{"id":64745,"date":"2025-11-29T09:03:20","date_gmt":"2025-11-29T13:03:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=64745"},"modified":"2025-11-29T09:03:20","modified_gmt":"2025-11-29T13:03:20","slug":"dxing-the-middle-east-then-and-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/11\/dxing-the-middle-east-then-and-now\/","title":{"rendered":"DXing the Middle East – Then and Now"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Dan Greenall<\/strong><\/p>\n

This region consists of the western part of Asia from Turkey to Iran including the Arabian Peninsula and Egypt. Decades ago, most of the countries had a shortwave broadcasting service that made intriguing DX targets for listeners like me. Some were relatively easy to hear, while others provided more of a challenge as they did not offer broadcasts to North America (where I live) or programming was not in English. Here are a few recordings that I made over the years and have uploaded to the internet archive.<\/p>\n

Click on titles to access Internet Archive pages with additional information.<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>TURKEY 1970<\/a><\/h4>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/voice-of-turkey\/voice%20of%20turkey%20interval%20signal.m4a<\/a><\/audio>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/voice-of-turkey\/voice%20of%20turkey.m4a<\/a><\/audio>\n

\"\"<\/a>EGYPT 1971<\/a><\/h4>\nhttps:\/\/dn721809.ca.archive.org\/0\/items\/radio-cairo-1971\/Radio%20Cairo%201971.m4a<\/a><\/audio>\n

ISRAEL 1971<\/a><\/h4>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/israel-broadcasting-authority-1971\/Israel%20Broadcasting%20Authority%201971.m4a<\/a><\/audio>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/israel-broadcasting-authority-1971\/Israel%20broadcasting%20authority%20sign%20on.m4a<\/a><\/audio>\n

\"\"<\/a>LEBANON 1971<\/a><\/h4>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/voice-of-lebanon-1971\/voice%20of%20lebanon%201971.m4a<\/a><\/audio>\n

SYRIA 1971<\/a><\/h4>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/damascus-radio-1971\/Damascus%20Radio%201971.m4a<\/a><\/audio>\n

JORDAN 1973<\/a><\/h4>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/radio-jordan-1973\/Radio%20Jordan%201973.m4a<\/a><\/audio>\n

\"\"<\/a>IRAQ 1971<\/a><\/h4>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/radio-baghdad_202211\/Radio%20Baghdad.m4a<\/a><\/audio>\n

IRAN 1971<\/a><\/h4>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/voice-of-iran\/Voice%20of%20Iran.m4a<\/a><\/audio>\n

SAUDI ARABIA 1971<\/a><\/h4>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/bsksa-jeddah-saudi-arabia-1971\/BSKSA%20Jeddah%20Saudi%20Arabia%201971.m4a<\/a><\/audio>\n

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (DUBAI) 1983<\/a><\/h4>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/uae-radio-dubai\/UAE%20Radio%20Dubai.m4a<\/a><\/audio>\n

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (ABU DHABI) 1990<\/a><\/h4>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/uae-radio-abu-dhabi\/UAE%20Radio%20Abu%20Dhabi.m4a<\/a><\/audio>\n

QATAR 1999<\/a><\/h4>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/qatar-broadcasting-service\/qatar%20broadcasting%20service.m4a<\/a><\/audio>\n

As 2025 draws to a close, only a few countries from the Middle East seem to be consistently logged by the shortwave listener.<\/p>\n

The high powered transmitters in Turkey and programming in a variety of languages provide worldwide listeners a great opportunity to tune into this part of the world. A musical interlude accompanied by frequent identifications precedes their transmission. This recording was made on July 31, 2025 at 0254 UTC leading up to 0300 sign on in English on 7275 kHz. Reception was made using a remote SDR in the UK:<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Voice-of-Turkey-sign-on-via-kernow.hopto_.org_2025-07-31T02_54_01Z_7275.000_am.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

The Al Dhabbiyah tramitter site in the United Arab Emirates is used by a number of international broadcasters including FEBA Radio, IBRA Media and the BBC. This recording of FEBA made on June 24, 2025 captures their sign off just prior to 0230 UTC on 9540 kHz on a KiwiSDR in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia:<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/FEBA-via-21472.proxy_.kiwisdr.com_2025-06-24T02_27_48Z_9540.00_am.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

IBRA Radio Ibrahim is noted using the same interval signal on June 19, 2025 around 1700 UTC also on 9540 kHz. A remote SDR in Kenya was used to make this recording.<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Ibra-Radio-via-Al-Dhabbiya-nbo.twrmon.net_2025-06-19T16_59_20Z_9540.00_am.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Another relay transmitter is located at Al Seela in Oman and is largely used by the BBC for broadcasts into Asia. This recording, made November 20 at 2328 UTC on 11645 kHz, shows them being received by the KiwiSDR at Haida Gwaii, British Columbia off of Canada\u2019s west coast. The effects of an over-the-pole signal path is evident here:<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/BBC-World-Service-via-Al-Seela-207.102.144.154_2025-11-20T23_28_49Z_11645.000_amn.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Other stations may emerge on occasion. For example, early in 2025, a station called Republic of Yemen Radio was being heard on 11935 kHz reportedly broadcasting in Arabic from a transmitter in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Reception was quite good in February using a remote SDR in Addis Ababa, however, in later months the transmitter seemed to develop a bad hum or buzz. You can listen to recordings made in February and then in April by following this link to the Internet Archive<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I would encourage all listeners to report reception of new stations broadcasting from this region to the SWLing Post so others might have the opportunity to try and tune in for themselves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Dan Greenall This region consists of the western part of Asia from Turkey to Iran including the Arabian Peninsula and Egypt. Decades ago, most of the countries had a shortwave broadcasting service that made intriguing DX targets for listeners like me. Some were relatively easy to hear, while others provided more of a challenge […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[960,3,746,43],"tags":[10976,10977,104,10271,10973,10974,10975,10979,10978,4106,9581,737],"class_list":["post-64745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-international-broadcasting","category-news","category-recordings","category-shortwave-radio","tag-al-dhabbiyah-transmitter-site","tag-al-seela-transmitter-site","tag-bbc","tag-dan-greenall","tag-feba-radio","tag-ibra-media","tag-ibra-radio-ibrahim","tag-jeddah","tag-oman","tag-recordings","tag-republic-of-yemen-radio","tag-shortwave-radio-recordings"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-gQh","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":63824,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/08\/dan-shares-recordings-of-the-golden-days-of-european-shortwave-listening\/","url_meta":{"origin":64745,"position":0},"title":"Dan Shares Recordings of the Golden Days of European Shortwave Listening","author":"Thomas","date":"August 31, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dan Greenall, who shares the following guest post: Europe on shortwave in the 1970\u2019s by Dan Greenall During the golden years of shortwave listening, many European countries had an international shortwave service and broadcast programs to North America (where I live) in English. As\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "International Broadcasting"","block_context":{"text":"International Broadcasting","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/international-broadcasting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Radio-Prague-QSL.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Radio-Prague-QSL.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Radio-Prague-QSL.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Radio-Prague-QSL.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Radio-Prague-QSL.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Radio-Prague-QSL.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":63280,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/feba-then-and-now\/","url_meta":{"origin":64745,"position":1},"title":"FEBA, Then and Now","author":"Thomas","date":"June 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Greenall, who writes: It seems that fewer shortwave broadcasters utilize an interval signal these days. However, of the ones that do, at least a couple seem to have stood the test of time, going back over 50 years. The bellbird from Radio New\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Zenith-Transoceanic-R-7000-2-angle-e1540388449299.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Zenith-Transoceanic-R-7000-2-angle-e1540388449299.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Zenith-Transoceanic-R-7000-2-angle-e1540388449299.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Zenith-Transoceanic-R-7000-2-angle-e1540388449299.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":61055,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/11\/archiving-cassettes-dans-rewarding-journey-to-preserve-off-air-shortwave-radio-recordings\/","url_meta":{"origin":64745,"position":2},"title":"Archiving Cassettes: Dan\u2019s Rewarding Journey to Preserve Off-Air Shortwave Radio Recordings","author":"Thomas","date":"November 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post and Shortwave Radio Audio Archive contributor, Dan Greenall, for sharing the following guest post: Preserving Radio History \u2013 Old Audio Cassettes by Dan Greenall A few years ago, during the Covid lockdowns, I rediscovered a box full of my old audio cassette tapes on the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/old-audio-tapes-photo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/old-audio-tapes-photo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/old-audio-tapes-photo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/old-audio-tapes-photo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/old-audio-tapes-photo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":62421,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/03\/silent-signals-recordings-from-shortwave-stations-affected-by-recent-shutdowns\/","url_meta":{"origin":64745,"position":3},"title":"Silent Signals: Recordings from Shortwave Stations Affected by Recent Shutdowns","author":"Thomas","date":"March 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dan Greenall, who shares the following recordings and writes: Hi Thomas As a result of recent actions by the Trump administration, a number of shortwave stations have recently gone silent. Whether or not this will change is anybody's guess, but the situation is currently\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/1-IMG_0353.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/1-IMG_0353.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/1-IMG_0353.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/1-IMG_0353.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":63154,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/ktwr-guam-dan-suggests-you-log-a-piece-of-radio-history-today\/","url_meta":{"origin":64745,"position":4},"title":"KTWR Guam: Dan suggests you log a piece of radio history…today!","author":"Thomas","date":"June 15, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dan Greenall, who writes: Hi Thomas Regarding your recent post on June 5: https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/twr-guam-to-end-broadcasting\/ KTWR, Trans World Radio has recently announced they will be ending their shortwave broadcasts from Agana, Guam by October 31, 2025. However, unlike some stations that have vanished somewhat abruptly,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "International Broadcasting"","block_context":{"text":"International Broadcasting","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/international-broadcasting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ktwr-shortwave-antennas.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ktwr-shortwave-antennas.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ktwr-shortwave-antennas.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ktwr-shortwave-antennas.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ktwr-shortwave-antennas.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ktwr-shortwave-antennas.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":63733,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/08\/mexico-on-shortwave-then-and-now\/","url_meta":{"origin":64745,"position":5},"title":"Mexico on Shortwave \u2013 Then and Now","author":"Thomas","date":"August 22, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dan Greenall Back in the early 1970\u2019s, a wide variety of Mexican stations could be heard on shortwave as evidenced by the loggings columns in the SPEEDX club\u2019s monthly bulletins. Examples from this time period can be found here: https:\/\/www.worldradiohistory.com\/Speedx.htm As well, the late Dr. Richard E. Wood wrote\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Radio-Educacion-1994-front.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Radio-Educacion-1994-front.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Radio-Educacion-1994-front.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Radio-Educacion-1994-front.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Radio-Educacion-1994-front.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Radio-Educacion-1994-front.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64745"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64745\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64757,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64745\/revisions\/64757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}