2015 was full of powerful moments both spectacular and devastating. We fangirled and tried to stalk Morgan Freeman, when he was in Egypt, came together as horrific weather conditions struck Alexandria and watched as countless lives of Syrian refugees were no more. We hope that this gallery of the most powerful photos of 2015 will help you remember all of the incredible, heartbreaking, life-changing and moving events that took place in the world this past year in the Middle East.
When security agents arrested Gad Yusif Yunan, a 22-year-old Coptic Christian man who works as an English teacher in Nasriya village, Upper Egypt, on the charge of “contempt of religions.”
A stampede during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia that left at least 717 people dead and another 805 injured.
Washed up body of Aylan Kurdi, a refugee child who drowned during a failed attempt in Turkey
A man searches for survivors under the rubble of houses destroyed by Saudi airstrikes near Sanaa Airport in Yemen.
Egypt’s Minister of Tourism Hisham Zaazou with Hollywood actor Morgan Freeman at the Pyramids of Giza promoting tourism for the country.
One of the Syrian refugees trying to enter the Turkish borders…
The floods in Egypt’s Alexandria that sank down most of the streets, having the cars not able to operate for days
Russian tourists that are so-called “stranded” by the media and are happy with being in Sharm El-Sheikh
An aerial view of Egypt’s new Suez Canal on the day of it’s opening
A Syrian toddler drinking water at one of the refugee camps
WE SAID THIS: Don’t miss Photos to Remind You How Beautiful Syria Is