A Syrian girl walks through an empty, ruined house in Raqqa earlier this month. Many civilians like her have no choice but to stay in the war-ravaged city despite the danger, either because they've been trapped by ISIS fighters or because they don't have the money to pay smugglers. Delil Souleiman/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Palestinian Muslim worshippers pray outside an entrance to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City on Sunday. They gathered to protest new Israeli security measures implemented at the holy site following an attack that killed two Israeli policemen the previous week. Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Ticks of the genus Hyalomma, pictured here, are principally responsible for passing on Crimea-Congo hemorrhagic fever to humans. Adam Cuerden hide caption
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, photographed by NPR in the George C. Marshall room at the State Department in April. Ariel Zambelich/NPR hide caption
A man rests in a hospital in the capital, Sanaa, as he is treated for a suspected cholera infection earlier this month. Hani Mohammed/AP hide caption
Arab foreign ministers held a joint press conference in Cairo on Wednesday and announced they will continue their blockade of Qatar until it gives in to their demands. KHALED ELFIQI/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Emirates passenger planes at Dubai International Airport. The airline announced it is now exempt from the laptop ban imposed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in March. Kamran Jebreili/AP hide caption
Dead Canary Islands date palms, killed by red palm weevils, line a road in La Mersa, Tunis, Tunisia. Courtesy of Mark Hoddle/Department of Entomology, University of California Riverside hide caption
A youth, trailed by his friends, gropes a woman as she crosses a street in Cairo, Egypt. Ahmed Abd El Latif/AP hide caption
President Trump and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas participate in a welcome ceremony Tuesday at the Presidential Palace in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. Fadi Arouri/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Together with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, President Trump touches a lit-up globe that activated a video at the inauguration of the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Jonathan Ernst/Reuters hide caption
President Trump delivers a speech Sunday to the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Evan Vucci/AP hide caption
A woman in Tehran stands in front of a wall plastered with posters of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, whose re-election bid will have its decisive moment Friday — unless, of course, the voting results in a runoff. Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Dates are a popular food across the Middle East, but in Oman they hold a place of honor in the national culture and cuisine. Amy E. Robertson for NPR hide caption
Maamoul, a shortbread cookie stuffed with date paste or chopped walnuts or pistachios and dusted with powdered sugar, is the perfect reward after a month of fasting during Ramadan and Lent. These cookies are waiting to be baked. Amy E. Robertson for NPR hide caption