View Full Version : Arab Tourism
Since my wife and I are both Spanish speaking(her broken Spanish from growing up with bilingual grandparents and mine from growing up with bilingual friends), we are planning a vacation to one of a few destinations we have picked out. I chose Granada, Spain because after operating in Al Hamra, Iraq, I found the Al Hamra in Spain and became interested with its beauty and familiarity to Middle-Eastern architecture. With my interest in becoming SF and learning another language, my attempting to plan a vacation, and current exposure to Arab culture- I got to thinking. Have any of you ever visited an Arabic speaking nation as a tourist? If so, where did you go? Did you feel safe there? Is it just me, or does all of the Arab world seem threatening? Morocco and Tunisia are the only arabic speaking countries that I can think of that don't seem to bring to mind some type of negative event. I'm sure I'm wrong, they might be terrible places, and there might be a few other great places- maybe Dubai? I thought this would be a good conversational point and wanted to hear some educated, qualified folks speak on it. It would be a shame for someone to learn such a difficult language and not have a good chance to use it in a recreational sense.
LongWire
06-16-2007, 16:55
In my travels over the past 9 yrs in SF I have never wanted to tour the MidEast just for kicks. However after saying that, I have spent plenty of time in Kuwait, and Jordan.
Kuwait, in my opinion can be a pretty good time, but due to its size after a couple of days, you've pretty much done it all.
Jordan on the other hand is very rich in history, dating back to the Romans and beyond. Plenty of Roman Ruins, as well as Castle's used during the Crusades. Petra and the Dead Sea are also something to see. Do a search on Wikipedia, ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan) and you will see what is offered there. There is always a good time to be had, since they do allow drinking, if thats your thing. As far as security goes, I consider it safe, as long as you do your job to make yourself so.
I dont speak Arabic, only a few words here and there, and I never had any trouble communicating.
Oh since your In Country, there is a service that fly's out of BIAP twice a week Called the Florida Star........Im sure you can figure out how to arrange to get on that flight into Amman.
Hope this helps............
Interesting. There was talk of a 3 day R&R trip to Qatar when we first got here, that never worked out. Unfortunetly, I'll never find myself at BIAP. Maybe 50 years from now the Iraqis will pick up their trash and sort out there differences. For all we know, Iraqi may be the next Korea and our kids might be stationed here.
I just got back from Athens after spending 10 days in Greece and it was brilliant; I had a stop over in United Arab Emirates and found it expensive and not really a "holiday" location you want to bring the wife too...lots of shopping malls and modern decor buildings...I just did not enjoy it.
Jordan is brilliant..its a great get-away, while Greece is also worth a shot but be prepared for tour groups all over the place...but its absolutely beautiful...spend not more than 2 days in athens and get out to the Islands....its probably the sort of holiday you want to bring the wife on minus the kids...
Jordan is nice, and relatively safe as far as the ME goes. Pictures are from Petra.
Leozinho
06-20-2007, 23:20
I really enjoyed Egypt. It should be on everyone's Places to Visit Before I Die list. The Pyramids are one of those few things that you've seen pictures of hundreds of times but they are still awe-inspiring. (Machu Picchu was another.)
I'll go back again someday.
Morroco is on my short list as well.
I worked in Egypt a few summers back teaching SCUBA lessons and doing marine research in the Sinai Peninsula in a town called Dahab, and in addition I travelled around the country. I loved the whole Sinai (minus Sharm al-Sheikh which seemed like a giant tourist trap) and would highly recommend it. If you SCUBA dive then the whole area is great. There's a lot to see and do in Cairo and could take weeks to get through (go see Old Cairo and the huge market there). If you do end up in Luxor then see the Valley of the Kings, because it was awesome to see the tombs of so many people you read about growing up. As far as safety goes, I felt pretty safe the entire time; minus when they were holding an anti-Bush protest that I stumbled upon.....and then got away from. Have a great time if you go.
If you love roman/greek history, I would think visiting egypt, jordan, turkey and greece has to be on the agenda....
If you ever go to Tunisia the site of Carthege is pretty cool. Romans definitly put a hurting on the city. Tunisis the capital had kind of europe/arab feel to it. No trouble getting around and semi-westernized, kinda "muslim-lite"country that was damm glad to get tourist dollars.
Dear colleagues,
First I beg your excuses for my poor English. I am a veteran from Spanish Special forces (the poor version of my beloved Green berets) and a real fan of the US army and American way of life in general. Let me talk about Spain for a second. Altough we are close to Africa we are European Citizens with European Traditions, if fact our culture is one of the most ancient European Cultures. If You want a beutiful place to spend your holidays I would suggest you to visit Cordoba and Granada at the South of the country and spend one week, more or less, after you can take a high Speed train that will take you to Madrid, Toledo and Segovia. You will see the difference, the South is clearly influenced by Arab history (we suffered an invasion by 14th century) and the central part of the country with a lot of interesting monuments and museums.
Any additional information you may need, please let me know.
Your website is incredible, the problem is that I dont have time enough to process such a big amount of info.
Merry Christmas and thanks for protecting us from evil forces,
Tag
The Reaper
12-23-2009, 14:59
Dear colleagues,
First I beg your excuses for my poor English. I am a veteran from Spanish Special forces (the poor version of my beloved Green berets) and a real fan of the US army and American way of life in general. Let me talk about Spain for a second. Altough we are close to Africa we are European Citizens with European Traditions, if fact our culture is one of the most ancient European Cultures. If You want a beutiful place to spend your holidays I would suggest you to visit Cordoba and Granada at the South of the country and spend one week, more or less, after you can take a high Speed train that will take you to Madrid, Toledo and Segovia. You will see the difference, the South is clearly influenced by Arab history (we suffered an invasion by 14th century) and the central part of the country with a lot of interesting monuments and museums.
Any additional information you may need, please let me know.
Your website is incredible, the problem is that I dont have time enough to process such a big amount of info.
Merry Christmas and thanks for protecting us from evil forces,
Tag
Tag:
Bienvenido.
Please read the rules and stickies and make your introduction in the proper place before posting again.
TR
Sorry,
I will do inmediatelly.
Muchas gracias,
Tag
As long as you dont go to a country that is unstable the only thing you should have to worry about is pickpockets.
That being said always read a bit up on where you go and what you're gonna do.
Always pays to take care when taking a taxi or going on safari's or similar,
there is always the remote chance your driver/guide will try to rob you somewhere remote.
Check out www.Roughguides.com or www.Lonelyplanet.com for info on where you want to travel, pretty extensive and updated guides from both.
Goodluck with your trip:cool:
Dozer523
01-03-2010, 16:10
I was fortunate to visit both Jordan and Egypt courtesy of 5th Group in 1989. Jordan has a lot to offer. In Jordan, I really recommend Wadi Rahm area. It is spectacular desert scenery with these gigantic rock formations. You can wander around these outcropping and find hidden pools of deep water. It probably took centuries to collect. The Roman ruins around Amman are spectacular. Never did get to Petra.
Egypt is everything and more. Cairo is amazing with the sook and Mohammad Ali's Mosque and he antiquities Museum (practically a warehouse of Pharaoh stuff). Downtown Cairo, on an island in the middle of the Nile, is a tower -- sort of like the Space Needle. An amazing view. That is an awesome first view of Giza. Don't miss the museum dedicated to the Egyptian version of the 6 Day War -- they leave off a few days. The Red Sea coast is beautiful and even though lots of the world's oil transits the water is wonderfully clean and the sea life is incredible. The diving and snorkeling is great.
Advice: choose your taxi driver carefully, some of them are the best guides you will ever hope to meet. The pyramids did this pretty cool light show at dusk and you have got to take the walk into the pyramid. That is just . . . WOW! (Don't lay down in the sarcophagus, there is a reason the place has that ammonia and sweat smell.)
mojaveman
01-05-2010, 18:26
I was fortunate to visit both Jordan and Egypt courtesy of 5th Group in 1989. Jordan has a lot to offer. In Jordan, I really recommend Wadi Rahm area. It is spectacular desert scenery with these gigantic rock formations. You can wander around these outcropping and find hidden pools of deep water. It probably took centuries to collect. The Roman ruins around Amman are spectacular. Never did get to Petra.
Egypt is everything and more. Cairo is amazing with the sook and Mohammad Ali's Mosque and he antiquities Museum (practically a warehouse of Pharaoh stuff). Downtown Cairo, on an island in the middle of the Nile, is a tower -- sort of like the Space Needle. An amazing view. That is an awesome first view of Giza. Don't miss the museum dedicated to the Egyptian version of the 6 Day War -- they leave off a few days. The Red Sea coast is beautiful and even though lots of the world's oil transits the water is wonderfully clean and the sea life is incredible. The diving and snorkeling is great.
Advice: choose your taxi driver carefully, some of them are the best guides you will ever hope to meet. The pyramids did this pretty cool light show at dusk and you have got to take the walk into the pyramid. That is just . . . WOW! (Don't lay down in the sarcophagus, there is a reason the place has that ammonia and sweat smell.)
Interesting post Dozer,
Via TDY with The Legion I got to do Aquaba, Jordan for about four weeks and also Alexandria and Cairo for about the same amount of time. There were a few Americans diving near Aquaba and said it was some of the best they had experienced. I thought that Cairo was interesting but a little rough. Alexandria had some interesting sights to see also. I wouldn't recommend Mogadishu, Somalia to anyone. It was absolutely the worst place I have ever been.
olhamada
01-07-2010, 08:31
Not sure if you consider Lebanon typically "Arab" as there is much European influence, the Christian sector consider themselves more European than Arabian, the history is Phonecian with a lot of Roman influence, and it's placed in EURCOM as far as military strategy is concerned.
That said - GREAT food. Beautiful Meditteranean, snow topped mountains, cedars, Roman ruins, incredible night life (consistently ranked in the top 10 in the world), friendly people, one of the oldest cities in the world (Byblos), casinos, completely renovated and glitzy shopping areas that outdo 5th Avenue and compare well with Paris, and a very Western feel as far as dress and attitude. Very few in Islamic dress - certainly no more than London or Paris. Did I mention drop dead GOURGEOUS women?
It is a very open society with very few restirctions. These people really know how to live.
negative? - Traffic in Beirut sucks.
Egypt is great, between the Pyramids and Saqarra (temple district down south, by Luxor). Jordan has alot of interesting places (Petra and Amman among them).
I was in Egypt in the late 70's (as a tourist) and felt very safe, and again in 87 (having fun in the desert). In Jordan, I found it a bit more difficult to talk to the locals than in Egypt, but still adequately friendly, at least for tourist purposes. In niether place I have any concerns about anything other than getting "tourist prices" at the souk.
Those are not the only options, just the ones I know from personal experience. Check around. I'm sure just about any country in the area has something to offer.
DevilSide
02-17-2010, 18:40
I seen Lebanon on Travel Channel and it seemed VERY different from the rest of the Middle East, very westernized, good night life, place I'd like to visit sometime.