 | Middle East Reviews | Tips 1 - 10 of 28 |  |
in every aspect the Garden city is an excellent value. It is located on a third floor in a building behind the The Semiramis Intercontinental Hotel within a walking distance from the AUC, Mogamma', The Nile, the Egyptian Museum, and the Tahreer (sadat) metro station.
My room was equiped with an air conditioner, a TV and had a Bath. Rooms were clean. Breakfast was good. Staff were friendly.
I paid around 60 LE for room + tax and breakfast.
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Bed and a TV set as you must have some books and notebook if you like to write something, a friend maybe helpful.
Between 300-1000 SP. 6$-20$ You choose.
Al-Sham palace in the middle of Damascus ,little expensive but nice place .
Aphamea palace in Hama near waterwheels ,so nice . Leave a Comment Theme: Pension/GuesthouseComparison: less expensive than averageDirections: In each city you can find the right places in according to money and time.Other Contact: I don't know .
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I'm not overly experienced in this, but while staying with a Sudanese friend in cairo, we did spend quite a time investigating the rental market. He had arrived in Cairo at the beginning of the summer, which is the worst time of year to do so...rent goes up and apartments are harder to find. His 5th floor furnished apartment (no lift) in upmarket Mohandiseen cost him $300 a month, this price settled on after a lot of bargaining. We looked for cheaper options in the atmospheric old area between Khan el-Khalili and the Citadel, a maze of quiet streets away from mod-cons and tourists. It was described as a sha'abi or "local" neighbourhood, but most places on offer were unfurnished, i.e. not much use to a short-term tenant. The best way to find out what is available is to just ask around...by chatting to some men in a cafe, we were overheard by a passing woman who led us to a flat for rent. Returning some while later to the same cafe, someone else grabbed our hands and took us to a different flat. It is a bit hit-and-miss...one morning we found five apartments, the next morning we were sent on a wild-goose chase and found nothing...it depends who happens to overhear your conversation! Take an Arabic speaker with you!!
In Alexandria, again, summer is the wrong time of year to look, but at the end of the summer season, there will be plenty of options available...we asked around in Abu Qir and found a fully furnished apartment with a view of the sea for a very reasonable price...I forget how much exactly, but it was negotiable and certainly cheaper than anything similar in Cairo. Leave a Comment Theme: Other
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Long-term accommodation in Damacus is very easy to find. Flats are available for US$200+per month , the price depending on how rich you look and how well you bargain. Better for learning Arabic is to rent a room with a Syrian family in the Old City - these are usually Christian families in the Bab Touma area. Sometimes rooms are available for US$80 per month, but most cost between US$100 and US$150. You need to make sure that this includes heating, as it gets VERY cold in winter. Most rooms have private bathrooms and kitchens, although I had to share these with the family which can be trying at times(but means that you will be invited to eat with them). Sometimes there is no privacy whatsoever (I had a net curtain separating my bedroom from the TV lounge!), but it is a great cultural experience and a good way to improve your Arabic. This picture shows the courtyard of the house I lived in for 9 months, in the Bab Touma area. For some of my notes about living with a family, and to get a rough idea of what you can expect, see my travelogue 'Tales from the house of Abu Ibrahim' on my Damascus page...
There are rental agencies all over Damascus, especially in the posher areas of Abu Romaneh and Mohajireen. However, I found these to be a bit pricey for my liking, as foreign-looking foreigners are often charged according to their supposed wealth. A better way to find somewhere to live is just to ask your hotel receptionist. That was how I found my room....I asked the receptionist at the Hotel Haramain, who went out into the street shouting "does anyone know of any rooms?"...the man in the clothes shop opposite knew a couple of families, and arranged for me to visit them....many people I know found their rooms in this way. Leave a Comment Theme: OtherComparison: least expensive
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104 GB pound per night in a double room
Subdued colours, harmonious furnishings and comfortable seating areas give each room the air of being part of a private residence. Nonsmoking and disabled rooms are also available Leave a Comment Theme: HotelComparison: about averageDirections: Located at the entrance to the City of Petra, this charming hotel can easily be reached by bus or car from Amman or AqabaOther Contact: P.O. Box 214 Wadi Mousa 718 10 P
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Well, good luck! Khartoum is known among expats as being quite expensive when it comes to accommodation...as soon as the landlord knows that a khawaja (foreigner) is looking for a place to live, the rent skyrockets to ridiculous heights. Things to look for include a reliable water supply, constant electricity and a lockable door. Houses or apartments along public transport routes are markedly more expensive. Most expats prefer to live in areas such as Amarat, Khartoum 2, Riyadh and Arkaweet/Ma'amoura, and as such, these are the most expensive places to live. Omdurman is apparently cheaper, although again there are expensive parts. Elsewhere in Sudan, finding somewhere to live can be a nightmare...maybe Kassala was a special case, but I searched and searched for a house within my modest budget, but found nothing...it may have been because of the recent floods, it may have been because nobody wanted to rent to a khawaja, or I might have been just unlucky. It is possible to find home-stay accommodation with local families (easier for women), although a complete lack of privacy might get on your nerves after a while. Wherever you are looking, whether in Khartoum or outside, try and get the help of a Sudanese friend, or ask your company/organization to arrange it before you arrive. Leave a Comment Theme: Other
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The region is far from a hot backpackers paradise and with the constant violence in Iraq etc the place seems it will stay this way for a long time to come making the hotels highly varied from country to country due to lack of first hand knowledge. Couple this with Arabs ability to travel to places where their family member are located and the pickings are slim. Other than Yemen, rock bottom budget is tough to find but possible. Prices reflect amenities and are accordingly high with about $20 US getting you a budget style up as high as $150 without blinking an eye. Budget hotels can be found in souq areas but in some cities 'natashas' roam around at night time. In general, search around the souq or bazaar area and you will find something that will be suffice for the night en shallah :)
No unique frills in the budget area other than the location of some of the hotels. Sometimes, the staff is friendly making up for the dirty interiors but that is another story in itself ;) Leave a Comment Theme: HotelPrice: US$20-40 » Currency ConverterComparison: about averageDirections: Near the Souqs and Bazaars
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Hotels in the Middle East!
it is a very big choice between the cheap good hotels like 20$ for a night and the luxury level like 500$ for a night!
it is up to you and your financial case! Leave a Comment Theme: HotelAddress: Middle EastDirections: Middle East
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Otel Taskule in Yalikavak, 20 minutes from Bodrum...Wonderful accomodations and the staff was warm, friendly and helpful. Right on the water.
The prices are very resonable and it is within walking distance to the Charsha (center of town). They have a very unique opened air lounge that looks out onto the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. Leave a Comment Theme: InnComparison: about averageDirections: On the main beach street in Yalikavak. email is: taskule@hotmail.com phone: 0.252.385.4935
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Finding somewhere to live in Sana'a is much more difficult. Again, the best way is to ask a hotel receptionist for help (it tends to help if you are staying in the hotel at the time!), but it takes time. Living in the old city sounds a very nice idea, but most available flats are unfurnished and not much use if you are only going to stay a few months. I found a huge flat in the old city, furnished, for US$100 per month, and it did seem to be the ideal flat.....until the landlord decided to move in with me! This brought cultural problems into the equation, as I kept walking into MY flat to find his daughters in there watching the TV unveiled, causing loud screams and mass embarrassment all round. There were also the daily qat parties to consider, the two day long water shortages, and the fact that I couldn't open my bedroom curtains because it looked directly onto someone else's courtyard, causing problems as men aren't supposed to see women who aren't related to them. The landlord was extremely friendly, though, and despite all the problems, I enjoyed living there.
The language school mentioned above has accommodation and can also help find flats outside the old city. Leave a Comment Theme: OtherComparison: least expensive
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on February 19, 2007
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