Lawrence succeeded in visiting 36 crusader castles, making careful notes, drawings, and photographs of what he saw, including the castle pictured above in Syria. These he included in his thesis, which earned him a first class at Oxford—graduation with highest honors.
—Photographed on assignment for, but not published in, “Lawrence of Arabia: A Hero’s Journey,” January 1999, National Geographic magazine
Peer behind the veil and enter the lives of Saudi Arabian women in this photo gallery that explores how these women of tradition are adapting as their society modernizes.
Flush with wealth from its oil fields, Oman has catapulted from an Arabian Peninsula backwater to a modern nation while managing to keep many of its traditions alive.
See the cultural and architectural legacy of this Turkish sultan who shook the world of the 16th century as he raised the Ottoman Empire to the height of its glory.
Travel to the Egypt of Ramses II, whose monuments stud the Nile in timeless testament to a civilization that endured for three millennia and continues to amaze the world today.
