The British travel writer and reporter Jason Elliot won a prize for his first travelogue on Afghanistan. With his latest book "Mirrors of the Unseen: Journeys in Iran" he sets himself ambitious goals, but succeeds only in boring the reader. By Susan Javad
Schahriar Mandanipur has brought a new perspective to Iranian literature. His characters often find themselves confronted with extreme situations, thus being forced to grapple with existential issues. A portrait by Bahman Nirumand
The EU progress report on the situation in Turkey ignores the current crisis in the Kurdish region. In this respect it seems unrealistic. But it is these prosaic tactics that enable negotiations to progress, writes Daniela Schröder
With its labyrinthine alleyways, the Casbah of Algiers has often been the site of bloody battles. Now the Algerian government wants to develop the symbolically important quarter into a tourist attraction. Cornelia Derichsweiler reports
BANIPAL magazine publishes contemporary Arab authors from all over the world in English translation. Based in London, the magazine is entering its tenth year of publication. A portrait by Volker Kaminski