The author examines the role of women in Oman culture

"Behind the Veil in Persia and Turkish Arabia: An Account of an Englishwoman's Eight Years' Residence Amongst the Women of the East" by M. E. Hume-Griffith and A. Hume-Griffith is the detailed account of two doctors' mission to Persia and Turkey. Written as a travelogue, the book shows an appreciation for this exotic and fascinating culture while also framing the differences with the European customs of the book's audience.

“A fascinating account of the significant changes underway in Saudi Arabia based on years of excellent reporting on the ground.” —Bruce Riedel, director of the Brookings Institution Intelligence Project, author of Kings and Presidents: Saudi Arabia and the United States Since FDR Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s most secretive countries. Now, Susanne Koelbl, award-winning journalist for the German news magazine Der Spiegel, unveils many secrets of this mysterious kingdom. For years she traveled the Middle East, and recently lived in Riyadh during the most dramatic changes since the country’s founding. She has cultivated relationships on every level of Saudi society and is equally at ease with ultra-conservative Wahhabi preachers, oppositionists, and women from all walks of life. In this “piercingly powerful book” (Ahmed Rahid, New York Times-bestselling author of Taliban), you can have breakfast with Royal Highnesses; meet Osama bin Laden’s bomb-making trainer; enter palaces of secret service chiefs; listen to intimate conversations with women about their newly offered freedoms; learn about journalist Jamal Khashoggi; and view an in-depth portrait of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), as you learn about the not-so-obvious facts of the kingdom’s history, politics, customs, and hidden power relations.

An unprecedented, sympathetic, and wide-ranging exploration of the mysterious world of Islamic women--the people behind the veils--is presented by female writers and Christian workers.

Experiences and observations of a Boston doctor who spent two years as the head of Saudi Arabia's most modern hospital.

The Middle East has long been something of a mystery to Westerners, and in particular, the sexual mores of the region continue to fascinate. Arabs are often described as being in a state of Islam-induced sexual anxiety and young Muslims' frustrations are said to be exacerbated by increasing exposure to the licentiousness of the West. Here, Middle East expert John R. Bradley sets out to uncover the truth about sex in countries like Egypt, Syria, Morocco and Yemen. Among many startling revelations, Bradley reports on how "temporary" Islamic marriages allow for illicit sex in the theocracies of Iran and Saudi Arabia; "child brides" that are sold off to older Arab men according to ancient tribal traditions; the hypocrisy that undermines publicized crackdowns on the thriving sex industry in the Persian Gulf; and how, despite widespread denial, homosexuality is still deeply ingrained in the region's social fabric. Richly detailed and nuanced, Behind the Veil of Vice sheds light on a taboo subject and unravels widely held myths about the region. In the process, Bradley also delivers an important message about our own society's contradictions.

Lydia Laube worked as a nurse in Saudi Arabia in a society that does not allow women to drive, vote, or speak to a man alone. Wearing head-to-toe coverings in stifling heat, and battling administrative apathy, Lydia Laube kept her sanity and got her passport back.