• Sema ceremony in Istanbul

    Photo by Eric Politzer

  • Children in a fountain, Tel-Aviv

  • The Kaaba at Mecca

  • Jerusalem's Tower of David Museum

    Photo by Dustin Farrell

  • Jerusalem street scene

  • Mural in Kurdistan

  • Bedouins, in Jordan

  • Mediterranean Sea and surrounding area

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What is NELC?

  • It is a department devoted to the languages and literatures, culture and history, of the ancient, medieval, and modern Near East.
  • It is a department devoted to the study of the Hebrew Bible, its sources in the Ancient Near East, and the history of its interpretation.
  • It is a department devoted to the study of Islamic civilization, whether in Arabic, Turkish or Persian, whether in the Near East or in Africa, South Asia, or wherever.
  • It is a department devoted to the study of Jewish civilization, whether in Hebrew, Aramaic, judaeo-Arabic or Yiddish, whether in the Near East or in Europe, the New World, or wherever.