Middle East

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

Liberty Orchards in Cashmere, Wash., which was founded by two Armenian immigrants, still makes Aplets & Cotlets, a variation of Turkish delight that includes apples, apricots and walnuts. Courtesy of Liberty Orchards Co., Inc. hide caption

In an ad targeting female athletes in the Middle East, Nike asks "What will they say about you?" Screengrab by NPR/Nike Women hide caption

Acutely malnourished child Sacdiyo Mohamed, 9 months old, is treated at Banadir hospital in Somalia on Saturday. Somalia's government has declared the drought there a national disaster. Mohamed Sheikh Nor/AP hide caption

Palestinian Arab Idol TV show winners Yaacoub Shahin (center), Ammar Mohammed (left) and Amir Dandan stand on stage during the final in the pan-Arab song contest on Feb. 25, 2017 at MBC studios in Zouk Mosbeh, north of Beirut. Anwar Amro/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

World Press Photo awarded its top honor to Burhan Ozbilici's image of a man with a gun standing over the slain Russian ambassador in Ankara in December. Burhan Ozbilici/AP hide caption

The Pyramids of El-Geezeh from the South West, from Egypt, Sinai and Jerusalem: A Series of Twenty Photographic Views, c. 1860. Francis Frith/Featured in Clark Art Institute hide caption

Demonstrators at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport gather on Saturday to protest President Trump's executive order temporarily barred refugees and citizens of seven countries. G. Morty Ortega/Getty Images hide caption

A man counts Egyptian currency at an exchange office in Cairo. Amr Nabil/AP hide caption