years of experience writing about Saudi Arabia, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and former publisher of The Wall Street Journal Karen Elliott House has an unprecedented knowledge of life inside this shrouded kingdom. Through anecdotes, observation, analysis, and extensive interviews, she navigates the maze in which Saudi citizens find themselves trapped and reveals the sometimes contradictory nature of the nation that is simultaneously a final bulwark against revolution in the Middle East and a wellspring of Islamic terrorists. Saudi Arabia finds itself threatened by fissures and forces on all sides, and On Saudi Arabia explores in depth what this portends for the country’s future—and our own.