People often ask what there is to do in Dubai aside from eat and shop. Having spent some time living there, I decided to compile my own list, based on some of my own favourite places to go and things to do. If malls are not really your thing, and you're not into desert 'excursions' that confuse Arab traditions with Bollywood (yes, this really happens), check out the list below for ideas that won't break the bank, don't require hotel tour guides, and have a little more substance than the usual tourist spots.
In Methala, Kodungallur, in the Indian state of Kerala, stands a small, unassuming mosque with a pale blue exterior; if not...
Upon entering the maqam of Sunan Gunung Jati in Cirebon, one dives into a sensory deluge. Shrine keepers wave you...
In a little known corner of an Indian metropolis lies a thriving Yemeni oasis, complete with harees, gahwah, and mandi....
For our first ever crossover episode, Zara speaks to Imran Ali Malik, host of the American Submitter podcast. They discuss the concept of travel as a 'mutual unveiling' and share 'transformative' travel experiences. Imran talks about his time in Guinea Bissau, where tribes were converting to Islam after an elder dreamt of the Prophet Muhammad (saw), and tells us about the Wali Songo, the 'Nine Saints' of Indonesia.
60,000+ dead over 7 decades, 3 wars between 2 nuclear armed states, and countless human rights violations - Kashmir continues to be the heavily occupied and militarised region with the recent spikes between India and Pakistan.
In 1861, Egyptian army engineer and surveyor, arrived in the Hijaz by train. He had with him a large wet...
In the last few years, the number of Muslims visiting Jerusalem and Palestine has steadily increased. There are likely to...
Constructed around the middle of the twelfth century as a church by the Crusaders, the Great Mosque of Gaza, or...
Historian Hassam Munir tells Zara about the cultural exchange between the Muslim and Chinese worlds. He talks about the history of Islam in China, explaining how and when it first reached the region and whether or not a Companion of the Prophet (pbuh) ever visited China. He also tells us about the Uyghur people and their history, as well as the influence of prominent Chinese Muslim scholars and the scholarship they produced.
The erudite spiritual master and saint Ibn Ata’illah, may God have mercy upon him, says in his Aphorisms (al-Hikam), “Let...
A good word is like a good tree whose root is firmly fixed and whose top is in the sky....