A Joy for All to See

As the acrid dust dies down from the war in Iraq and bullets cease to reach their human targets, it is time to discover what remains of its unique archaeological heritage and, sadly, which sites have been damaged. This year is the 100th anniversary of the excavation of the legendary royal city of Samarra, hardly touched—except by conflict—since then. In fact, UNESCO states that eighty percent remains to be revealed. The name “Samarra” has two similar meanings in Arabic, one being ...

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Recording, Reframing and Resisting

Rock the Kasbah is a series of street-scene photographs by Tunisian Jellel Gasteli, taken during the first protest of the Arab Awakening in Tunisia. He says, “The sit-in at the Kasbah has helped reveal a silent majority. I am not part of the silent majority.” The uprising that has shaken the Arab world drew local photojournalists, and also art photographers, to give a face to this silent majority. For the first time at a major museum—London’s Victoria and Albert (V&A)—an exhibi...

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