Day in the Life... Watch here
When it comes to endurance racing, the Arabian horse is the master of conquering harsh terrain and covering great distances. And the Gulf is home to some of the best endurance horses and athletes in the world.
The UAE came first in the recent World Endurance Championship, followed by Qatar. In the latest in our special series ‘A day in the life’, Malcolm spends the day with a trainer of Qatar’s endurance team.
Nationals make up around around a fifth of the UAE’s population. Some Emiratis are concerned that the country is being engulfed by expatriates and Western culture, and that it’s losing its national identity.
Recently there’s been a big push to revive the country’s heritage and Malcolm spoke to someone whose job it is to restore Arabic manuscripts, in the latest in our special series a day in the life.
We look at the Day in the Life of a daily newspaper in the Middle East. The world-famous Daily Star in Lebanon. One of the oldest English-language papers in the Middle East, it made its name covering the Cival War. It was almost closed down for lack of money at the start of this year, but sprang out of trouble.
Jeremy spent a day in the life of a reporter on the newspaper, and also talking to the paper’s editor and publisher.
Dubai might be known for its year-round sunshine and sandy beaches, but it's also home to the world's largest indoor ski slope. So while temperatures outside might be nearing 45 degrees, inside it's a cool -2c.
But just how do you make snow in the desert? This week Ben wrapped up warm to go and meet the man who keeps the snow falling and the skiers skiing.
They may look like plodders, but camels are no slouches. Camels can reach speeds of over 50 kilometers per hour and racing is a lucrative business for breeders in the United Arab Emirates.
Once on the wane, racing is now being revived and a top racing camel can sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the latest in our special series, a day in the life, we’ll visit one of the country’s most successful breeders.
Majid Obaid al Falasi is one of the last builders of dhows in the region. The wooden boats have been a lifeline for merchants around the Gulf, South Asia and Africa for centuries.
But the art of building dhows is dying out. Most boatyards in the region now work with fibreglass, plastic and aluminium.
In the latest in our special series, a day in the life, Malcolm spent a day with Majid Obaid al Falasi
One of the most distinctive aspects of the Arabian world is its scent - the burning incense which people put in their living rooms; the distinctive, very pungent, "oud" perfume that both men and women wear.
We met a Bahraini lady who mixes tradtional incense and perfumes for a living.
It's one of the world's largest fish tanks and the main attraction at the word's biggest mall. Behind the scenes at the Dubai Aquarium, a team of 25 staff work around the clock to keep the thousands of fish and sharks healthy and well fed.
Jeremy went to Sharjah in the UAE, to meet one of the most famous matchmakers in the region, and to Jordan, to see the competition she now faces in cyber-space.
Story-telling is an age-old form of entertainment in the Arab World. Does the craft stands much chance of surviving into the next generation, given the dominance of TV and cinema?
Jeremy met a lady who keeps the art alive, reciting stories to tourists and cultural groups.
We meet the first female Emirati airline pilot, working for Abu Dhabi carrier Etlihad. When she told her family she was qualifying to be a pilot, they were incredulous. They thought she'd mixed up "pilot" for "air hostess" and were only convinced when she came home one day in a pilot's uniform.
Contact the programme on middleeastbiz@bbc.co.uk
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