Aside from the well-known destinations of Israel and Egypt, the Middle East is a region largely unexplored by American tourists. Similarly, much of North Africa, which overlaps part of the Middle East (and is tied to it by a common religion), draws relatively little attention.
But if the perception-and, sometimes, the reality-of danger ever were to go away, intrepid travelers would find a lot to see in the Middle East and North Africa.
Here is a country-by-country roundup of major attractions in these countries beyond Israel and Egypt. Included, first, are all-natural and man-made sites on the World Heritage List as compiled by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); these sites were chosen for their “outstanding, universal value from the aesthetic, historical, cultural, artistic or scientific point of view.” Also listed are some “additional attractions,” plus abbreviated summaries of current advisories on travel from the U.S. State Department.
ALGERIA
– Al Qal’a of Beni Hammad: Remains of fine palaces and Great Mosque; Roman remains include mosaic of Amphritite.
– Tassili n’Ajjer: High-desert area; rock paintings dating from 6th Century B.C.
– M’zab Valley: Five desert oasis villages occupied by the Mozabites, an Islamic sect that broke away from the mainstream in the 11th Century.
– Djemila: Old Roman city with excellent museum of mosaics found on site.
– Tipasa: Ruins of Phoenician and Roman trading post.
– Timgad: Ruins of old Roman town preserved in desert sands; Arch of Trajan.
– Casbah of Algeria: The old town of Algiers.
Additional attractions: Constantine (Great Ravine, Roman remains); Gafsa Oasis; Tlemcen (Great Mosque, Sidi Bel Hassan Museum); Tebessa (Arch of Caracalla, Basilica of St. Crispina); Grand Erg Occidental and Grand Erg Oriental (“sand seas”).
State Department update: Warning against travel for all U.S. citizens, though U.S. passports are valid; since September of 1993 a terrorist campaign against foreigners has resulted in the deaths of dozens of foreigners.
GULF STATES
– Bahla Fort: In Oman.
– Archeological sites of Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn: In Oman.
Additional attractions: Bahrain (National Museum, Heritage Centre, Portugese fort of Qal’at Al-Bahrain, burial mounds at A’ali); Kuwait (Kuwait City, archeological sites on Failaka Island); Oman (Mutrah souk, port/capital city of Muscat including Sultan’s Armed Forces Museum); Qatar (Doha Fort); United Arab Emirates (beaches, desert safaris, camel racing, Hajar Mountains, Al-Ain and Buraimi oases, scenery near Fujairah).
State Department update: Bahrain (crime generally not a problem for travelers); Kuwait (day-to-day life has returned to normal; however, travel to or near the Iraq-Kuwaiti border is extremely hazardous, and unexploded bombs, mines, booby traps and other items remain in open areas and beaches; crime rate is moderate though physical and verbal harassment of women is a continuing problem); Oman (incidence of street crime is low); Qatar (crime generally not a problem for travelers); United Arab Emirates (crime generally not a problem for travelers).
IRAN
– Chogha Zambil, Susa: The world’s best-preserved ziggurat (pyramidal temple); about 3,200 years old.
– Emam Mosque, Esfahan: Magnificent domed mosque covered in pale blue tiles; completed in 1638.
– Persepolis: Palace complex ruins includes Palace of Darius and the Winged-Bull Doorway of Xerxes; built by Darius the Great in 4th Century B.C.; burned by Alexander the Great in 323 B.C.
Additional attractions: Tehran (best museums, restaurants, shopping); Mashhad (shrine of Emam Reza); Bam (medieval citadel); Bisotun (bas-reliefs hewn from cliff); Caspian Sea.
State Department update: Warning against travel for all U.S. citizens, though U.S. passports are valid.
IRAQ
– Al-Hadhr: Ruins of city that flourished 2,000 years ago include statue of Hercules, Temple of the Sun.
Additional attractions: Babylon (site of Hanging Gardens, one of the long-since destroyed Seven Wonders of the Ancient World); Baghdad (museums and mosques); Arch of Ctesiphon; Ur (ruins dating from 4000 B.C.)
State Department update: Warning against travel for all U.S. citizens; U.S. passports are not valid unless specifically endorsed by the U.S. government.
JORDAN
– Petra: Ruined capital from pre-Roman times; palaces, temples, tombs, etc., carved into rock cliffs; one of the top attractions in the Middle East.
– Qasar Amra: Best preserved of the desert castles outside Amman.
Additional attractions: Amman (archeological ruins dating back to 3000 B.C.); Jerash (Roman city dating from 332 B.C.); Dead Sea; Aqaba (beach resorts, diving sites); Wadi Rum (desert scenery; Lawrence of Arabia spent time here-and much of his film bio was shot here).
State Department update: Crime generally not a serious problem for travelers, though petty crime is prevalent in some tourist areas of Amman; risk of violence during demonstrations, other large public gatherings or in refugee camps; no specific terrorist threats to U.S. citizens or U.S. targets, but terrorism remains a concern.
LEBANON
– Anjar: Mystery town uncovered in the early 1950s.
– Baalbek: Roman ruins, including Temple of Jupiter with six remaining colossal columns.
– Byblos: One of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world; occupied for some 7,000 years, though ruins date “only” from about 3000 B.C.
– Tyre: Most important center of the eastern Mediterranean during 10th to 6th Centuries B.C.; Roman ruins; alphabet supposedly invented here.
Additional attractions: Beirut (much of the city is being restored); beach and mountain resorts; Tripoly (Old City, citadel, mosques, Lion Tower); Cedars of Bcharre (last remaining forest of biblical cedars); Saida (Old City, Great Mosque, Sea Castle); Chouf Mountains (Palace of Beiteddine).
State Department update: Warning against travel for all U.S. citizens (“The situation in Lebanon is so dangerous that no U.S citizen can be considered safe from terrorist acts”); U.S. passports not valid for travel unless special validation has been obtained; U.S. citizens advised not to board flights that stop in Beirut.
LIBYA
– Archeological site of Leptis Magna: Roman city on Mediterranean coast; ruins of baths, forums and basilica from 1st and 2nd Centuries A.D.
– Archeological site of Sabratha: Well-preserved ancient city (buried by sand for 1,000 years).
– Archeological site of Cyrene: Roman city from 7th Century B.C.; Sacred Way leads to Temple of Apollo with tombs honeycombing the cliffs.
– Rock-art sites of Tadrat Acacus: Rock paintings and engravings dating from 40 to 50 Centuries B.C.
– Old Town of Ghadames: Ruins of Roman, Christian and Arab civilizations.
Additional attractions: Tripoli (capital); Libyan Desert; beaches; numerous other archeological sites.
State Department update: Warning against travel for all U.S. citizens; U.S. passports not valid unless special validation has been obtained.
MOROCCO
– Medina of Fez: Native quarter of oldest imperial city of Morocco.
– Medina of Marrakesh: One of the most important artistic and cultural centers of Islamic world.
– Kaz of Ait-Ben-Haddou: Exotic and well-preserved casbah; used in filming of “Lawrence of Arabia.”
Additional attractions: Tangier (medina, casbah); Ceuta and Melilla (Spanish enclaves); Rabat (capital, archeological museum, Tower of Hassan); Casablanca (cosmopolitan Muslim city); Meknes (Moulay Idriss’ palace); Volubilis (Roman ruins); Atlas Mountains (trekking).
State Department update: Crime is moderately high in urban areas; some travelers have been befriended by persons of various nationalities who have offered the travelers food, drink or cigarettes that are drugged; harassment of tourists by unemployed Moroccans trying to be guides is a common problem; travel to the Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) is not considered safe.
SAUDI ARABIA
– There are no UNESCO World Historic sites in Saudi Arabia.
Additional attractions: Madain Salah (rock tombs); the largest sand desert in the world; Mecca (closed to non-Muslims); Riyadh (capital city with museum, Dir’aiyah archeological site); Jeddah (old city, souks); Asir National Park (mountains, camping); Dharan (ARAMCO oil exhibit).
State Department update: The country does not issue visas for tourism.
SYRIA
– Ancient city of Damascus: Omayyad Mosque (built about A.D. 700), winding alleys of medieval city, National Museum; Damascus claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world (since 5000 B.C.).
– Ancient city of Bosra: Roman and Christian ruins in city on old caravan road to Mecca.
– Site of Palmyra: Temple of Bel, a Greco-Roman temple dating from the 2nd Century.
– Ancient city of Aleppo: Souqs, mosques and museums all overseen by the Citadel, surrounded by a moat.
Additional attractions: Crac des Chevaliers (Crusader castle); Dua-Europas (oldest Christian church in Syria from A.D. 232, synagogue dating to A.D. 244); Mari (throne room of Zimrilm’s Palace); Euphrates River.
State Department update: Crime generally not a serious problem for travelers.
TUNISIA
– Medina of Tunis: Porte de France gate, Great Mosque, souks, patricians houses.
– Site of Carthage: Baths of Antonius, Palais de Carthage, Christian basilicas, old Roman houses and villas; Carthage Museum.
– Amphitheater of Al-Jem: Third-largest Roman colosseum in the world.
– Ichkeul National Park: Hard-to-reach, wildlife-rich park on Lake Ichkeul and Jebel Ichkeul mountain.
– Punic town of Kerkuane and its necropolis: Finds include 50 tombs of children.
– Medina of Sousse: An important Phoenician town predating Carthage.
– Kairouan: One of the most historic towns in Islam; Great Mosque built in A.D. 836.
Additional attractions: Tunis (Bardo Museum with one of the best collections of Roman mosaics); Dougga (Roman theater, Temple of Caelestis); Hara Saghira on the island of Jerba (El Ghriba synagogue); Cap Bon Peninsula (beach resorts); Bulla Regia (ruins of Roman “underground” houses).
State Department update: Crime rate moderate in urban areas; criminals have targeted tourists for thefts, pickpocketing and scams, though crimes are usually non-confrontational; presence of headquarters of the Palestinian Liberation Organization makes the possibility of terrorism a concern, though there have been no instances of terrorist attacks against U.S. citizens or facilities; government takes many security measures for benefit of tourists.
TURKEY (IN ASIA)
– Goreme National Park and the rock sites of Cappadocia: Churches and dwellings built in 11th and 12th Centuries A.D. into unusual rock formations.
– Great Mosque and Hospital of Divrigi: Beautifully restored buildings from A.D. 1228.
– Hattushash: Capital of the Hittite empire, founded in 3000 B.C.
– Nemrut Dagi: Mountain with memorial sanctuary at summit.
– Xanthos-Letoon: Roman theater, Lycian pillar tombs, sacred pool of goddess Leto.
– Hierapolis-Pamukkale: Roman ruins, thermal baths.
Additional attractions: Ankara (capital, Mausoleum of Ataturk); Bergama (ruins of Acropolis); beaches; Gallipoli (World War I battlegrounds, graves); Troy (ancient ruins); Ephesus (Roman ruins, center of early Christianity); Bodrum (site of the long-since destroyed Mausoleum, tomb of King Mausolus and one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World); Mt. Ararat (legendary resting place of Noah’s Ark).
State Department update: For at least 10 years, urban and rural acts of terrorism throughout Turkey have caused injury and loss of life to government officials and civilians, including some foreign tourists; one terrorist group has targeted tourist sites and facilities in western Turkey in an effort to inflict economic harm by discouraging tourism; some crime against tourists, including pickpocketing, purse snatching and mugging.
YEMEN
– Old City of Shibam: Called, in various guidebooks, either the “Chicago of the Desert” or the “Manhattan of the Desert” for its 500 tower houses five to seven stories high.
– Old City of Sana’a: Area in which Queen of Sheba supposedly lived.
– The historic town (Medina) of Zabid: Site of famed Islamic university (the word “algebra” comes from here) and 86 mosques.
Additional attractions: Shihira (mountain fortress village); Ma’rib (capital of ancient kingdom of Saba, ancient dams); Aden (Tanks of Aden, National Museum).
State Department update: Conditions in the six southern provinces, including areas in and around Aden, remain unsettled due to the recent end of Yemen’s civil war; ground travel within Yemen can be dangerous because of tribal disputes that have sometimes led to kidnapping of Westerners, including Americans; armed hijackings of vehicles, accompanied in some instances by violence, occur in many parts of the country.
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For complete (recorded) State Department travel information, call 202-647-5225; to access the Consular Affairs (computer) Bulletin Boards, call 202-647-9225; for information by fax, call 202-647-3000 from your fax machine.
