Yemeni Antiquities: Ongoing Hemorrhage through Global Auctionshttps://english.aawsat.com/features/4705036-yemeni-antiquities-ongoing-hemorrhage-through-global-auctions
Yemeni Antiquities: Ongoing Hemorrhage through Global Auctions
Yemeni Antiquities: Ongoing Hemorrhage through Global Auctions
A Yemeni archaeology expert has revealed that several Yemeni artifacts have been put up for public auctions in Western countries over the past two weeks.
Abdullah Mohsen, a Yemeni specialist in tracking and monitoring smuggled antiquities, has confirmed that a range of artifacts was put up for sale in international auctions on Nov. 15-27.
Among the showcased items were a bronze high-relief dating back to the 5th century BCE, a rare female figurine with inscriptions in cursive script, and a rare 1st-century BCE artifact.
Additionally, a collection of artifacts, sculptures, and antiquities estimated to be around 5,000 years old was featured.
According to Mohsen, an “archaeological tomb” was also relocated from Al-Jawf governorate to Shabwa governorate, and subsequently, it was flown to France.
Mohsen emphasized that this incident serves as a genuine illustration of the ease with which antiquities can be smuggled out of Yemen.
This reinforces speculations around the sale of these artifacts occuring wholesale from their discovery sites rather than through retail transactions.
Mohsen, through a series of Facebook posts, sheds light on the sale of a rare headstone in Toronto, Canada, on Nov. 17.
In the posts, Mohsen explains that the artifact dates back to the prehistoric period and is part of Yemen’s antiquities from Saba or Qataban.
The headstone was presented for sale in an auction after being acquired from an exhibition in New York on May 15, 2008, for approximately $40,000.
This revelation comes at a time when multiple sources confirm the ongoing looting and random excavation in several archaeological sites scattered across Houthi-run areas in Yemen.
These activities are driven by gangs and antiquities mafias supported by key Houthi leaders.
Nearly 12 out of 20 museums, as reported by a former official from the General Authority for Antiquities and Museums in Sanaa, have fallen victim to systematic looting, destruction, and devastation orchestrated by Houthis.
Israeli Strikes Leave Lebanon’s Ancient Coastal City of Tyre Shakenhttps://english.aawsat.com/features/5287012-israeli-strikes-leave-lebanon%E2%80%99s-ancient-coastal-city-tyre-shaken
Roman-era columns stand at an archaeological site, which was lightly damaged in an Israeli strike nearby, in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP)
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Israeli Strikes Leave Lebanon’s Ancient Coastal City of Tyre Shaken
Roman-era columns stand at an archaeological site, which was lightly damaged in an Israeli strike nearby, in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP)
The dust has barely settled in Tyre after weeks of Israeli airstrikes on the ancient city along Lebanon 's Mediterranean coast.
Despite the relative calm, life remains largely at a standstill.
A new ceasefire between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group is in effect. But previous ceasefires have broken down. Uncertainty and fear linger, even as the US and Iran meet for talks in Switzerland that Lebanese residents hope will bring calm to their troubled country.
Over 4,000 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli strikes since the latest Israel-Hezbollah war began in March, two days after the Iran war began, when Hezbollah fired at Israel. The group has also clashed with Israeli troops making their deepest incursion into southern Lebanon in over a quarter century.
Large swaths of southern Lebanon have been left in ruins, including Tyre.
Ali Bazzi, 31, who has been living aboard a small boat in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, after being displaced from his home in the village of Toura during the war between Israel and Hezbollah, prepares sandwiches at the waterfront food cart where he works, Saturday, June 20, 2026. (AP)
‘Where is this truce?’
During the summer, Lebanon’s fourth largest city is usually filled with tourists lounging on its beaches, walking through its Roman ruins, eating freshly caught seafood at picturesque restaurants or taking boat tours.
Now, tables at the few restaurants that haven’t closed are empty. Parking lots that are usually packed with beachgoers' vehicles are filled with displaced people living in tents. Fishermen and mariners say they can’t sail far from port for fear of being targeted.
“Every day they tell us there’s a truce or ceasefire. Where is this truce? We can’t see it,” said Ali Bazzi, 31, who lives alone on a tour boat that belongs to family friends. His home in Toura, several kilometers away, was destroyed by an Israeli strike.
Like many who have fled to Tyre from surrounding areas, he doesn’t dare return until he sees long-term calm.
For months, Bazzi has been sleeping on a mattress on the deck, and selling sandwiches at a small stand a few steps away to earn money.
Israel in early June warned the entirety of Tyre to leave before it launched intense airstrikes across the city, saying it was targeting Hezbollah.
But Bazzi stayed. He recalled the emptied, ghostly city and the cries of women and children as Israeli strikes began. And he said he woke one night to the sound of a drone hovering over the port and worried it had come for him.
Even as the new ceasefire appeared to be largely holding, Tyre residents still pause anxiously when they hear Israeli jets overhead.
A rescuer reacts at the site of an Israeli air strike on a house in Barish, in Tyre district, Lebanon June 20, 2026. (Reuters)
Ancient heritage and environment were threatened
It seems at least one building has been reduced to rubble on every street. Others remain standing with several floors blown off.
Pictures of those killed, including paramedics, families, and Hezbollah fighters, are posted as memorials on the ruins of buildings and dashboards of parked cars.
The city's iconic heritage sites are not unscathed.
Several buildings next to the remains of a 2nd century citadel were struck. Debris knocked the crowns off some Roman columns and damaged stones on the Roman road that have existed for thousands of years. Employees hope the damage to the UNESCO World Heritage site can be repaired.
“We’re waiting for a committee to come and inspect it,” said Adnan Istanbuli, an employee at the Lebanese Directorate General of Antiquities. “The city of Tyre is 5,000 years old, and what happened to it is huge."
Just south of the city, the shoreline in Mansouri, a well-known wildlife preserve for sea turtles and other animals, is now inaccessible after Israeli strikes.
Mona Khalil, a well-known environmentalist who lived along that shore, died Friday from her wounds, weeks after a strike hit her home.
A picture taken on June 19, 2026 shows the site of an Israeli attack that destroyed houses and carpentry shops in the village of Al-Qlailah in the Tyre district in southern Lebanon. (AFP)
Hospital workers say they no longer feel safe
One of Tyre’s largest hospitals is repairing some of its units that were destroyed when an Israeli airstrike struck a building across the street.
Doctors at the Jabal Amel Hospital have lived through multiple wars over the past few decades but said this one is different. In the past, they felt relatively safe as long as they were in the hospital. This time, the Israeli strikes occurred nearby and without warning.
Doors and windows were blown off. Staff rushed to treat wounded patients and colleagues. Thick smoke filled the hospital.
“We used to be scared, but we’re a lot more scared now,” said intensive care unit nurse Khadeeja Yousef, whose unit overlooks the hospital parking lot, now reduced to rubble and charred cars.
Cardiologist Mohammad Nassar's private clinic across the street was hit. Now he rummages through the debris, looking for hundreds of books he had collected for over three decades.
“I don’t care about any heart monitoring machines or anything else, but the books are dear to my heart,” he said.
People in Tyre are constantly reminded that prospects for long-term stability are unclear as negotiations continue between Israel and Lebanon in Washington, with Hezbollah playing no role and resisting efforts to disarm it.
Large swaths of land just south of the city are under Israeli control, stretching to the United Nations-mandated Blue Line that separates the countries. In recent days, smoke from distant Israeli artillery fire was visible from Tyre's shoreline.
And on a distant hilltop, an Israeli flag could be seen.
Key Points From the First Round of Iran-US Talkshttps://english.aawsat.com/features/5287004-key-points-first-round-iran-us-talks
US Vice President JD Vance looks on next to US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, as Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi shakes hands with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, prior to a quadrilateral meeting between the United States, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar at the Burgenstock luxury hotel complex overlooking Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, on June 21, 2026, as part of high-level talks aimed at advancing a deal to end the Middle East conflict. (Photo by Nathan Howard / POOL / AFP)
US Vice President JD Vance looks on next to US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, as Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi shakes hands with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, prior to a quadrilateral meeting between the United States, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar at the Burgenstock luxury hotel complex overlooking Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, on June 21, 2026, as part of high-level talks aimed at advancing a deal to end the Middle East conflict. (Photo by Nathan Howard / POOL / AFP)
Iran and the United States wrapped up the first round of talks to end the Middle East war at the Burgenstock resort in Switzerland on Monday, with technical talks to continue.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi hailed the "major progress" achieved with the help of mediators Pakistan and Qatar, while the United States government has yet to issue a statement, reported AFP.
Here are the main points from the joint Qatar-Pakistan statement at the conclusion of first-round talks:
- Roadmap to final deal agreed -
The High-Level Committee set up by Tehran and Washington to oversee the talks has "agreed upon a roadmap towards reaching a final deal within 60 days, laying the foundation for the immediate commencement of further technical talks", according to the statement.
"Technical talks will continue for the remainder of the week at the Burgenstock resort on all issues."
- Lebanon 'de-confliction cell' -
The United States and Iran "agreed on the creation of a de-confliction cell, between the parties, the Lebanese Republic and facilitated by the Mediators, to ensure the adherence of the termination of military operations in Lebanon", the joint statement read.
Lebanon was dragged into the Middle East war in early March when the Iran-backed Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader in US-Israeli strikes.
Fighting in Lebanon in recent days has threatened to derail the peace deal.
Iran's Araghchi wrote in an X post on Monday that the Lebanon de-confliction cell will be the "1st real test".
- Hormuz 'communication line' -
Tehran and Washington have set up a "communication line" to "avoid incidents and miscommunication with the aim of safe passage for commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz", according to the statement.
The communication line is applicable for the 60-day period outlined in the memorandum of understanding signed earlier by both sides, in which Iran vowed "best efforts" to ensure safe passage of commercial ships.
Iran said Saturday it was closing the Strait of Hormuz again over Israeli attacks in Lebanon.
- Some assets unfrozen -
Araghchi wrote on Monday on X "oil and petrochem exports are waived, blockade lifted, some frozen assets released, and major reconstruction & development plan launched for Iran".
The Pakistan-Qatar joint statement does not mention any unfreezing of Iranian assets.
In the memorandum of understanding, the United States undertakes to "terminate all types of sanctions against" Iran, and to "make fully available for use the frozen or restricted funds and assets" of Iran.
The White House did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment on Araghchi's statement.
- Pakistan, Qatar in key roles -
Pakistan and Qatar have gained international prominence as mediators in the Iran-US deal, with the two nations issuing a joint statement to mark the conclusion of the first round of talks.
"The mediating parties will continue to do their utmost to ensure that the negotiations continue to be conducted in a constructive atmosphere with the aim of reaching a final deal," the statement said.
Araghchi in his X post gave credit to "tireless Pakistani and Qatari mediation".
In Türkiye’s ‘House of Photos’, the World as Seen Through the Lens of Childrenhttps://english.aawsat.com/features/5286983-t%C3%BCrkiye%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98house-photos%E2%80%99-world-seen-through-lens-children
Children work in a darkroom with co-founder of the project, photographer and educator Amar Kilic (R) during a workshop held as part of Fotohane Darkroom project in Mardin, southeastern Türkiye, on June 14, 2026. (AFP)
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In Türkiye’s ‘House of Photos’, the World as Seen Through the Lens of Children
Children work in a darkroom with co-founder of the project, photographer and educator Amar Kilic (R) during a workshop held as part of Fotohane Darkroom project in Mardin, southeastern Türkiye, on June 14, 2026. (AFP)
In a dimly lit room illuminated by a pair of red lamps, eight-year-old Zeynep waits to see photographs she has taken, now trapped as shadows and silhouettes on a roll of film.
"How big is your curiosity?" asks her mentor, 40-year-old photographer Amar Kilic, as he develops the negatives in a sink.
"As big as the world," she replies.
Originally from the southeastern province of Mardin, Zeynep is among eight children taking part in a two-month analogue photography workshop for local and migrant youth near Türkiye's borders with Iraq and Syria.
The project, called Fotohane Darkroom, started in Mardin in 2024, by Kilic and Syrian photographer and educator Serbest Salih. In Turkish, Arabic, Kurdish and Persian, Fotohane means "house of photo", a name chosen by the children.
In fact, insists Kilic, the children are in charge throughout the process.
"From loading film, to developing it and printing their own photographs, they do everything by themselves. They get to set and write their own rules also."
A group of children pose with their educators as they take pictures in the streets with film cameras during a workshop held as part of Fotohane Darkroom project in Mardin, southeastern Türkiye, on June 14, 2026. (AFP)
- Fleeing ISIS -
Once part of Mesopotamia, the walls of Mardin's old city, traversed by narrow streets, holds thousands of years of history and attract tourists from all over the world.
But the city is also home to low-income families and refugees who fled Syria's civil war.
Among them are the families of 13-year-old Yahya, 12-year-old Yusuf, 11-year-old Nihal and 13-year-old Sam. They came from Damascus in 2014 and 2015 when ISIS extremists started a war inside Syria.
"I'm very excited when I take pictures, it's all very interesting for us", says Nihal, swinging a small, black camera from her wrist as she searches for a frame to capture.
Their teacher, 32-year-old Serbest Salih, a smiling photographer with curiosity-filled eyes, fled the Kurdish town of Kobane, in northern Syria, when it came under assault from the ISIS group in 2014.
Thousands of Syrian refugees have settled across the Turkish border in Mardin region during the war that ended with the fall of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
His own struggle is a topic Salih wants to avoid and instead insists all the attention should go on the children he's patiently educating, switching effortlessly between Turkish, Kurdish, Arabic and English.
Since his arrival in Türkiye, he has been trying to establish himself as a bridge of tolerance and integration.
He started his first analogue photography workshop in 2015 in a secondhand caravan, driving to villages along the border and focusing on vulnerable local and refugee children.
"Analogue photography is about self-confidence. When taking a digital photograph you might think about deleting it on the spot. But with film, they spend the whole workshop thinking and feeling every one of those 36 frames, and only see them at the end. And their photos are beautiful," Salih says.
Zeynep, 8-year-old, looks at a camera film during a workshop held as part of Fotohane Darkroom project in Mardin, southeastern Türkiye, on June 13, 2026. (AFP)
- 'The magic room' -
Ask any of the children what part of the process is their favorite and the answer will be: the darkroom where the images they first see through the viewfinder and captured by pressing the shutter come to life.
"They call it the magic room", says Murat Kilic, who teaches development and printing, always with a smile on his face while giving feedback.
"Seeing an image on a completely white sheet of paper, bringing to life with their own hands an image they themselves took, creates a very special feeling for the children. They say: 'I was able to produce this'," says Kilic.
Most of the project's financial resources come from support events organized abroad, as well as donations.
This summer, children's photos are on display in Italy, Belgium, Britain and Indonesia.
Salih and Kilic are hosting the workshop in the center of Mardin, but they think about returning to Salih's initial approach with the darkroom in a caravan.
"The most logical way is to become mobile. To go to different regions, offer training and have them carry it forward," says Kilic.
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