Top Middle East hotels
blue mosque Istanbul
21 Reviews Funny when I was inside the man came to me and offered to lead me to prayer area. Thus I could see all saint places close (it costed me YTL 5). I was near by the stairs where mulla speaks to prayers...
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The Old City Gates Jerusalem
20 Reviews The Dung Gate is also known as Sha'ar Ha'ashpot or Gate of Silwan. The gate is situated near the southeast corner of the Old City, southwest of the Temple Mount. The gate is the closest to the...
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Old Jaffa Tel Aviv-Yafo
13 Reviews Zohara and I joined Nathalie, Gil, Andie and Aydin for a walking tour of old Yaffo. This section is today the artists quarters and a few restaurants and studios. There is also a place where you can...
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Beaches Marmaris
6 Reviews Icmeler is a real beach place, if you like sunbathe on the beach during your vacation, Icmeler is the place to be. It has a nice walking boulevard with lots of restaurants. The beach is covered with...
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Buildings/ Projects Jiddah
96 Reviews Health sector in Saudi Arabia received extreme importance by the state and witnessed tremendous development. Jeddah had its share of development in health services where there are over 194 government...
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downtown Amman
4 Reviews Walking in downtown Amman can also be another highlights in Jordan. Why?! It was my personal experience: "Welcome,welcome to Amman" "Thank you..."( taking a photo of Amman Library ) "Do you speak...
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Beaches Bodrum
9 Reviews there is something for everyone!! if you want to just lie down and relax on the sunlounger turgutreis, torba, gundogan and bitez is for you. If you are into water sports crowded and loud fun beaches...
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The beaches Eilat
5 Reviews The dophin reef has a very nice beach, so while enjoying the dolphins, you can have a bath is a separate area, and have some food of the restuarant. As usual our waitress talked in spanish as she was...
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old town Damascus
9 Reviews The Old City is my favourite part of Damascus. I guess it is everyone's. It is fascinating for its history, architecture and culture. Highlights include the Umayyad Mosque, Straight Street,...
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Bahai Shrine & Temple Haifa
5 Reviews Visit the Bahai Temple and its gardens. The Bahai religion was founded in 1863 by Mirza Husayn, a Persian who was later known as Bahaullah. Haifa serves as the world center of this religion. See my...
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Celsus Library Ephesus
6 Reviews The Celsus Library, whose facade has been carefully reconstructed from all original pieces, was built ca. 125 B.C.E. by Gaius Julius Aquila in memory of his father C.Celsus - the General Governor of...
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citadel Aleppo
59 Reviews Aleppo's citadel Actually U can find a lot of interesting monuments in this city. You will really see so ancient things wich will amaze you. And there is a christian citadel near the city.. Food is...
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Boring Country Qatar
2 Reviews I don't think there is much you should do here other than pick another country which is more fun to visit. I don't think I have many. Just some of the people I met while I was here and the warm water...
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souq & shopping Bahrain
16 Reviews Like in all Muslim nations, Friday is the holy day of the week in Bahrain. This means that many shops will be closed and services unavailable on that day. In addition, many shops will also close at...
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Nisantasi Istanbul
9 Reviews Nisantasi parking can be very peculiar.... Well, just imagine, you need to drop by your girlfriend, there is no free parking plance in front of her house (to be frank, parking is a nightmare in...
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The Western Wall (Wailing Wall) Jerusalem
22 Reviews There is a plant between the rocks of the western wall. The name of the plant is Capparis spinosa (in hebrew it is "Tsa'laf"). There is a legend about the plant : When the romans attacked Jerusalem...
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Dizengoff St. Tel Aviv-Yafo
7 Reviews Dizengoff Square certainly is one of Tel Aviv's most distinctive squares. All the guides will tell you that it is pedestrianized -- I have found this to be a bit misleading. Truth is, there are...
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Tourist Information Center Marmaris
6 Reviews Take a look to marmaris guide sites. Marmaris Tourism Center İskele Meydanı (Ferry Jetty Square) Marmaris, Muga Turkey Hours: Mon–Fri 8.30am–7pm; summer open Sat & Sun Located right near...
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Hotels/ furnished apartments Jiddah
4 Reviews Hyatt Regency Jeddah Property Owner: AL-Mubarakiah Hotel Co. Ltd. Total land area of the project: 7,765 square meters Area exploited in building: 4,323 square meters Height of the building: 32...
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amman general info Amman
11 Reviews ever went to a restaurant and find out that there service is not as good as you thought! or the food was not that good now you can see real Reviews from real people about Amman top restaurant @...
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Sightseeing Bodrum
16 Reviews Bodrum's harbourfront and marina are full of hustle and bustle with bracing sea breezes to counteract the hot sun, The boats are packed tightly like sardines and a sea of masts and red flags sway in...
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new town Damascus
4 Reviews Central Damascus is the modern heart of the city to the west of the Old City. It is characterised by medium-high rise office and apartment blocks topped with a sea of satellite dishes, small shops,...
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The German Colony Haifa
2 Reviews Walking the streets of the old German Colony can give you a glimpse of the life of the immigrants to Israel. These German immigrants built a "colony" or neighbourhood around themselves to help them...
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History Ephesus
6 Reviews The ancient city occupies the territory of several square kilometers. You can see the map of the Ancient city and the typical way of excursion (green color) on the picture. This place became known...
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Qatar as a Peninsula Qatar
4 Reviews Requirements of a Quality School The board should believe that the function of formal education is to provide a foundation for lifelong learning and to enable each student to participate effectively...
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Your itinerary should be Cairo, Luxor, Petra ending at Jerusalem, I assume there will be a train from Cairo to luxor then using a boat to go to Petra crossing to Jerusalem through Amman ( so many sites to visit between Petra and Amman ).
Hi, i came across your queries re your trip to Bahrain. I will be traveling to Bahrain this coming Saturday. Maybe you can share with me the immigration requirement. I am Filipino as well with existing UAE residence, was it easy to go through the immigration. I was told that there is no need for visa application and visa can be granted at the airport upon arrival. How true is it? would really appreciate your response. Thanks alotLielahlzllandicho@yahoo.com
Hi there,I am travelling those countries often due to my job. I would like to remind you that you can take a bus from Istanbul to Gaziantep and you can go to Aleppo first and you can move to Damascus and from Damascus to Amman and from there to Israel all by land transportation. Even if you take a taxi for all, its not going to cost much. You can visit three countries at once.Since you saw Cairo and red sea already, I would not suggest you to take another time for Egypt however luxor etc are facinating. Once you make sure that which country you would like to visit, I can give more precise ideas what do do, what to see, where to stay etc.Good luck! Tarkan
Travellers should know a little bit about Islam before venturing into the area because I believe if you understand a little bit about the religion then you will understand the people better. Knowing about the culture before hand helps in this part of the world because you do not want to be mistaken for something culturally insensitive or offensive. Muslims believe that Allah decides everything and that they must submit to his will. Unlike the Torah or Bible, in which many different people record and interpret the many words and deeds of God, the Quran is said to be the exact words of god himself. The Five pillars are:1. Shahada which means Muslims must declare pubicly 'There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his Prophet'2. Salat means Muslims are expected to pray five times a day (sunrise, noon, mid afternoon, sunset and night)3. Zakat mean that every Muslim has a duty to give alms to...
Most travellers think that the possibility of travelling around the hot desert climates without a drink from time to time is torture or that they will not be able to access their favorite liquid. Many Middle Eastern countries have their own brewed beverages including beer and wine. Almost every single Middle Eastern country offers travellers or expats a chance to relax with a drink. The Arabian Gulf excluding Kuwait, Yemen and Saudi have Western pubs that sell foreign products while alcohol can be purchased in shops in Syria, Jordan etc. Lebanon, Turkey and the UAE have nightlife that would rival most European countries with Dubai and Beirut being better than most European cities. Most people obviously dont travel the Middle East to party but anything is possible and some countries will even shock you ;)
One of my favorite things about the food situation in the ME is the possibility that you can find food just about anytime you want depending on the country. Turkey, Egypt and Lebanon offer loads of restaurants and stands offering kebabs and shwarmas while the Gulf states cater more towards the coffee shop crowd. Both experiences are cheap, quick and gives you a chance to eat on the move. Almost every country in the Middle East other than Syria and Yemen have KFC and Western chains. Places like Dubai and Bahrain have so many different chains of Western restaurants that the choice would be on par or better than your home country. The Gulf countries with their coffee shops offer up some great Indian dishes (due to sub continent expats) which is cheap and delicious. The Indian food is usually the cheapest and most reliable because due to the amount of Indian and Bengali expats, the food...
Standards range greatly between each of the Middle Eastern countries as well as the Gulf states. The Middle East generally has a good selection to choose from with the cheapest fundooqs being in Egypt, Syria and Yemen. The most expensive hotels are in the Gulf, Israel and Jordan. Hotels in the top range offer you everything you could ever hope for with AC, double beds and showers and Western toilets. Bottom of the bunch are ones with no AC, no TV and less than clean washrooms. The standards in the lower class are squat toilets as well as cold showers. The top end to mid range are suitable for female travellers but the lower end places should be avoided due to the presence of working girls as well as business men. The standards are what you may expect in this part of the world.
Islam started in The Middle East.Do visit at least a mosque & see for yourself the sacred place where the Muslims do their prayers.A historical mosque like The Umayyad Mosque is a good example...
If you must, learning Arabic would be a good way to know the people, the countries around The Middle East.There are institutions, Arabic schools, even private tutors for this purpose...You could learn the language BEFORE coming to The Middle East or even staying in your own chosen country in The Middle East for this purpose !Good luck !
Egypt is a popular destination for studying Arabic, and there are many schools in Cairo. My university sent students to ILI (International Language Institute) and also to the University of Alexandria, although course details, addresses and opinions I don't have. Other British universities send their students to Fez in Morocco, although the local Arabic there is very different to Modern Standard Arabic. In Khartoum, there are courses available at the African University in the south of the city in an area known as Ma'amoura...a volunteer enquired about courses and was quoted $250, but where that figure came from was anybody's guess, and again, course info and dates are hard to find. In Palestine, there is the Birzeit University, and courses in Jordan are available in Zarqa and Amman...again, no info ;@( The American University in Beirut offers a very expensive Arabic course for foreigners,...
Esans Hotel Istanbul
7 Reviews and 181 Opinions a very new hotel. very near to grande museums and sophia dome. sea is very near to hotel. we enjoy...
Grosvenor House West Marina Beach By Le Meridien Dubai
4 Reviews and 904 Opinions Run by le Méridien, the Grosvenor House hotel is one of the group's most luxurious hotels in Dubai....
The King David Jerusalem Jerusalem
5 Reviews and 281 Opinions Without doubt, the King David Hotel is the most famous and prestigious hotels in Israel and possibly...
Reviews and photos of Middle East attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Middle East sightseeing.
Q: Hi again! We will arrive in Cesme from Chios by ferry in June. From Cesme we are going to Selcuk for 4 days. Is it possible to...
A: I don't know about all bus companies, but there are buses departing from Cesme's Uçkuyular Bus Terminal to Izmir's Büyük Otogar (main bus terminal), from which it's easy...
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