What!?! A truly free magazine? Why yes! I began subscribing to AramcoWorld over three decades ago and I haven’t paid a penny. If you feel like you have been missing out on the articles and images, you are also in luck because there is a digital library of all the back issues since 1960.
What is it? AramcoWorld contains primarily cultural and arts content about the Arab and Muslim world. The publication began in 1949 as an internal newsletter for the Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco). The purpose was to connect the company’s US offices with Dhahran, in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.
As Aramco grew, the company brought tens of thousands of Americans to Dhahran, and AramcoWorld evolved into a bimonthly educational magazine styled on American magazines such as Life and The Saturday Evening Post. Historical, geographical and cultural articles introduced the new employees and their families to an unfamiliar land and culture.
The print edition of AramcoWorld is distributed six times a year to about 80,000 subscribers in more than 125 countries. There are tablet and mobile apps available for both iOS and Android.
If you want to read more about the history of AramcoWorld, check out “Aramco World Turns 50,” published in November/December 1999.
Do you want to learn more? Subscribe to Aramco World!