MENA Visuals
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"We did more in 90 minutes than the politicians did in 20 years." 🇺🇸🇮🇷 The USA vs. Iran match at the 1998 World Cup carried one of the heaviest political weights in football history. Before kickoff, a major protocol crisis emerged: FIFA rules required Iranian players to walk toward the Americans for the pre-match handshake, but Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei strictly forbade it. The deadlock was broken only when the American players, coordinating with French and FIFA officials, agreed to waive the protocol and walk toward their opponents instead. This gesture transformed the tension into a historic display of sportsmanship, with both teams posing arm-in-arm and Iranian players presenting white roses to their rivals. While Iran won the match 2-1, the game ended with players swapping jerseys in a show of brotherhood. As US defender Jeff Agoos famously put it: "We did more in 90 minutes than the politicians did in 20 years."
MENA Visuals295,751 views • 1 month ago
🇮🇷 A historic Bathhouse dating back to the 16th century and still in use today, Isfahan, Iran.
MENA Visuals475,794 views • 4 months ago
A mother cat going to her nest in a mosque in Turkey. The cat is considered "the quintessential pet" by many Muslims, and is admired for its cleanliness. Unlike many other animals, Islamic Law considers cats ritually pure and that cats possess barakah (blessings), and allows cats to freely enter homes and even mosques. Cats are believed to be the most common pet in Muslim countries.
MENA Visuals749,402 views • 7 months ago
Skating on the streets of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 📷: Anna Royo
MENA Visuals943,245 views • 11 months ago
🇮🇷 Muhammad Ali's final boxing match against Iranian boxer Ali Asgar Kazemi in Tehran, Iran (1993) The legendary boxer Muhammad Ali traveled to Iran in 1993 not for an official match, but to support the release of soldiers taken prisoner after the Iran-Iraq War and to build a bridge of peace in the Islamic world.
MENA Visuals79,297 views • 29 days ago
Amazigh Blues, often referred to as Desert Blues, is a hypnotic and deeply evocative genre of music that originates from the Imazighen people of the Sahara Desert, spanning Mali, Niger, Algeria, Libya, Burkina Faso and many other countries. Rooted in centuries-old Imazighen traditions, it merges the haunting melodies of North African Imazighen music with the raw energy of American blues and rock. The Imazighen, have long used music as a means of storytelling, resistance, and cultural preservation. Traditional Imazighen music was played on instruments like the teherdent (a type of lute) and the imzad (a one-stringed violin, traditionally played by women). However, in the late 20th century, as Imazighen communities faced displacement, political struggles, and exile, many young musicians turned to the electric guitar, inspired by the revolutionary sounds of Western blues, rock, and reggae. This fusion created a distinct style-characterized by pentatonic scales, hypnotic rhythms, call-and-response vocals, and the steady, trance-like repetition reminiscent of both Saharan folk chants and Mississippi Delta blues. The influence of artists like Ali Farka Touré, whose Malian blues style bridged African and American blues traditions, also helped shape the genre. The music features driving guitar rhythms, often with reverb-heavy electric guitars that produce a shimmering, almost psychedelic effect. Call-and-response vocals reflect lmazighen oral traditions and communal storytelling. The lyrics are poetic and political, speaking of exile, freedom, rebellion, and the vast beauty of the desert. The hypnotic, repetitive structure of the music creates a trance-like atmosphere, deeply connected to the rhythms of nomadic life and the endless expanse of the Sahara. 🎸 Houssaine Ousbouh 📷 Via Archive Africa |IG
MENA Visuals938,235 views • 1 year ago
🍕🇮🇷 Iran’s ketchup pizza – a tradition Italy could never imagine In Iran, unlike the Italian style, pizza is more like a "sandwich" with thick crust and heavy toppings. The most interesting part of this culture is the mandatory, generous serving of ketchup poured over the pizza. The sauce from those famous "bear-shaped" (Mahram Khersi) bottles, a legacy of the 1980s, is an absolute must-have for Iranians. While surprising to outsiders, this obsession with ketchup is Iran’s most beloved and nostalgic fast-food tradition. Video by Hamidreza Ebtekar
MENA Visuals138,319 views • 2 months ago
🇲🇦 72-year-old Mohamed Aziz is the most photographed bookseller in the world, living in Rabat, Morocco. Aziz, who became an orphan at the age of six, had a difficult life; he could not even finish high school because textbooks were too expensive. In 1963, at the age of 15, he started his career as a bookseller with a pile of 9 books under a tree. Now, his bookstore sells thousands of books, and he spends his days surrounded by books, devouring the stories that emerge from them. He spends 6 to 8 hours a day reading, stopping only to eat, pray, smoke, and help his customers. All his remaining time is spent walking around neighborhoods in search of books to later display and sell in his shop. He says this is his revenge on childhood and poverty: “I have read more than 4,000 books in Arabic, French, English, or Spanish, which means I have lived more than 4,000 lives. Everyone should have such a chance! All I need to enjoy my day are two pillows and a book.”
MENA Visuals296,030 views • 7 months ago
🌌 Persian Creativity, Kahkeshan (Galaxy) design Persian carpet, Iran.
MENA Visuals181,857 views • 4 months ago
Comparison of some words from different Arabic dialects (Part 2) 🇵🇸🇸🇾🇪🇬🇮🇶🇸🇦🇸🇩
MENA Visuals601,966 views • 1 year ago
