What are good points of interest in the Middles East?

Question

I am traveling to the Middles East in a few months and am looking for places to visit. I wanted to know of some good historical places related to western civilization history in general and to the Judeo-Christian and Muslim faiths.

Answer 1

The Middle East is a fascinating region, and I highly recommend it. In Israel, you have the obvious Bethlehem, Jersualem (holy to Christians, Jews and Muslims), Nazareth and several other places that you will have heard of. In Turkey, Capadoccia was supposedly a Christian hiding area during the Ottoman period; Mt. Ararat is where Noah's ark supposedly is located. The Hagia Sophia/Blue Mosque in Istanbul is a beautiful former mosque built over/in an Orthodox church. Istanbul was once Bzyantium and is a magnificiant city. Ephesus in Turkey is an area with well-preserved Roman ruins. Mt. Sinai penisula in Egypt has several Christian or Biblical sites like St. Catherine's. (I've attached some links below with more details on Egypt's sites since I don't know them as well).



In Damascus, you'll find the Omayyad mosque just behind the souk. It's beautiful and has some very intricate mosaics. It also has a shrine to Ali, the imam of the Shi'ite religion. Non-muslims can visit, and I heard that it's the third holiest site in Islam (or at least for Shi'ites). This was the mosque that the pope recently visited. I highly recommend Damascus as just a great MIddle East city. There are also some well-preserved ruins in Syria, like Palmyra. There's also a pilgrimage site in Syria for Christians and Muslims to the supposed birthplace of Mary (she's mentioned in the Quran as Mariam, the only chapter named after a female).



Jordan also has some legendary biblical sites. There's a museum on the Dead Sea dedicated to Lot. There's also a place where St. John the Baptist may have been baptised (I think a couple of the countries claim this, but Jordan's claim is strongest).



There's lots more and I'm not religious enough to know the significance of each but it's just such a lovely region with great food and friendly people that I have spent a lot of time. I hope you have a great trip.



Here's a link to an article about Christian sites in Egypt.

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2000/469/tr2.htm

http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=250755&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-10724422_ITM

Answer 2

I suppose Jerusalem and Bethlehem in Israel are THE Judeo-Christian 'holy places', but I'm not sure how safe its going to be, considering all the fighting. The centre of Islam is Mecca or Makkah in Saudi Arabia...no fighting there, but very very very strict rules of conduct, especially for women. If you head there, make sure you know their basic etiquette rules.



If you want to deviate and head to North Africa, Egypt should be a fantastic place....can't get more historical than that.



If you want an all-round tourist destination, the United Arab Emirates is the place to head to. Dubai will offer you fabulous shopping; great coastline so there are beautiful beaches, plus many historical places of interest (check it out on the net)....old forts, mosques, wind towers etc. A word of caution: don't come here in the summer (Jun-Sept) especially if u want to move around and explore....the heat & humidity is maddening & it'll just suck the fun out of ur holiday. I'm pretty sure it'll apply to rest of the Middle East also.



Hope this narrows down your search a bit.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

There are many interesting and safe places to visit in the middle east.



Jordan is really nice, there you can visit the Dead Sea, the lowest area on earth, and great historical and religious area.



Petra is lovely to see, it is a city carved on stone, it is really great and now nominated to be one of the seven wonders of the world.



Jerash is an old Roman city, also lovely to see, and of course Amman the capital is a very nice city to see.



United Arab Emirates is very nice too, great beaches, shopping, night life and very nice cities, especially Dubai.



Syria and Egypt are very nice too. hope you enjoy your tour.

Answer 5

Hi Mike,

I would like to suggest that you visit Jordan & Jerusalem.

If you are looking for historical places or churches, try this:



-- The Jordan Valley Baptist

http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/tourism4.html



-- Mount Nebo, Jordan

Drive along the same route prophet Moses (pbuh) was forbidden to travel on by the King of Edom (Numbers 20), and picture yourself standing where Moses was laid to rest, and where the late Pope John Paul II tread on his first pilgrimage of the millennium.



Visit the Sanctuary at Nebo: the memorial of Moses (pbuh), the presumed site of his death and burial place, and a center for pilgrimages since earliest Christian times. You'll be inspired by the biblical feel from start to finish as you experience this divine tour.

http://www.atlastours.net/jordan/mountnebo.html



-- Holy Land's 'oldest church' found at Armageddon

http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1635817,00.html



-- Tomb of the Virgin Mary, Jerusalem

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jerusalem-tomb-of-virgin-mary.htm



-- Al-Aqsa Mosque (Distant Mosque), Jerusalem

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jerusalem-al-aqsa-mosque.htm



-- temples in Jerusalem.

http://www.geocities.com/fmisrael/th.html



good luck

Answer 6

If you are a Westerner, American, Canadian, European, etc. I would say Israel is probably a good Idea.