Culture & Heritage

The Moors of Sri Lanka hark back to early Arab traders, everyone knows that. But the story is actually much more complex and interesting. Like any historical narrative, tradition or well known fact, the idea that Sri Lankan Moors are somehow descendants from Arab traders becomes multi-faceted when you start zooming in on it with a keen historian’s eye*. Arabs …

  (Reuters) – Office receptionist Sheikha's 2005 wedding was an extravagant 700-guest affair at one of Oman's top luxury hotels. Besides spending 38,000 rials on the celebration, her groom also paid a 9,000-rial dowry, bought a new apartment for the couple and spent several thousand on their honeymoon. "I was married like a princess and within three years abandoned like …

It needs no gainsaying that Turkey is a rich land with a long history. Not only did it once form the Byzantine Empire, the most powerful and influential Christian power in the world in the few centuries after Christ, but it was also home to a number of Greek communities that produced brilliant scholars such as Herodotus, not to mention …

  I am privileged to write the commemorative article on late Dr. A. M. A. Azeez to mark his 37th death anniversary on 24th November, 2010. This article is a way of expressing my gratitude to this outstanding Sri Lankan who made a difference to the quality of life of so many of his fellow countrymen, especially the underprivileged minority …