In this special edition, we take a look back at some of the best Middle East Matters stories of 2017. Among them are the collapse of the Islamic State group in Syria, a life-changing 3D printing prosthetics project in Jordan and the grandiose opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi. In this retrospective we revisit eastern Syria, where our team covered the collapse of the Islamic State group. James André and Abdallah Malkawi show us how Syrian pro-government forces now have to contend with a security vacuum.

It has now been four years since a team of young engineers in Jordan embarked on a project to make 3D prosthetics for war victims. Today, they are backed by the French NGO Doctors Without Borders. The project has become an example of how 3D technology can increase access to prosthetics, which are difficult to procure in many countries around the world. Sylvain Lepetit met the team behind the life-changing project.

Finally, the Louvre Abu Dhabi opened its doors in November. The multi-million-dollar project took a decade to complete. Our culture team headed to the desert and took a look at the inaugural collection.