Institutions — Al-Falaj

Riyadh

National Museum Saudi Arabia

8 halls: Man & Universe, Ancient Arab Kingdoms, Pre-Islamic, Prophet's Mission, Islamic eras, Unification. Prehistoric→Modern

Dhahran, Eastern Province

King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra)

Contemporary art, Islamic heritage, natural history, Saudi culture archive. State-of-the-art digitization hub opened 2023

Riyadh

King Abdulaziz Public Library

Ahmad Mirza hajj photos (2022 publication 240pp), Muhammad Sadiq Bey, historical Mecca/Medina documentation

Riyadh

Museum of Islamic Art - Al-Faisal

Weaponry, carvings, coins, Persian textiles, Andalusian art, gold dinars (Spain/Syria/Egypt/Mecca)

Jeddah

Tayebat Museum

19th c architecture, Red Sea cosmopolitan heritage (Somali/Ethiopian/Yemeni/Levantine), pilgrim port history

Al-Hufuf, Eastern Province

Al-Ahsa Archaeological Museum

Stone Age→Islamic. Dilmun civilization, Bronze Age studio, Gerrha period 400BC-320AD, Hasaitic Musnad script

AlUla

AlUla Museums (Development)

Museum of Incense Road (Asif Khan), Contemporary Art (Lina Ghotmeh+Centre Pompidou). Hegra UNESCO. Opening 2027

Abha, Al-Bahah, Tabuk, Dammam, Hail, more

Regional Museums Network

Al-Ula, Tayma, Al-Jawf, Sabya, Najran. Heritage Village Development Project museums

Various

Specialized Museums (Planned)

Camel Museum, Palm & Dates, Arabian Horse, Folk Costumes & Jewelry, Falcons. Development plans

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Al-Turath Foundation

Non-profit foundation dedicated to the preservation of built and cultural heritage in the Kingdom. Documentation projects, dictionary of heritage sites, and fieldwork in partnership with official bodies

Doha, Corniche waterfront

Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) Doha

3 continents: ceramics, textiles, metalwork, jewelry, woodwork, glass, manuscripts. I.M. Pei design age 91

Doha, Education City

Mathaf: Arab Museum Modern Art

LARGEST specialized collection Arab World/ME + Africa/Asia/Europe connected regions. H.E. Sheikh Hassan 1980s

Doha, Education City

Qatar National Library

Rem Koolhaas design. Heritage: Arab-Islamic civilization. Sheikh Hassan collection 1979. Digital repatriation hub

DIGITAL GLOBAL

Qatar Digital Library

British Library India Office Records 1600s-1951, Arabic manuscripts, Gulf music, maps, photos. British-Gulf relations

Abu Dhabi

Louvre Abu Dhabi

Partnership Louvre Paris. Universal art history approach. Jean Nouvel design floating dome

Abu Dhabi

National Archives UAE

UAE heritage, governmental records, British treaties, pearl trade documentation. Dir: Abdulla M. El Reyes

Sharjah

Sharjah Museums Department

Islamic heritage, archaeology, local history, arts. Sharjah Art Foundation

Manama

Bahrain National Museum

Dilmun Burial Mounds UNESCO, pearling heritage, 2nd-3rd c BCE crafts. KHR Architecture Denmark

Bahrain Fort

Qala'at Al-Bahrain Site Museum

Ancient fort layers, Dilmun through Islamic periods

Muscat

National Museum of Oman

Maritime history, frankincense routes, Omani sultanate heritage

Muscat

Omani Studies Center Sultan Qaboos University

Laurent Bonnefoy CNRS researcher stationed here. CEFREPA affiliation

Kuwait City

National Council Culture Arts & Letters

Co-organizer 5th Intl Seminar Archaeology Arabian Peninsula 2023 with CEFREPA

Kuwait (global exhibitions)

Al-Sabah Collection

At MFAH Houston + Kuwait museums. Important loans to international institutions

Kuwait City

National Museum Kuwait

Kuwait heritage. Damaged Iraqi invasion 1990, under restoration/rebuilding

Sana'a

National Museum Yemen

South Arabian archaeology, Sabaean civilization, inscriptions, Qataban materials. WAR DAMAGE CRITICAL

London

British Museum

Largest Mesopotamian outside Iraq. Arabian Peninsula: Leila Ingrams 400+ objects Hadramaut/Zanzibar. Hajj exhibition

London

Victoria & Albert Museum

Jameel Gallery Islamic Art 2006. Early Islamic→20th c. Carpets/ceramics from BM 1851 Great Exhibition split

London St Pancras

British Library

Islamic manuscripts (moved from BM 1997). 75,000+ early photos ME in Prints & Photographs Division

London Bloomsbury

SOAS University of London

UK's leading Africa/Asia/ME collection. Open access browsing unlike BL/Bodleian. Islamic manuscripts, missionary archives

Oxford

Bodleian Library Oxford

Similar coverage to SOAS but closed stacks. Arabian Peninsula: Cambridge/Exeter/BL partnerships

Oxford

Ashmolean Museum Oxford

Islamic art, archaeology. University museum

Cambridge

Cambridge University Library

Prof Ian Richard Netton guide references 100+ ME collections UK/Ireland

Oxford

Pitt Rivers Museum Oxford

J.P. Mills 1,500 images. Shares materials with SOAS

Edinburgh

National Museums Scotland

Collecting Scottish-Yemeni History (Friederike Voigt, Victoria Adams curators)

Exeter

University of Exeter

Arabian Peninsula focus listed in SOAS directory. Academic programs

Paris

Musée du Louvre

Visconti Courtyard galleries Islamic Art (Bellini/Ricciotti 2012). Arabian Peninsula→Spain→India

Paris

Bibliothèque nationale de France

Émile Prisse d'Avennes NAF 20439-20443. Chromolithographs. Gallica digitization

Paris

Institut du monde arabe

Modern+historical Arab culture, art, manuscripts. Jean Nouvel architecture

Paris

Musée du Quai Branly

Middle East collections among global holdings

Kuwait City (formerly Sana'a)

CEFREPA (Centre Français Recherche Péninsule Arabique)

CNRS + MEAE. 7 countries Arabian Peninsula: Yemen/Kuwait/KSA/Qatar/UAE/Bahrain/Oman. Prehistory→contemporary

Beirut/Damascus/Amman

Institut français du Proche-Orient (IFPO)

Works with CEFREPA on conferences. Middle East archaeology/anthropology

Berlin, Museum Island

Pergamon Museum - Museum Islamic Art

Umayyad Palace Mshatta Jordan, Samarra Iraq walls, Alhambra dome, mihrabs Iran/Turkey. Founded 1904

Berlin

Center Modern Oriental Studies Humboldt

Humboldt University Berlin. Academic research center

Marburg

Center Near & ME Studies Marburg

Marburg University

Leiden

Leiden University Libraries Digital

C. Snouck Hurgronje + Abd al-Ghaffar Mecca 1884-85 FULLY DIGITIZED. CRITICAL colonial archive

Leiden

National Museum Ethnology Leiden

2013 Destination Mecca exhibition. Hajj traditions

Amsterdam

Tropenmuseum

Islamic world, hajj materials, colonial collections

New York

Metropolitan Museum of Art

15 galleries: Arab Lands/Turkey/Iran/C.Asia/Later S.Asia. Edward C. Moore 1891 founding. Renovated 2003-11

New York

Brooklyn Museum

Middle Eastern art, archaeological materials

Abu Dhabi campus

NYU Abu Dhabi Library Special Collections

31 photos oil facilities: V.K. Antony, E.E. Seal, T.F. Walters, Khalid Nasr, Russell Lee photographers

New York

New York University

Academic programs

Washington DC

Smithsonian Freer + Sackler

Ceramics, manuscripts. Ernst Herzfeld papers 1879-1948: 5,000+ photos/sketches/maps DIGITIZED. 2,000+ items online

Washington DC

Library of Congress

Prints & Photographs Division. Abdul Hamid II collection. Most online. ARAMCO World 50,000+ images archive

Washington DC

Georgetown University Booth Center

William E. Mulligan 29 ft (unofficial ARAMCO historian), Dorothy Miller photos, Robert P. Miller geologist, George S. Rentz Arabist, Bert Seal photos, Glen F. Brown USGS geological, Critchfield Oman papers

Washington DC

Georgetown Center Contemporary Arab Studies

Est. 1975 SFS. Language/history/culture/politics/economics contemporary Arab world

Washington DC

Georgetown Prince Alwaleed Center Muslim-Christian Understanding

SFS. Muslim-Christian relations research

Washington DC

American University Islamic & ME Studies

Visiting scholars from Arab universities. Carnegie Corporation support

Washington DC

George Washington University Institute ME Studies

Academic programs, policy research

Washington DC

Middle East Institute

Policy research, Arabian Peninsula focus. Colbert Held photo archive 18,000 Kodachromes MEI

Cambridge, MA

Harvard Center for Middle Eastern Studies

PhD programs, 11 Arabian Peninsula researchers. Program Islamic Law (Intisar Rabb). SHARIAsource Portal

Cambridge, MA

Harvard Fine Arts Library

K.A.C. Creswell photos critical. 55K historical photos ME 1850s-1950s. Josephine Powell Archive

Princeton, NJ

Princeton University

Princeton Digital Library Islamic Manuscripts ONLINE. Shahnama Project (Persian epic book paintings)

Houston, TX

Museum Fine Arts Houston

Arts of Islamic Lands. 12th c Iranian bronze, 14th c Moroccan Quran, 16th c Iznik ceramics

Baltimore, MD

Walters Art Museum

58 complete Islamic manuscripts digitized cover-to-cover, DOWNLOADABLE

Los Angeles, CA

Getty Research Institute

Pierre de Gigord Collection 19th-20th c Ottoman FREE DOWNLOAD. Return to Palmyra exhibition. Research library

Dallas, TX

Dallas Museum of Art

Islamic Art, free digital photography all objects

Davis, CA

UC Davis ME/South Asian Studies

Middle East + South Asian combined studies

Ann Arbor, MI

University of Michigan Center ME & North African Studies

One of largest US Middle East centers

Philadelphia, PA

University of Pennsylvania Middle East Center

Penn Museum also has ME archaeology collections

Seattle, WA

University of Washington Henry M. Jackson School

Pacific Northwest major ME program

Salt Lake City, UT

University of Utah Middle East Center

30+ faculty. Transregional Middle Easts book series with Utah Press. Arabian Peninsula focus

Syracuse, NY

Syracuse University ME Studies Program

Study abroad Jordan/Israel. World Partner program

New Brunswick, NJ

Rutgers University

Academic department

Collegeville, Minnesota

Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML)

World's largest digital collection of Christian and Islamic manuscripts. Fieldwork digitisation in Yemen, Lebanon, Malta, Ethiopia, India and elsewhere. Manuscripts accessible through the Reading Room digital platform

Holland, MI

Hope College Archives

Reformed Church America (RCA). Bahrain/Kuwait/Oman/Saudi. C. Stanley Mylrea Kuwait memoirs, Dorothy Van Ess histories

New Brunswick, NJ

Reformed Church in America Archives

James Cantine, Philip Phelps, Samuel Zwemer 1889 founders. Board of Foreign Missions records

Toronto

Aga Khan Museum

Islamic arts, Muslim cultures, world heritage contributions. Education + exhibitions

Toronto

Royal Ontario Museum

Art, archaeology, ethnography Middle East

Montreal

McGill University

Academic programs. Access to Church Missionary Society Archive database

Vienna

Austrian National Library

Czech-Austrian orientalist 1908-15 expeditions northern Hejaz/Najd glass plates. UNDER-RESEARCHED

Prague

National Museum Prague

Glass plates + expedition materials 1908-15. UNDER-RESEARCHED ARCHIVE

Prague

Metropolitan University Prague

Academic Middle East program

Dublin

Chester Beatty Library

One of finest Islamic manuscript collections worldwide. Qurans, miniatures

Dublin

Trinity College Dublin

Academic programs

Copenhagen

David Collection

Miniatures, ceramics, Islamic art collection

Lund

Lund University Center for ME Studies

University research center

Kraków

Jagiellonian University

Academic ME program. Historical university (1364)

Istanbul

Istanbul University Rare Works Library

YILDIZ COLLECTION Sultan Abdul Hamid II 1880s-1908. 263 photographers. DIGITIZED 2020 FULLY ONLINE

Istanbul

Topkapi Palace Museum

Manuscripts, Islamic art, imperial archives

Cairo

Museum of Islamic Art Cairo

One of oldest/greatest. Rare Quran manuscripts, woodwork, plaster, ceramics. 25 rotating galleries. Founded 1880s

Cairo

Egyptian National Archives

CRITICAL UNEXPLORED: First photographers Mecca (Muhammad Sadiq 1880, Ibrahim Rifat 1903-08 2-vol Mir'at al-Haramayn)

Cairo

American University in Cairo ME Studies

Academic center. Regional base Egypt

Tehran

National Library & Archives Iran

Historical materials, UNESCO World Digital Library contributor

Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv University Moshe Dayan Center

Academic research center

New Delhi

National Archives of India

Thomas Cook Indian Hajj 1886+, British India pilgrimage surveillance, colonial documentation

Jakarta

National Archives Indonesia

Kampung Jawa Mecca settlement, Dutch Ordonantie Hadjie surveillance, Indonesian hajj history

Singapore

National Archives Singapore

Southeast Asian hajj 1880s-1970s, Malay Archipelago pilgrimage routes

Beijing

National Library of China

Ma Dexin 1840-48 hajj, Hui Muslim scholars, Chinese-Arabic manuscripts. UNDER-RESEARCHED

St. Petersburg

Russian State Historical Archive

Tatar, Central Asian Muslim hajj 1880s-1914. UNDER-STUDIED by Western scholars

Moscow

Center for Arab & Islamic Studies Russian Academy Sciences

Arabic + Islamic studies research

Kuala Lumpur

Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia

Architecture, manuscripts, SE Asian Islamic perspective

Amman

ACOR American Center Oriental Research

Photo archive Middle East. Archaeological research. Library

GLOBAL

Association Gulf & Arabian Peninsula Studies (AGAPS)

Promote scholarship, collaboration, fieldwork, mentor grad students. Multi-disciplinary. MESA conference activities

Yale University

New Directions Arabian Peninsula Studies

Anthropology/geography/history/politics. Connecting Arabia to broader circuits power/capital/labor/migration

GLOBAL

Middle East Studies Association (MESA)

Annual conferences, publications, networking

GLOBAL DIGITAL

Archnet

Architecture, urbanism, environmental/landscape design, visual culture, conservation. Muslim cultures focus

GLOBAL DIGITAL

Discover Islamic Art (Museum With No Frontiers)

International collections database with detailed piece info

GLOBAL DIGITAL

World Digital Library (UNESCO)

Iran National Library, Berlin State Library, Yale, Brazil, global institutions. Free access

GLOBAL DIGITAL

ARAMCO World Digital Archive

Published + unpublished from Saudi ARAMCO World magazine. Middle East + Islamic world

GLOBAL DIGITAL

Internet Archive

Aramco and Its World: Arabia and the Middle East digitized. Petroleum industry documentation

Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

Saudi ARAMCO Corporate Archives

Inaccessible to public. Ahmed Mater references 'forbidden libraries' + 'endless filing cabinets'. Historical 1930s-present

Laramie, WY

American Heritage Center Wyoming

Booklet 'Middle East Development', filmstrip 'You Discover Saudi Arabia', ARAMCO World 1959-69, speeches

Birmingham, UK (held)

Church Missionary Society Archive

Ottoman Turkey 1819-21, Egypt 1825-1862/1882+, Palestine/Jerusalem, Turkish Arabia (Baghdad 1883-1919, Mosul 1900-19)

London

Council for World Mission Archive at SOAS

Connected to missionary collections globally

Washington DC

Middle East Institute DC

Already listed above in DC section

Archival Institutions