Cedric Delves and Helen Parr appear in conversation at Hay Winter Weekend Festival

Diana Darke, who has lived and worked in the Middle East for over thirty years, tells the story of Syria, both as a nation built on trade, and through the lens of the life of one remarkable man – cloth merchant Abu Chaker, who escaped the country to eventually build up a global textile brand.

Donald Trump isn’t a despot, but he is increasingly acting like a despot’s apprentice. Whether it’s attacking the press, threatening the rule of law, or staffing the White House with family members and cronies, Trump is borrowing moves from the world’s dictators. 

For four decades Saudi Arabia and Iran have vied for influence in the Muslim world. At the heart of this ongoing Cold War between Riyadh and Tehran lie the Sunni–Shia divide, and the two countries’ intertwined histories.