Top 7 Places to Visit in the Middle East

Middle East...

This enormous piece of land as a whole is often overlooked, and is usually seen only as the land of the greatest and most beautiful deserts, endless spice souks and the warm welcome of the Bedouins.

Moreover, for the most part, international media only like to share images of disasters and bad things happening in the Middle East.

This distortion of reality somewhat changes people's perception that the entire Middle East becomes a dangerous place to travel to as if it were one country.

After many years of living and traveling around the region, based on my experience and my own opinion, I compiled a list of the 7 best places to travel in the Middle East.

1 – Shibam Manhattan desert

Country – Yemen

Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982, Shibam is a city of 7,000 people, located in an isolated place, and consists of 9-storey mud-brick buildings, which is why it is often referred to as the "Manhattan of the desert". Although I do not like these comparisons.

Unlike other sites of great importance in Yemen, Shibam is located in an area called Hadramawt, which is relatively safe in Yemen with direct flights from Cairo in Egypt.

2 – Isfahan – Amazing Islamic architecture

Country – Iran

Isfahan is the most magnificent city in Iran, and its mosques, made up of giant domes and stunning roofs with extravagant geometric shapes, are undoubtedly the most impressive buildings in the Middle East.

As one of the most historic cities in the region, Isfahan has always been home to a large community of distinguished scholars and intellectuals, and its importance and influence in this part of the world has often been comparable to Athens and Rome.

Today, by Iranian standards, Isfahan is a surprisingly modern, clean, and vibrant city where some of the country's most educated and intelligent people live.

3 – Old City of Damascus

Country – Syria

Everything here is very old

This is the first thing the hotel receptionist told me the day I arrived in the city.

Damascus is already one of the oldest cities in the world – and perhaps the oldest state capital – founded in the second millennium BC, and the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 750, one of the most important controversies of all, stretching from Spain to Iran. .

My favorite place in Damascus is the Umayyad Mosque, a distinct mosque transformed from the Temple of Jupiter in Roman times to a Christian cathedral dedicated to John the Baptist and then to one of the largest mosques in the world.

Today, Damascus is a safe city, and fortunately, the Old City has remained that way for most of the war.

4 – Baalbek – Giant Roman ruins

Country – Lebanon

The Roman Empire, stretching from Western Europe to North Africa and the Middle East, was the greatest empire of all.

Today, most of its monuments, some of which are in relatively good condition, are major tourist attractions that receive hundreds of visitors daily.

Outside of Rome, the ruins of Baalbek are among the most impressive, not only because of their dimensions and good preservation, but also because you are likely to enjoy the monuments alone, here we are talking about Lebanon, one of the most impressive archaeological sites far from the usual destinations in the region, where you can see the greatest Roman ruins that are unparalleled anywhere else, and therefore it is one of the best places to travel in the Middle East.

5- Al-Balad, the colorful old city of Jeddah

Country – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Unfortunately, very little is known about Saudi Arabia, but since this is the home of Mecca, it should come as no surprise that Saudi Arabia is full of ancient and historical places, and one of the best examples is the country, the ancient part of Jeddah, founded 1300 years ago to be the gateway for Muslims on their way to Mecca, most of whom arrive by sea from Africa.

Today, the country is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a lively area full of colourful facades, and by far the most beautiful ancient city of all the Gulf kingdoms.

6 – Petra – One of the Seven Wonders of the World

Country – Jordan

Although this is the most attractive location for tourists in the region, it would be a sin not to consider it as one of the Seven Wonders of the World among the best places to visit in the Middle East.

Petra was founded in the VI century BC. Before the Edomites, but it did not flourish until the Nabataeans (a group of nomadic Arabs) seized the place and built the city by carving it into the rock, making it an important trading center.

The architecture in Petra is breathtaking, and besides admiring the treasury and monastery, I recommend going off the track, hiking and taking the less moving trails.

7 – Luxor – The greatest open-air museum

Country – Egypt

Established on the shore of the mighty Nile River and surrounded by mango farms and desert, Luxor is the largest open-air museum in the world.

This is where the most famous pharaohs come from, such as Tutankhamun for example, and most of the temples are either in excellent condition or perfectly restored.

From large, epic tombs to gigantic temples, all date back to 3200 BC. In 1500 BC, Luxor is a must-see place to travel in the Middle East.