Middle East/North Africa Forum

This is a region that includes some of the richest and poorest places in the world, as well as some of its most extraordinary sights (dating back to some of the most ancient times in all of history), cultures, ecotourism, beaches, and more.

And here our beat is Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

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8 of Yemen´s most compelling destinations

Dan Significantly bigger than California and more than twice the size of the United Kingdom and this wedge of a country of 24 million on the Arabian Sea and running along the southeast corner of the Arabian Peninsula is troubled, to say the least – one of the world´s poorest countries and embroiled in a bitter, brutal civil war that makes it off limits to tourism for the moment. But it´s still well worth showcasing some of the wealth of historical, cultural, and natural riches Yemen has to…

Started by Max Pesling

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15 ways to celebrate Christmas in Dubai

Wirestock In the United Arab Emirates Islam is of course the main religion, but Dubai especially is a world city, with many non-Muslim residents, and has embraced the more secular trappings of the Yuletide season making them a vibrant part of Dubai in December. Here are 15 excellent examples: read post

Started by Tripatini

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The fantastic Philae Temple in Aswan, Egypt

Photos unless otherwise noted: ArabCountries.com The 275-year rule of the Greek Ptolemaic dynasty was initiated by the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great in 305 BCE, and its second king, Ptolemy Philadelphus, had this great temple built on Philae Island in Nubia (Upper Egypt, paradoxically in the south) during his tenure (284-246 BCE). As he wanted the Egyptian people to love him as they did the previous Egyptian pharoahs of old , by showing them that he too believed in their great…

Started by Tripatini

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8 sights and stuff to do which you shouldn´t miss in Kuwait

Khalid Almasoud This oil-rich little emirate (pop. just under nine million) on the Persian Gulf was last big in the news as the object of invasion by Sadam Hussein´s Iraq just next door. And though its far less touristed than most of its Gulf neighbors, Kuwait does offer a nice selection of travel experiences both traditional and modern, as well as cultural and outdoorsy; many – but far from all – are to be found in the capital, Kuwait City (pop. 3.4 million). Here are its top eight…

Started by José Balido

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José Balido December 12, 2022 at 12:46pm

Syria's Assad régime has launched a flurry of tourism development projects and promotion campaigns - including Western travel blogger/vlogge/influencerr dupes - designed to convince prospective visitors (and investors) that Syria is a safe place for a wonderful vacation. Plenty of critics aren't having it, though. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/oct/28/whoever-...

‘Whoever says Syria’s safe is a liar’: country’s tourist drive at odds with human rights record | G…

Vloggers visit the country to create audience-boosting content, but critics say they’re being cynically used by the Assad regime
Max Pesling October 3, 2022 at 9:14am

MP Qatar Airlines was just recently announced as the "favorite" airline of 2022 by the influential Skytrax, a UK-based airline and airport review and ranking site, based on more than 14 million customer surveys in more than 100 countries between September 2021 to August 2022 More details: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/skytrax-world-airline-awards-202...

The world's best airline for 2022 named

Airline review site Skytrax has revealed its 2022 rankings of the world's best airlines, with an old favorite taking the number one spot and a contro…
Mo Madhoun September 12, 2022 at 6:16pm

https://arabscountries.com/new-year-celebration-in-uae/
New Year celebration in UAE: UAE is famous for its astonishing fireworks during the New Year celebration; however, there are many other amazing places that you can attend during the New Year celebration in UAE. Moreover, Dubai is one of the main touristic destinations all over the world. Also, the government exerts all its efforts to facilitate everything for the tourists.

New Year celebration in UAE

New Year celebration in UAE is an amazing adventure that you will never forget ar there are many activities and amazing places to visit.
David Paul Appell September 12, 2022 at 12:26pm

The ancient Berber desert oasis town Ghadames has a fascinating walled UNESCO World Heritage old quarter, but it has been declared endangered due to the country's civil strife as well as neglect by the government in Tripoli. This past May, Al Jazeera focused on its plight: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/through-war-and-decay-libya-e2...

Through war and decay, Libya’s ‘desert pearl’ tries to hold on

Instability in the rest of Libya has effects deep in the desert, finds Al Jazeera’s Malik Traina.
Wissam Al Khoury August 12, 2022 at 11:25am

Socotra Island is a UNESCO World Heritage site due to its unique fauna and flora - especially the endemic, dramatic dragon's blood tree - and actually a bit closer to Somalia than Yemen. It had managed to stay largely insulated from Yemen's brutal civil war but has just been seized by the Southern Transitional Council, separatists who want to restore the independence of South Yemen. I guess for the time this pretty much drives the last nail into the coffin of tourism hereabouts, sadly. And just yesterday the Boston Globe ran a piece about Socotra which took note of two even more profound threats to the island's ecosystem: development by the United Arab Emirates and global warming: https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/otherworldly-beauty-in-the-ba...

Otherworldly beauty in the balance in the Galapagos of the Middle East

An archipelago in Yemen is home to stunning biodiversity. Civil war, geopolitical wrangling, and climate change threaten all of it.
José Balido July 13, 2022 at 9:16pm

On another front re Qatar World Cup, here's an eye-opening piece from the BBC summarizing the main controversies surrounding it, including abuse of foreign workers, oppression of gays/lesbians, corruption, and more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60867042

World Cup 2022: How has Qatar treated stadium workers?

Qatar has used thousands of foreign workers to build its World Cup facilities. Many may have died.
Riccardo R June 2, 2022 at 9:04am

With the football World Cup now on the horizon (21 November-18 December), this past March U.S. travel maven Christopher Elliott interviewed Berthold Trenkel, the German COO of Qatar Tourism, about the new developments in the emirate that the million or so expected visitors will encounter: https://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherelliott/2022/03/08/world-cl...

‘World-Class’ Attractions Coming Ahead Of World Cup, Says Qatar Tourism COO

New tourism projects, including hotels and attractions, are under construction in advance of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. An interview with Qatar Tou…
María José March 5, 2022 at 10:30am

It's worth noting that despite its small size, Lebanon can boast five UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the 8th-century ruins of Anjar in the Bekaa Valley; the magnificent ruins of Baalbek, dating back to the ancient Phoenicians (also in the Bekaa); the northern city of Byblos (also of mostly Phoenician origin); the Holy Valley and the Forest of the Cedars of God; and the southern city of Tyre (again, founded by Phoenicians). More information at https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/LB.

Lebanon - UNESCO World Heritage Convention

Lebanon - UNESCO World Heritage Convention
José Balido February 8, 2022 at 11:47am

In researching widely anticipated hotel openings in 2022, turns out that according to Forbes, Kuwait City has one of them: the newest member of the luxury Waldorf Astoria chain, located in The Avenues, the largest shopping/entertainment mall, with more than 1,100 stores, an amusement park, a cineplex, and more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestravelguide/2022/01/31/forbes-tr…