You took a picture kissing the Sphinx, explored Baalbek’s Roman ruins, and sipped Bedouin tea in Petra. Now it’s time to skip the tourist trail and experience these countries the way locals do.
So you’re in the Middle East, and you’ve done the checklist. You’ve posed in front of the Pyramids, carefully aligning your fingers with the peak of Khufu. You’ve wandered Baalbek’s Roman ruins and sipped Bedouin tea in Petra. Your camera roll is full, your passport stamped—but something still feels unfinished.
That’s because to really understand a place, you have to see what it creates. And nothing reveals a country quite like its independent art spaces—the rooms where people gather not to perform heritage, but to question it, remix it, and push it forward.
In this wildly unrealistic (but emotionally accurate) guide, we’re hopping across the Middle East’s underground arts venues—places that feel local, lived-in, and very much alive.
Metro Al-Madina
📍Beirut, Lebanon
Tucked into Hamra Street—once Beirut’s intellectual heart—Metro Al-Madina is a cabaret, theater, and cultural time machine rolled into one. Founded by Egyptian artist Hisham Jaber in an abandoned venue, the space was created to revive Hamra’s once-thriving performance scene.
Today, it hosts everything from experimental theater to music nights like 'Metrophone,' which celebrates vintage Lebanese sounds and lesser-known artists (no Fairuz karaoke here, sorry). With candlelit tables, bow-tied waiters, and plush cabaret seating, Metro Al-Madina doesn’t romanticise the past—it interrogates it, one performance at a time.
The Spilled Milk
📍Jordan, Amman
Hidden away in Jabal Amman, The Spilled Milk is the kind of place you stumble upon once—and then gatekeep forever. Part art space, part concept store, part cultural hangout, it’s where you go when you want souvenirs that say "I lived here," not "I passed through."
From exhibitions and pop-up events to vintage clothing, Arabic posters, and small local brands, The Spilled Milk captures Amman’s creative chaos in one intimate space.
ROOM Art Space
📍Cairo, Egypt
ROOM Art Space is less a venue and more a window into Cairo itself. Hosting everything from concerts and theatre performances to film screenings, dance classes, and yoga sessions, it’s where disciplines collide.
Its Garden City branch sits in a building once used for negotiations around Syrian and Lebanese independence, while its New Cairo location brings the same cultural energy eastward. Either way, ROOM offers a snapshot of Cairo as it is now—layered, restless, and endlessly creative.
Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center
📍Ramallah, Palestine
Housed in a beautifully restored early 20th-century building, the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center is one of Ramallah’s most vital cultural institutions.
Named after the Palestinian intellectual and writer, the space hosts exhibitions, readings, talks, and film screenings that foreground Palestinian voices—past, present, and future.
It’s not just an art space; it’s a place of memory, resistance, and continued cultural presence.
Zawya 97
📍 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Tucked inside Jeddah’s historic Al-Balad district, Zawya 97 is where the city’s creative present quietly converses with its past. Set within a restored heritage house, the space operates as a cultural majlis of sorts—hosting exhibitions, talks, film screenings, and intimate gatherings that prioritise dialogue over spectacle.
Rather than positioning itself as a traditional gallery, Zawya 97 feels more like a thinking room for Saudi creatives: a place to test ideas, revisit narratives, and explore what contemporary culture looks like when it’s rooted in place. Come here to understand Jeddah beyond the corniche—layered, reflective, and very much in the middle of becoming.
El Teatro
📍Tunis, Tunisia
A pioneer of Tunisia’s independent arts scene, El Teatro was the first private theater in the country—and it still feels radical.
Part performance venue, part gallery, it champions underrepresented voices across theater, music, and visual art. Come here for a crash course in Tunisia’s creative pulse—raw, experimental, and unapologetically alive.
L’Uzine
📍Casablanca, Morocco
Set in Casablanca’s industrial Aïn Sebaâ district, just minutes from the Atlantic, L’Uzine is one of the city’s rare multidisciplinary cultural spaces.
Expect Amazigh-inspired performances, underground Moroccan musicians, and workshops that span movement, sound, and visual art.
It’s not polished, and that’s the point—L’Uzine immerses you in Morocco’s creative undercurrent, far from the mainstream spotlight.
Rawabet Arts Space
📍Cairo, Egypt
Right in Downtown Cairo, Rawabet Arts Space is a cornerstone of the city’s independent performance scene.
Known for experimental theatre, live music, and contemporary performance, it sits among historic cafés, public parks, and museums—making it easy to turn one evening into a full cultural crawl. Rawabet doesn’t just show you Cairo; it pulls you straight into its rhythm.
Zawaya Gallery
📍Damascus, Syria
Housed in a 1920s French-colonial townhouse in Burj al-Roos, Zawya Gallery hosts film screenings, workshops, and cultural dialogues alongside exhibitions.
By spotlighting both emerging and established Syrian artists, Zawaya offers an intimate, defiant look into Syria’s underground creative life—one that continues to exist, create, and speak.
