Esquire Middle East turns 10 and well, what a decade that was

When we launched Esquire Middle East ten years(!) ago, the world was in the midst of a financial crash. Dubai had just requested a debt deferment; an announcement that would cause global stock markets to drop. Some said the city was a busted flush, but the fact it affected world markets proved one thing—this region matters.

In the decade since we’ve seen the region not only claw its way back financially but progress in ways that almost nobody would have believed possible.

Not only has the Arab world continued to evolve and transform the cultural stigma that it was previously restrained by, but the region has also taken massive strides in future-leaning industries such as renewable energy and space programs. The founding of cultural institutions and infrastructure, as well as winning the right to host of the world’s biggest events (Expo2020 and the FIFA World Cup) signifies that in just the past decade the region has undergone more change than almost any other in history—and we’ve been there to witness much of it.

Esquire has reported on revolutions, celebrated street culture, spoken to leaders and rebels alike, and stood among those resisting the old order to report on the stories that have shaped our recent history.

People outside the region tend to forget that there’s more to the Middle East than rubble and war. We have interviewed and photographed some of the most interesting people on the planet, and had a lot to say about the vagaries of fashion and the timelessness of style, food, books, film, art, travel, sport and everything else that concerns men who want a bit more from life.

As the following stories attest, it’s been a strange and exhilarating ten years. Here’s to, at very least, another ten more…