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Ever since he was a young boy, Brian Sewell has had a fascination with Turkey and over the years he has travelled there often. In this title he interweaves autobiographical observations with his captivation for the Aegean splendour of his favourite nation. Originally published in 1988 in a mutilated edition, he has now reshaped this travelbook.

Told in exquisite prose befitting one of the world's loveliest art forms, Brian Murphy eloquently chronicles how carpets embody humanity's endless striving for unattainable perfection. Every Persian carpet has a story to tell-from the remote villages of Afghanistan and Iran, down the ancient trade routes traveled for centuries, to the bazaars of Tehran and the markets of the Western world. Carpet-making is one of this tumultuous region's few constants, an art form that transcends religious an...

In 1657, King Charles X Gustaf of Sweden sent Claes Ralamb as an envoy to Sultan Mehmed IV's court. While he was there, Ralamb commissioned 20 large paintings in oil on canvas, depicting an imperial procession through Istanbul in September 1657, providing a revealing insight into the court of Sultan Mehmed IV in Ottoman Turkey. For the first time, Ralamb's paintings are published here in "The Sultan's Procession". This beautifully illustrated book - containing over 150 colour illustrations - com...

Ferdowsi's epic poem Shahnameh is part myth, part history-it begins with the legend of the birth of the Persian nation and its tumultuous history. It contains magical birds, and superhuman heroes, and centuries-long battles. Written over 1,000 years ago, it was meant to protect Persian collective memory amdist a turbulent sea cultural storms. Originally written in couplets, the new translation and adaptation by Ahmad Sadri retells the mythological tales in prose format. The spectacular illustrat...

From 1964 onward much of the ancient land of Nubia sank forever in the waters of Lake Nasser, behind the new Aswan High Dam. Margo Veillon had been fascinated by the vibrancy, color, and movement of the life of ordinary people in Nubia since the 1930s. In the company of friends and fellow artists she made numerous extended visits to capture in her artwork a lifestyle that has now vanished. This book is a record of her journeys. Presenting the Nile as this beautiful land's thoroughfare, her drawi...

This expansive book reveals the great diversity and range of art of the Arab lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and later South Asia. Published to coincide with the historic reopening of the galleries of the Metropolitan Museum's Islamic Art Department, it presents nearly three hundred masterpieces from one of the finest collections in the world. The works range chronologically from the origins of Islam in the seventh century through the nineteenth century, and geographically from as far west as...

Since the Shah went into exile and the Islamic Republic was established in 1979 in the wake of the Iranian Revolution, the very idea of monarchy in Iran has been contentious. Yet, as Persian Kingship and Architecture argues, the institution of kingship has historically played a pivotal role in articulating the abstract notion of 'Iran' since antiquity. These ideas surrounding kingship and nation have, in turn, served as a unifying cultural force despite shifting political and religious allegianc...

Despite dictatorship, international sanctions, and the ravages of war, Baghdad endures with a surprisingly exceptional modern architectural heritage. This beautifully illustrated study reveals the splendors of early twentieth-century architecture that still stand on the streets of Iraq's capital. Caecilia Pieri's documentation foregrounds the physical reality of modern Baghdad, very different from the image that we normally receive from the media. She draws on a number of unpublished sources and...

Alternative Iran offers a unique contribution to the field of contemporary art, investigating how Iranian artists engage with space and site amid the pressures of the art market and the state's regulatory regimes. Since the 1980s, political, economic, and intellectual forces have driven Iran's creative class toward increasingly original forms of artmaking not meant for official venues. Instead, these art forms appear in private homes with "trusted" audiences, derelict buildings, leftover urban z...