How the story unfolded

Arab Berlin is not one story but many. Larger-scale immigration began with the civil war in Lebanon from 1975. According to the Berliner Zeitung, many refugees at the time flew with Interflug from Beirut to Schönefeld and from there crossed into West Berlin at the Friedrichstraße checkpoint, among them Lebanese and Palestinians. Many found flats in northern Neukölln, then a cheap area close to the Wall.

From 2015 many people fleeing the war in Syria came to Berlin, and they have helped shape the city ever since. According to the Statistical Office for Berlin-Brandenburg, 43,716 people with Syrian citizenship lived in Berlin on 30 June 2025, and in 2025 7,548 Syrians became German citizens. There are also people from Iraq, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and many other countries, with their own dialects, cuisines and stories.

Where to experience it today

01 Sonnenallee · Neukölln

about 3 minutes on foot from Hermannplatz U-Bahn station to the start of the street

Directions in Google Maps

Sonnenallee was built around 1880 as Straße 84 in what was then Rixdorf and has had its current name since 1937. Today many residents call it Shari al-Arab in Arabic, the street of the Arabs: bakeries with sweet pastries, greengrocers and snack bars line the street from Hermannplatz heading southeast. The best approach is to simply walk a stretch, try whatever smells good and take your time.

02 Museum of Islamic Art in the Pergamonmuseum · Mitte

about 11 minutes on foot from Hackescher Markt S-Bahn station

Directions in Google Maps · Official site

The Pergamonmuseum has been closed for renovation since October 2023. According to the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, the north wing and central section reopen on 4 June 2027, and the Museum of Islamic Art will then show a completely new permanent exhibition in 25 rooms covering 1,400 years of cultural history of the Near and Middle East, with the Mshatta facade, the Aleppo Room and the Alhambra dome. The Aleppo Room is painted wood panelling from a house in Aleppo.

03 Pierre Boulez Saal and Barenboim-Said Akademie · Mitte

about 5 minutes on foot from Hausvogteiplatz U-Bahn station

Directions in Google Maps · Official site

In 1999 Daniel Barenboim and the Palestinian-American literary scholar Edward Said founded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, in which young musicians from Israel and Arab countries play together. This idea led to the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin, and its concert hall, the oval Pierre Boulez Saal designed by Frank Gehry, opened in March 2017 in a former scenery depot of the State Opera.

Ramadan and iftar in Berlin

During the fasting month of Ramadan, many Muslims do not eat or drink from dawn to sunset, and in the evening the fast is broken together at iftar. Ramadan 2027 is expected to begin on 8 February and end around 8 March, followed by the festival of breaking the fast. The exact date depends on the moon sighting and is announced by the congregations shortly beforehand. Some mosque congregations and associations hold open iftar evenings during Ramadan, often for neighbours and guests too; the dates are in their own announcements.

Good to know

• As a guest at iftar: arrive in time for sunset, wait to eat until the fast is broken, and bringing a small sweet or some dates almost always goes down well.
• Halal: only the businesses themselves can say whether they are halal, and we do not check this. If it matters to you, it is best to ask directly.
• More in Neukölln: the market on Maybachufer and the Şehitlik Mosque are in Part 3: Turkish Berlin, and both are an easy walk from Sonnenallee.