Middle East

Destinations
> Middle East

The Middle East is a unique region, within a fertile crescent from Egypt to Iran, where you will discover the birthplace of ancient civilisations and some of the most familiar world religions and visit countries hugely rewarding and where travel is entirely possible.

From the mystic of the pyramids and temples of Egypt’s Nile Valley to the mesmerising Nabataean city of Petra in Jordan. Walk in the footprints of the ancients in the Persian cities of Shiraz and Isfahan in Iran, and admire the Roman ruins of Baalbec in Lebanon.

Travelling further south into Dubai, Arabia and the aridness of the Gulf states, the best-known for oil money and ultra-luxurious hotels, discover another side. Oman, the Middle East’s adventure capital, offers mountain hikes, dune bashing, and Bedouin encounters in the desert.

A sometimes-turbulent Yemen harbours untouched medieval cities like Shibam and the unique wildlife of Socotra island. Between the two, and spilling into little-visited Saudi Arabia, lie the vast dunes of the Empty Quarter, explored by Wilfred Thesiger in the 1940s.

Beyond the cities is a land of mighty rivers, the Euphrates and the gentle Nile, more enormous deserts than you could ever imagine the Sahara, the Empty Quarter and the peerless Wadi Rum vibrant green landscapes of exceptional beauty. Explore these wilderness areas – from the snow-capped summits in Turkey, Iran and Lebanon to the kaleidoscopic waters of the Red Sea.

The message here is simple. Forget the triteness that masquerades the truth of the Middle Eastern, and visit one of the most varied and soulful travel experiences on earth.