Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. It’s located north of UAE, projecting into the Strait of Hormuz. Also, Are there issues traveling to certain countries in the region if you already have a stamp from Isreal on your passport. But there’s no such a country (You even admit and says “…if palestine would become a country…”) I’d love to go and visit Jordan. That makes it one of the best places to go this year? When things go right, there’s nothing to talk about so, they just talk about it when bad things are happening and, unfortunately, they always treat the region as a whole. As per Bahrain, if you read carefully my post, I don’t say that one needs to go there to get high on drugs and hook up with prostitutes. According to the UN, Palestine is a state, a non-member permanent observer state, along with Vatican City. Oman is attraction for the tourist from UAE and visitors across the world. Kadisha is a really unique place to visit in the Middle East. All of Jordan (with the exception of the unattractive capital) is filled with magic and … In the Middle East, most well-educated people speak English, so the language is not always a problem, except for when you go to rural areas. Being a few thousands years older than Damascus, the Citadel and Old City of Aleppo have been mostly destroyed by the Civil War but after the liberation of the city in 2017, the reconstruction has already begun, Syrians are moving back and shops are, very slowly, reopening. Connected to Saudi Arabia by a bridge, every week, thousands of Saudis cross the border to have fun and enjoy a relative level of freedom. Other wealthy cities which also ranked high from the Middle East include Tel Aviv, Istanbul, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and more. Jerusalem is one of those cities that are worth spending several days in. Have you been to any? Some of them were already added to my list, but I have just noticed a new place called Musandam, where I can visit for sure. Joan, great article. Read more: How to visit Luxor independently, in 2 days. I totally aggry with all of this and very interesting. Cheers mate, Mansoureh is a girls name! Traveling to Saudi Arabia is getting easier than ever and here you read my tips for Saudi. I love Oman! From the deepest underground parties to the most glamorous clubs, from local eateries to the best fine dining restaurants in the region, Beirut is a city adaptable to any kind of traveler and budget. These small earnings help me to improve and create more content for Against the Compass. It’s very hard to say for a 19-year old woman but, perhaps, you could start for the most touristic places, such as Jordan, United Arab Emirates or Egypt, as the local there are extremely used to foreign woman. The situation is quite sensitive, as there have been endless confrontations between the local Palestinians and the settlers. Everywhere on this list sounds amazing! and Oman is beautiful by the way! It was my ultimate stop before going back to Paris after 6 months cycling from France to Iran. Jerusalem of course will be a no go for me since I hold a Pakistan citizenship. The most striking fact was the one about Bahrain and the loose morals while my favorite image was the one from Musandam! I had no idea that Bahrain had run out of oil money and had become a hot mess of drugs, alcohol and prostitutes! I want to see the archaeological site of Dilmun palace!!!! Even though I love your suggestions, I think that your being a bit harsh on the Jews and Israel generally. The largest concentrations of Arab Americans are in some of the most contested electoral battlegrounds of the 1990s and the 2000s … What a naive foreigner. Latest by WorldAtlas. Would love to visit Beirut someday. This map includes some of the geographical locations within the ancient Biblical world. The Middle East is a great destination both for sightseeing and to educate oneself to the realities of the region, a good counter-balance to the crap cranked out by the international press. It is made up of 16 countries including Palestine and Israel. Treating the Middle East as a single country is like someone from the Philippines saying that Europe is a country and, since there was war in Crimea, Portugal or Spain are dangerous . Now you can find out which cities are the most affordable to visit, and … As per the Israeli stamp, I have written a comprehensive post about it: https://againstthecompass.com/en/avoid-israeli-passport-stamp/. Middle East, the lands around the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea, encompassing at least the Arabian Peninsula and, by some definitions, Iran, North Africa, and sometimes beyond. Learn more about the history of the classification of the region in this article. And are there countries you would recommend to visit only during a specific time of the year? I think people need to do a little more research about these places. Dahab is a lovely touristic beach town inhabited by Bedouins in the Sinai peninsula, which is considered the most backpacking-friendly place (and probably the only one) in the Middle East. The Middle East is also the heart of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which are three of the world’s major religions. Jerusalem, Israel. With political unrest, terrorism and travel advisories; travelers are often avoiding this […] Along the coast, you find several beaches only occupied by the local Omanis, who like to gather with their families for barbecues during the weekends. My g, this is one of the best articles I’ve ever read. There is so much interesting information in your article that I do not know what to comment about! Cheers! Such is the high concentration of salt that animals and plants can’t live in it, hence the name. Read more: A guide for traveling Egypt (3-week itinerary + tips). Read more: A guide to visiting Musandam in Oman. Unfortunately finding a safe place to explore here is often compared to finding a needle in a haystack. Bars, restaurants and clubs come and go more frequently than the snow on the mountain peaks that form a backdrop to the city. Thank You so much for the insightful article. Glad you liked the photos, thanks for your comment . Impoverished Damascus one of the first cities in Middle East to retail new iPhone 12. I’m going to the TBEX Jerusalem this March and I will visit it again for sure! Bahrain is is rich in culture and it’s financial structure. Please have a good research and then only put it. And overall I highly recommend staying in Israel as a “base” (even though israel it’s probably the most expensive state in the Middle East) and to cross the border to Jordan and Egypt, is very simple. I have long been fascinated by Oman, for the reasons you pointed out. Today, most of its ruins, some of them in relatively good condition, are major tourist attractions that receive hundreds of visitors every day. Outside of Rome, the ruins of Baalbek are among the most impressive, not only due to their dimensions and good preservation, but also because you are likely to have the ruins to yourself as, here, we are talking about Lebanon, one of the most off the beaten track destinations in the region, where you can experience the greatest Roman ruins like nowhere else, hence one of the best places to travel in the Middle East. Whaaat? Its port is an important trading hub between the Persian Gulf, the Indian subcontinent and the Far East. Profile Quizzes Subscribed Subscribe? Not too long, yet very informative and interesting. Middle East Capital Cities Map - Map of Middle East Capital Cities - by World Atlas. It has been known since the second century AD. The city’s economy is dominated by trade, including more traditional exports of dates, mother of pearl, frankincense, and fish. And also, it was very interesting to read this! It is amazing to see the diversity and variety of landscapes in the Middle East, which most people think of as just a desert. Price of new iPhone is equal to 38 years’ salary for average government employee It’s easier to travel there and you’ll get a great experience of the Muslim culture, which will help jumping to more challenging places such as Oman or Iran. Located in the Persian Gulf, right in the Strait of Hormuz, between Oman and Iran, Qeshm is an island with amazing geological formations, as well as very rich wildlife. In the past years, there have been more killed people due to terrorism in the city of Paris than in the whole region of Kurdistan. Bahrain is a crazy place full hypocrisy! The list includes metropolitan areas that have a population of over 1.5 million. The article doesn’t mention that you can be openly gay in Bahrain, but it only mentions what he witnessed once (the author was very clear on that.). Besides, this is the only place in the Middle East where I’ve seen two homosexuals making out in the middle of the street. FYI, Israel has left all of control in Gaza in 2005, the Hamas operates theere fully wide. Hello Isi, Here are the travel cost rankings of the cities in the Middle East, ordered from least expensive to most expensive. Today, Amadiya is a Muslim Kurdish village, surrounded by the most striking mountain scenery, characteristic from northern Iraq and one the most beautiful places to travel in the Middle East. The travel prices for each city come from actual travelers, and are listed as per person, per day. I’ve been to Lebanon a couple of times and really enjoyed it. With almost 30,000 years of history, according to historians, and, today a UNESCO World Heritage site, Erbil is the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, a city with plenty of tradition, filled with plenty of ancient bazaars, epic cafés, and historical sites. Besides, due to the massive drop of the Egyptian Pound, in Dahab, you could easily rent a full apartment (2 beds with Wi-Fi) for less than 9USD a day. I don’t know what their nationality was. You really should go! If you either want just to relax, eat good food, visit beautiful Christian monasteries or to go hiking, the Kadisha Valley in Lebanon will always be the perfect place for you. Since then, the area is strictly controlled and, both Jewish and Muslim prayer areas are strictly separated. The Middle East is composed of 14 different countries that differ massively from each other, have boundaries and share borders. Although I live in Abu Dhabi as a resident for the past almost 6 years now, but I have not been able to see most of the places which are famous in UAE itself. Oh… there are none of them. its currency? Salalah, and the region of Dhofar, is an area that experiences a monsoon season. I dont know why are you faking such news about BAHRAIN. Its called officially and internationally known as PERSIAN gulf, its been that way for thousandths of years! The list includes metropolitan areas that have a population of over 1.5 million. How can you say the Beirut is the most liberal city in the area when being gay isn’t legal in Lebanon. In my 24 years of living here I’ve actually never even been exposed to the part of Bahrain that you are referring to. “Palestine” never had a currency of their own. Ancient Assyria was one of the first true empires, expanding aggressively across the Middle East and controlling a vast stretch of the ancient world between 900 and 600 B.C. and make it clear too that bahrain is strict for such activities. All sort of travelers enjoy going to Oman! by the Edomites but, it didn’t prosper until the Nabateans (a group of nomadic Arabs) took over the place and built the city by carving it from the rock, making it become an important trading hub. Abraham is buried in the middle of the Tomb of the Patriarchs, right between the synagogue and the mosque, so the members of both religions can see his tomb from their prayer room. Just because YOU don’t see/know it, doesn’t mean it’s impossible to exist. This is what most travelers come here for but, in my opinion, the most interesting part of the island is to get immersed in the local culture, as this is the only place that has been able to preserve the fast-disappearing Persian Gulf culture, today only visible here and in a few other places in Oman. This map of the Middle East shows the countries and capital cities as well as other major … I’ve not been to many of these places. I haven’t been to KSA for example Bahrain is a party place so, unless you really want to do that, there’s not much to see besides a few historical sites, but to be honest, they are not very exciting. As per alcohol no one can drink it in the streets. I am not sure if you have visited the whole Iran or not. And yes, Hebron is the most intriguing one. For more information, read my travel guide to Palestine. Can’t wait to go to Lebanon and Oman next! Since it is such a pivotal place, knowing its geography is an important part of any educational curriculum. If making a trip to Lebanon to visit the ruins of Baalbek sounds too hardcore for you but you still want to travel to the Middle East, perhaps you should consider visiting Jerash, another of the greatest Roman ruins outside of Italy, constructed in some of the most fertile valleys in the region, today comprising green, rolling hills filled with olive and fig trees. The rest is fine. Baghdad in Iraq, the worst affected country, recorded its … Located in the north of Iraqi Kurdistan, only 10km away from the Turkish border, Amadiya is a lovely, very photogenic village located on the flat top of a mountain, which has no less than 5,000 years of history. Bahrain is, unequivocally, one of the most surreal places to travel and visit in the Middle East. The wall, however, was built within Palestinian territory, hence the Israelis stole some of their land. Beirut is the capital of Lebanon, a city that suffered one of the longest contemporary Civil Wars (25 years, ending in 1991). Read more: How to spend 2 weeks in Lebanon. That enormous piece of territory often overlooked as a whole and, usually, only seen as the land of the greatest and most beautiful deserts, endless bazaars of spices and the warm welcome of the Bedouins. I agree! But if you’ve only visited those three places, I’d say it’s not a wise action. Two questions: How safe would you rate each of your listed places for a 19yo (very mature) female solo traveller? Unlike the rest of Iran, people here are Sunnis, from the conservative branch actually, Wahabis, but, since they have a great Iranian influence, they are quite laid back. Great part of it is beautiful and safe and its people are warm and kind. I lived in Oman for 8 years and traveled widely throughout the region, although I missed a couple of places on your list. It’s funny, as I just published a post on Muslim countries! If you like Israel, you’ll like Lebanon. 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