Archive for the ‘Middle East/N.Africa’ Category
The enchantment of Fez, Morocco
There is a nice travel story in the NY Times about Fez, Morocco. It describes this 1,200-year-old city as the soul of the country. … this mazelike city of minarets, shrouded figures and forgotten passages can seem impossible to decipher – yet tinged with a deep enchantment. “It’s a mysterious place,” said Abdelfettah Seffar, a [...]
Tracing the steps of Abraham
The three major monotheistic religions that sprang from the Middle East – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – have been at the source of much division and conflict in the world. What is sometimes forgotten, unfortunately, are the common roots of these three religions, such as their shared ancestry dating back to Abraham. The author Bruce [...]
East meets West in Istanbul
Turkey is the place to go if you want to experience a bit of the Middle East and a bit of Europe in the same country. And Istanbul is one of the most interesting and beautiful cities in the world. You can sip apple tea by the shimmering waters of the Golden Horn while gazing [...]
Iranians want to attract American tourists
I’ve written previously (here and here, for example) about how the Middle East can be quite an interesting place to travel. The people are some of the friendliest and most hospitable that you’ll encounter anywhere. Now, Iran is out to prove the point, as they’ve implemented a program to try enticing more American and other Western [...]
Tourism to Kurdistan?
Granted, Iraq is not high on the list of places that most tourists are likely to consider when planning their next vacation. Nevertheless, the Iraqi region of Kurdistan is making a push to attract tourists, according to this recent USA Today article. Their argument is that the region of northern Iraq populated by the Kurds has long been more autonomous than [...]
Boosting tourism from Beirut to Bahrain
Have an interest in traveling to the Middle East? The region has dramatic landscapes and friendly residents. So long as you avoid a few unsavory locales, it’s quite an interesting part of the world for travelers. Now, countries in that region are boosting their efforts to attract tourists. The International Herald Tribune reports on endeavors by Arab gulf [...]
Appreciating Cairo
The Middle East is an underappreciated travel destination. The region gets a bad reputation because of Islamic radicals and the Israeli-Palestinian issue, among other things, and those realities do have to be considered when planning a trip. But it’s also true that the people of the Middle East tend to be incredibly hospitable, the ancient [...]
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Bob Riel is a writer and a traveler. Go here to read more about Bob, his work and the Travels in the Riel World blog.
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