Cultures B1
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How animals “speak” in different countries
A dog always says “woof woof”, right? Animals sound the same all over the world. But do their sounds sound…
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Fasting in ancient cultures—a journey back in time to its origins
Fasting is a very ancient phenomenon that was known in numerous civilisations as a religious and social ritual. The motives…
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How violence developed in prehistoric times in the Near East
It is not known exactly when the first signs of violence appeared in human history. Nor can it be scientifically…
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From strangers to Tübingen residents: memories for the museum
The stories of migrants are also ripe for the museum: historian Marina Chernykh wants to learn more about the lives…
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Two unique turtle-like creatures connect Syria and Tübingen
By Youssef Kanjou and Michael SeifertAn international team of palaeontologists from Syria, Brazil and the University of Tübingen has discovered…
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Worldwide: New Year Celebrations from Antiquity to the Present
Since antiquity, New Year celebrations have been closely linked to the religious, social, political, and astronomical contexts of human societies.…
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Neanderthals and us: a story of extinction and survival
Neanderthals are the human species closest to our own, Homo sapiens, or “modern humans” as anthropologists call us. They lived…
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The art of Afghanistan’s last glassblowers
Afghanistan’s last glassblowers work in a narrow alleyway in the old town of Herat. It is nothing short of a…
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From the Ukrainian “Shchedryk” to “Coral of the Bells”
The melody of “Shchedryk” is known throughout the world as “Coral of the Bells”. But outside Ukraine, few people know…
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The origins of glass
By Youssef Kanjou and Abdul Baset KannawiGlass has always fascinated people. Its manufacture was probably discovered by chance. The Middle…
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Roman coins were scientifically counterfeited in Tübingen
By Stefan KrmnicekAt the University of Tübingen, 2024 researchers collaborated with blacksmith Alexander Zimmermann from Pliezhausen to act as scientific…
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Foreign neighbours—Romans and Germanic tribes
An exhibition at the Limes Museum in Aalen sheds light on the relationship between the two cultures in the border…
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“German pastries”–A familiar taste with a foreign name
By Mostafa ElyasianAs we know, Germany is one of the most popular travel destinations worldwide, with its breathtaking nature, unique…
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Unlocking the secrets of Babylonian cuneiform with AI
By Youssef Kanjou A team of scientists from Baghdad and Munich has discovered a 3,000-year-old literary text that was previously…
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The Rain Hymn by Badr as-Sayyab—Poetry born of pain
By Sameer IbrahimThe poem ‘Anschūdat al-Maṭar’ (The Rain Hymn) is considered one of the most important works of modern Arabic…
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Migration in the Stone Age – Farmers meet hunters and gatherers in the region around Tübingen
By Bernhard Kirschner Around 7,500 years ago, the first farmers from the Middle East and Anatolia migrated via southeastern Europe…
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From reverence to contempt – the donkey in different cultures
By Sameer Ibrahim, Oula Mahfouz, and Michael Seifert The number of donkeys worldwide is estimated at 50 million, most of…
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Aleppo Museum Entrance: Witness to Ancient Cultures and Modern Destruction
By Youssef Kanjou One of the most important architectural and cultural monuments of ancient Syrian civilization is the entrance to…
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Rescuing archaeological sites in Syria with the help of drones
By Bernhard Kirschner Youssef Kanjou is committed to rescuing archaeological sites in Syria. The former director of the National Museum…
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The new Syrian emblem: the eagle and its history
By Oula Mahfouz On July 5, 2025, Syria unveiled its new official coat of arms, which features the state emblem…
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The Semites
By Sameer IbrahimThere are many books and various theories about the origin of the Semites and the language they spoke.…
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Humanity’s cultural heritage in Syria is in danger
by Bernhard Kirschner “Humanity’s cultural heritage in Syria is in danger.” With these powerful words, the former director of the…
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National Museum of Aleppo: Shocking reunion after twelve years
By Bernhard KirschnerYoussef Kanjou had not imagined the state of the National Museum of Aleppo to be quite so bad.…
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The Persian Gulf in History and Historical Sources
By Mostafa ElyasianThe Persian Gulf is one of the most important waterways in the world. It is located in southwest…
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A visit to Aleppo full of emotions
By Ute Kaiser The flights to Istanbul and Beirut and the taxi ride to Aleppo took a difficult 24 hours.…
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Poison Gas in Halabja: The Scent of Apples and Green Vomit
By Sameer IbrahimMarch 16, 1988 remains a traumatic date for the Kurds of northern Iraq, one that continues to haunt…
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The treasures of Syria: destroyed, looted and soon to be restored?
“Syria’s millennia-old cultural heritage has suffered immense damage as a result of the war since 2011, but there is hope…
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Sudan: The Humanitarian Disaster No One Is Seeing
By David FirschauThe war in Sudan is a disaster that has largely been ignored by the public. ‘It is the…
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The first temples in the world were built in southeastern Turkey
By Youssef KanjouWe don’t know when humankind first developed religious ideas and practices. Nor do we know when the first…
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Sednaya: The Syrian hell
By Oula Mahfouz and Youssef Kanjou Trigger warning: This text contains descriptions of physical and psychological violence. “If there had…
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From independence to liberation: the Syrian flags
By Oula Mahfouz On Sunday, December 8, 2024, Syrian people around the world celebrated the fall of the Assad regime.…
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A Syrian find is the oldest alphabet in the world to date
By Youssef Kanjou Four incised clay tablets, each about four centimetres in size, could be the oldest alphabetic writing in…
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Naturalizations: Most of them come from Syria
More and more Syrians are being naturalized. In 2023, 75,500 men and women from this country received a German passport.…
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Germany closes Iranian consulates
In response to the execution of the German-Iranian Jamshid Sharmahd in Teheran, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has closed the three…
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Learning German: Lobna has reached C1 level
She still remembers her first German word well. „That was ‘tschüss’,“ says Lobna Alhindi. One of the volunteers from the…
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The oldest stone tools in Europe discovered in Ukraine
By Yana Rudenko In the Ukrainian region of Zakarpattia, stone tools around 1.4 million years old have been found at…
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Gravestones: a global tradition that originated in the Middle East
By Youssef Kanjou It is not known exactly when and why people first began to make what is now known…
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Living national history – spectacular Ukrainian finds
David Firschau and Yana Rudenko The Great State Exhibition in Stuttgart “The Hidden Land“provides a fascinating insight into the history…
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About the oldest Christian churches in Syria
By Youssef Kanjou Today, Syria is a country with a Muslim majority; in pre-Islamic times, most of the region’s inhabitants…
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Changing the world with words
By Ute Kaiser Her name is Roula, ‘pronounced with a rolling R’. Born in Damascus, the 22-year-old Syrian came…
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Celts in the southwest
By Bernhard Kirschner 2600 years ago, the Celts ruled the southwest of Germany. One of their centers was the Heuneburg…
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The journey of numbers: From the Babylonians to the present day
By Oula Mahfouz From math to commerce to science and technology, numbers are indispensable tools in our daily lives. But…
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Assisted dying: Strictly forbidden in Islam
By Oula Mahfouz Active assisted dying is prohibited in Germany. No one is allowed to administer a lethal drug to…
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Candles – source of light and social significance
By Youssef Kanjou and Abdul Baset Kannawi Candles are considered one of the oldest methods of lighting in the history…
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Khadijah, the first wife of the Prophet Muhammad—an extraordinary biography
By Oula Mahfouz and Abdul Baset Kannawi Non-Muslims hardly know anything about Khadijah bint Khuwaylid (born around 556; died around…
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Time travel through the oldest music: from the world’s first instruments in southern Germany to the oldest song in Syria
By Michael Seifert and Youssef Kanjou We know nothing about the beginning of music. In the traditional myths of the…
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Integration and ancient coins
In 2021, Tübingen-based coin researcher Stefan Krmnicek began publishing texts on ancient coins in tuenews INTERNATIONAL. Since then, nine articles…
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Mesopotamia: the sources of the first advanced civilizations threaten to dry up
By Sameer Ibrahim and Michael Seifert The Tigris and Euphrates rivers are among the largest rivers in the world and…