Traditions of Middle East
Ramadan, hospitality of coffee and dates, Shabbat, Nowruz and the hajj. 191 traditions on EveryParampara so far.
🇹🇷 Kayseri, Turkey and 4 moreHalay
A traditional line and circle folk dance kept across Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Iran, and Syria.Performance
🇹🇷 Samsun, TurkeyHoronχορόν
Line dances of Turkey's eastern Black Sea coast, danced with shaking shouldersPerformance
🇹🇷 Konya, Turkey and 4 moreMevlevi OrderMevlevilik
A Sufi tradition from Konya known for its whirling ceremony and devotion to Rumi's teachings.Spiritual
🇧🇭 Bahrain and 3 moreFann at-Tanburaفن الطنبورة
A Gulf song and dance of drums and tanbura, born in healing, now stagedPerformance
🇱🇧 Lebanon and 4 moreDabkeدبكة
A Levantine folk dance of linked lines and stomping steps, kept at weddings and community gatherings.Performance
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates and 1 moreYowlahاليولة (al-yawlah)
A traditional stick and sword dance of the UAE and Oman, performed at weddings and celebrations.Performance
🇸🇦 Saudi ArabiaArdahالعرضة
A traditional Arabian group dance of facing lines, drums, poetry, and swordsPerformance
🇱🇧 Lebanon and 5 moreZajalزجل
Half-sung Arabic poetry in colloquial speech, traded as a duel between improvising poetsPerformance
🇮🇷 Shiraz, Iran and 1 moreKhatamخاتم
A Persian inlay craft that builds geometric patterns from thousands of tiny cut piecesCraft
🇹🇷 Turkey and 1 moreSamaSema (Turkish); سَماع (Persian)
A Sufi rite of listening, music and turning, kept by Mevlevi and other Sufi ordersSpiritual
🇮🇷 Iran and 3 moreChovganچوگان
An equestrian team sport played with mallets and horses across Iran and AzerbaijanGame
🇮🇷 Tehran, IranTa'ziyehتعزیه
A ritual drama from Iran that retells the Karbala mourning each MuharramSpiritual
🇮🇷 Iran and 3 morePahlevani and zurkhaneh ritualsآیین پهلوانی و زورخانهای
A traditional Iranian martial art blending calisthenics, wrestling, music and ethicsGame
🇸🇦 Jenadriyah, Saudi ArabiaJenadriyahمهرجان الجنادرية
A two-week Saudi cultural festival of camel racing, folk dance, poetry, and craftsFestival
🇨🇾 Pano Lefkara, CyprusLefkara lace
Cut-and-stitch needle lace from two villages in Cyprus, once made for brides' dowriesCraft
🇾🇪 Hadhramaut, Yemen and 1 moreJambiyaجنبية
A short curved dagger worn at the waist by Yemeni men, its handle a sign of statusDress
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreDutarدوتار
A long-necked lute crafted from wood and played across Iran and Central AsiaPerformance
🇮🇷 Tabriz, IranPersian carpetفرش ایرانی
Hand-woven knotted rugs and flat textiles crafted across the towns and tribes of IranCraft
🇹🇷 Erzurum, TurkeyJereedCirit
Riders on horseback throw blunt wooden javelins at rivals in this Turkish team sportGame
🇮🇱 Israel and 4 moreTorah readingקריאת התורה
The public reading of the Torah scroll in synagogue, chanted to a special tuneSpiritual
🇹🇷 Istanbul, TurkeyTurkish folk dance
Regional line and circle dances of Turkey, each with its own step and rhythmPerformance
🇹🇷 Turkey and 2 moreSufi whirling
A Sufi meditation in which dervishes spin in circles to turn toward GodSpiritual
🇮🇷 Urmia, IranKurdish danceGovend (گۆڤەند)
Circle dances of the Kurds, led by handkerchief twirlers, for weddings and NewrozPerformance
🇧🇭 Bahrain and 1 moreFijiriالفجيري
Songs of the Gulf pearl divers: one lead voice, a chorus, a hand drum and a clay potPerformance
🇸🇾 Aleppo, SyriaQudud Halabiyaقدود حلبية
Syrian songs of love and longing, shaped in Aleppo and set to old melodiesPerformance
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 1 moreShofarשׁוֹפָר
A ram's horn blown in synagogue to mark the Jewish new year and the end of Yom KippurSpiritual
🇵🇸 Bethlehem, PalestineTatreezتَطْرِيز
Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery, stitched onto dresses and read for its regionCraft
🇹🇷 Bursa, Turkey and 5 moreKaragöz and Hacivat
A Turkish shadow play of two quarrelling friends, acted on a lit screen behind a curtainPerformance
🇮🇶 Kufa, Iraq and 5 moreArabic calligraphykhatt (خَطّ)
Artistic handwriting of the Arabic script, practiced as a sacred craft and a living visual tradition.Craft
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelJerusalem Film Festivalפסטיבל הקולנוע ירושלים / مهرجان القدس السينمائي
Ten summer days of films from around the world, held in Jerusalem since 1984Performance
🇮🇶 Karbala, Iraq and 5 moreMourning of Muharramعَزَاءُ ٱلْمُحَرَّمِ
Annual rites of grief and remembrance for Imam Husayn and his companionsSpiritual
🇹🇷 Turkey and 2 moreHadraحضرة
A collective Sufi ritual of chanted divine remembrance, sacred poetry and rhythmic movementSpiritual
🇸🇾 Syria and 6 moreKha b'Nisanܚܕ ܒܢܝܣܢ
A spring new year on 1 April, kept with parades, poems and dancing by AssyriansFestival
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 1 moreSimchat Beit HaShoeivahשמחת בית השואבה
Nightly music and dancing during the intermediate days of the festival of SukkotFestival · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 2 moreCamel Heda'aحداء الإبل
Camel herders' calls that speak to the herd, kept across the Arabian PeninsulaFolklore
🇱🇧 Beirut, LebanonBeirut International Women Film Festival
An annual cinema festival in Beirut celebrating films made by and about womenPerformance
🇯🇴 Amman, JordanAl-Balad Music Festival
A multi-day summer music festival held in the historic open-air theatres of AmmanPerformance
🇱🇧 Byblos, LebanonByblos International Festival
An annual summer music and arts festival held in the historic port town of Byblos, Lebanon.Festival
🇮🇱 Safed, IsraelShalom Aleichemשָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם
A traditional song sung on Friday night to welcome Sabbath angels into the homeSpiritual
🇶🇦 Doha, QatarDoha Cultural Festival
An annual sixteen-day arts and heritage festival held in Qatar's capitalFestival
🇨🇾 Nicosia, Cyprus and 1 moreInternational Festival of Ancient Greek Drama
An annual summer gathering in Cyprus staging classical Greek plays in historic open arenasPerformance
🇯🇴 Amman, JordanJordan Short Film Festivalمهرجان الأردن للفيلم القصير
Amman's annual gathering for independent short cinema from Jordan and across the worldFestival
🇹🇷 Ankara, TurkeySohbet meetingsGeleneksel Sohbet Toplantıları
Men's gatherings of talk, music and food, kept in towns across TurkeyPerformance
🇵🇸 Palestine and 1 morePalestine Festival of Literatureاحتفالية فلسطين للأدب
An annual touring literary gathering staging free bilingual readings across PalestinePerformance
🇮🇱 Tel Aviv, Israel and 5 moreTel Aviv International Student Film Festival
A week-long gathering in June where student filmmakers from around the world screen their work, attend workshops, and mePerformance
🇮🇱 Tel Aviv, IsraelLethal Lesbianלסבית קטלנית
An annual film festival in Tel Aviv dedicated to cinema by and about lesbian women.Festival
🇰🇼 KuwaitQurain Cultural Festival
An annual arts festival in Kuwait that showcases theatre, literature and visual art.Festival
🇮🇱 Safed, Israel and 2 moreZemirotזמירות
Jewish table hymns sung during the three meals of Shabbat and holidaysSpiritual · Dinner
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Jambiya: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Halay: Post of Moldova, Public domain, source
- Zemirot: ביקורת, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Zajal: 13th century artist, Public domain, source
- Chovgan: en:User:Arad, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Khatam: Fabienkhan, Public domain, source
- Horon: Macukali, Public domain, source
- Mevlevi Order: Georges Jansoone ( JoJan ), CC BY 3.0, source
- Pahlevani and zurkhaneh rituals: Hossein Khosravi, CC BY 4.0, source
- Jenadriyah: Abodi009, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lefkara lace: Cyprus Tourism CH, CC BY 2.0, source
- Dutar: Yuet Man Lee, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Persian carpet: Jastrow, Public domain, source
- Sama: myself, Public domain, source
- Ta'ziyeh: Payam Moein, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ardah: Abodi009, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dabke: Sarah Canbel, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yowlah: Sharon Harper, CC BY 2.0, source
- Jereed: anonymous Greek artist, ca. 1809, Public domain, source
- Torah reading: Sagie Maoz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Turkish folk dance: quinn.ayna, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- High Holy Days: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Kurdish dance: Kaiwan Moradi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fijiri: Kuwaitsoccer, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Qudud Halabiya: Thorsten Krienke, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Tatreez: Ma'moun Othman, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Karagöz and Hacivat: Francesco Bini, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jerusalem Film Festival: Gilabrand, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kha b'Nisan: Athrakado, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Camel Heda'a: Rawan92, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Arabic calligraphy: Aieman Khimji, CC BY 2.0, source
- Mourning of Muharram: Naser Jafari, CC BY 4.0, source
- Hadra: Zeinebtakouti, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Simchat Beit HaShoeivah: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival: Adam4896, CC BY-SA 4.0, source