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My question basically is were are safe and fun places to travel in the middle east for Americans. The only places I have been to in the middle east are Iraq and Kuwait (Army Vet) but I am very interested in the culture and would love to take a vacation. The trip wouldn't be anytime in the near future but right now I am just trying to get some ideas. Right now the first places that come to mind are UAE and Qatar or more specifically Dubai or Doha but I'm sure the middle east has more to offer than those two places. Any recommendations or suggestions?
Depending, of course, on what you are looking for I would recommend:
Dubai and Abu Dhabi + a night or two in Kasab (you can rent a car and drive there) or a stay in a dessert hotel (in winter of course).
Salalah and Muscat Oman - take a adventure tour of a Wadi
Jordan - Amman, the Dead Sea and Petra - camel safari
If you like to party - Bahrain
If you want exposure to Iraqis - Erbil
Turkey is awesome - Istanbul and the Islands
Egypt - but I haven't been there
Morocco - but I haven't been there
Zanzibar has both Arabian and African influences.
Loved Dubai and Muscat, Oman....I would highly recommend either, but in Dubai, be sure to get away from the fancy, tourist-laden areas and into old Dubai.
I hated Egypt, but I never heard the end of the apparently laid-back semi-resort (more of an independent traveler hippy vibe, I guess) of Dahab on the eastern side of the Sinai peninsula. It looks pretty nice.
Depending, of course, on what you are looking for I would recommend:
Dubai and Abu Dhabi + a night or two in Kasab (you can rent a car and drive there) or a stay in a dessert hotel (in winter of course).
Salalah and Muscat Oman - take a adventure tour of a Wadi
Jordan - Amman, the Dead Sea and Petra - camel safari
If you like to party - Bahrain
If you want exposure to Iraqis - Erbil Turkey is awesome - Istanbul and the Islands
Egypt - but I haven't been there
Morocco - but I haven't been there
Zanzibar has both Arabian and African influences.
that's all I got.
But only part of Turkey is Middle Eastern, and that part should be avoided at the moment. The rest varies greatly depending on where you go--Balkan, Caucasian, Mediterranean, plus Black Sea and various Anatolian cultures. That said, there are parts of Istanbul with something of a Middle Eastern feel; even the Islands are starting to have a more Middle Eastern feel, thanks to all the Gulf Arabs who spend their summers there.
But only part of Turkey is Middle Eastern, and that part should be avoided at the moment. The rest varies greatly depending on where you go--Balkan, Caucasian, Mediterranean, plus Black Sea and various Anatolian cultures. That said, there are parts of Istanbul with something of a Middle Eastern feel; even the Islands are starting to have a more Middle Eastern feel, thanks to all the Gulf Arabs who spend their summers there.
Which islands?
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