In the Mideast, history isn't one thing you examine in books. Here, it’s a story written on the stones that litter the region, from the flagstones of old Roman roads to the building blocks of Ancient Egypt, and the delicately carved tombs and temples from Petra to Persepolis. This is wherever world initial designed cities and learned to jot down, and it was from here that Judaism, Christianity and Islam all arose. Wherever you discover yourself, the past is always present because here, perhaps more than anywhere else on earth, history is the heart and soul of the land.
Home of Hospitality
At some point on your visit to the Middle East, you’ll be sitting in a coffeehouse or looking lost in a labyrinth of narrow lanes when someone will strike up a speech communication and, within minutes, invite you home to meet their family and share a meal. Or somebody can merely approach and say with clear heat, ‘Welcome’. These spontaneous, disarming and utterly genuine words of welcome can occur anywhere across the region. And after they do, they can suddenly (and forever) change the way you see the Middle East.
Cities
The Middle East’s cities scan sort of a roll-call of historical heavyweights: national capital, Beirut, Cairo, İstanbul, Esfahan... Aside from ranking among the oldest continuously inhabited cities on earth, these ancient-modern metropolises are places to require the heart beat of ara|a district|a locality|a vicinity|a part|a section}. It is in the Middle East's cities, too, that you find the stirring, aspirational architecture that so distinguishes the three great monotheistic faiths. There they sit aboard the additional profane charms of bazaars and low retailers that appear to embody all the mystery and storytelling magic of a land that gave North American nation The Thousand and One Nights.
Wilderness
Beyond town limits, the Middle East is a land of mighty rivers (the Nile, Euphrates), even mightier deserts (the Sahara, the Empty Quarter and peerless Wadi Rum) and green landscapes of exceptional beauty. Exploring these wilderness areas – from snow-capped summits in Turkey, Iran and Lebanon to the kaleidoscopic waters of the Red Sea – lies at the heart of the region's appeal. The message is simple: forget the clichés that masquerade as geographic region truth – a visit here is one among the foremost varied and emotional travel experiences on earth.
