Middle East & North Africa

On the edge of the Great Sand Sea, Western Desert, Egypt

The Middle East has always been an area that has attracted us, despite it not being the best region for eating and drinking (though cheap Omani restaurants deserve an honourable mention). I like the people, I like desert scenery, a like a dry climate and I like heat. The Second Gulf War (fraudulently started in 2003 and the destabilising effects still linger) and the Arab Spring (fine ideals but little tangible results beyond the hell that is Syria) have curtailed our visits, but we have still found places to go and enjoy, most recently Jordan and Oman.

This page, then, is a round up of our travels in Jordan, Oman, Egypt, Iran and Sudan.

Jordan 2019

Jordan remains an oasis of stability in a troubled region. It is an expensive country to visit, the food is not great and alcohol, when you can find it is costs almost as much as printing ink, but all that is secondary. They have some of the world's best desert scenery, several crusader castles, the Dead Sea and the glories of Petra and Jerash, best of all the people are open and welcoming.

Jordan

Amman	07/11/2019	The Royal Automobile Museum, The King Abdullah I Mosque, The Citadel, The Roman Theatre, Lunch of Mezes, Thoughts about the incident in Jerash. Extraordinarily expensive drinks and bar snacks
Ajloun and Jerash	08/11/2019	Driving from Amman to Ajloun, Ajloun Castle, Olive sellers, The Roman city of Gerasa, Return to Amman
Shobak Castle and the Back Trail to Petra	09/11/2019	Driving south from Amman, Shobak Castle, Little Petra, a desert walk on the 'Back Trail to Petra', The 'Monastery', Descent into Petra
Petra	10/11/2019	Petra - enough said
Wadi Rum	11/11/2019	Drive to Wadi Rum, A Toyota pick-up around the Wadi, The Martian and Matt Damon, The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, Nabataean petroglyphs, TE Lawrence and the Arab Rebellion, Sunset in the Desert, A Zarb dinner
Swimming in the Dead Sea	12/11/2019	Drive to Aqaba, North up Wadi Arabah, The Dead Sea, Floating in the Dead Sea

Mezes in Amman

Olive stall, near Jerash

Temple of Artemis, Gerasa

On the Back Trail to Petra

Nabataean Security Guards, Petra

Seven Pillars of Wisdom, Wadi Rum

Floating in the Dead Sea

Jordan is also labelled in

A Collection of Arcs de Triomphe (none of them in Paris) Part 1: Pre 1900	19/08/2020	The Jordanian contribution to this collection is Hadrian's Arch in the Roman city of Gerasa
Praying Facing East: The Variety of Mosques Part 3	20/07/2020	One of three posts about the finest of the many mosques we have been privileged to visit. Mecca is south of Jordan, so Jordanians actually pray facing south, but to balance up the posts I am leaning rather heavily on Mecca being just east of due south from Amman. The Jordanian contribution is the very modern and very beautiful King Abdullah I mosque in Amman.n
Old Stones: The Four Finest Piles of Old Stones the World has to Offer (possibly)	13/04/2023	A post covering our visits to Persepolis, the Pyramids, the Taj Mahal and Jordan's contribution, Petra

Oman 2018

At the time of our visit, oil rich Oman was ruled by the aging Sultan Qaboos, who had clearly ensured that all citizens had benefitted from the country's riches. He died without issue in January 2020 having named his cousin Haitham bin Tariq as his successor. The transfer of power went smoothly.

Oman

Muscat, an Unusual Capital	14/11/2018	Arrival and first impressions, The Sultan's yachts and Muttrah Souk, 'Old' Muscat, Bait Al Zubair Museum, Al Alam Palace, Sunset cruise, The 'Sultan's Visiting Book', The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque
Sur and Turtles	15/11/2018	Muscat to the Bimmah Sink Hole, The Bimmah Sink Hole, Wadi Shab, Lunch in Sur, Slavery and Dhows, To Ras al Hadd, Ras al Jinz Turtle Sanctuary, a turtle lays her eggs
Wadi Bani Khalid and the Wahiba Sands	16/11/2018	Leaving Ras al Hadd, Through Sur and into the interior, Wadi Bani Khalid, Bidiyah, into the Wahiba Sands, 1,000 Night's Camp, Arabian Oryx.
Ibra, Birkat al-Mawz and the Jebel Akhdar	17/11/2018	Leaving the Wahiba Sands, Ibra Souk, Old Ibra, Camel for Lunch, Birkat Al-Mawz, dates and the Falaj Al-Katmeen, The Road up the Jebel Akhdar, mountain villages
Nizwa	18/11/2018	The descent to Nizwa and some history, Nizwa, Nizwa souk, date tasting, Nizwa Fort, A Turkish lunch, Sybaritic pleasures in the Golden Tulip Hotel
Bahla, Jabreen, al Hamra and the Jebel Shams	19/11/2018	Bahla, a pottery and a fort, Jabreen Castle, Restored houses in al Hamra, the road up the Jebel Shams, a walk on the Mountain
Misfat Al Abriyyin, Wadi Bani Awf and Nakhl	20/11/2018	Descending the Jebel Shams, Misfat al Abriyyin, 50Km off-road along Wadi Bani Auf, Nakhl Fort, Ain a'Thawwarah Hot Spring, Return to Muscat, a flight to Salalah.
Salalah and the South Coast	21/11/2018	Taqah and its fort, Wadi Darbat, Kohr Rori and the ancient city of Sumharam, Mirbat, The Tomb of Muhammed Bin Ali, dhow repairs and fishing, the Tomb of Job, Mughsayl Beach, Camel meat and blowholes, A fish for dinner in Salalah
Salalah, the City	22/11/2018	The Salalah Clock Tower, The Sultan Qaboos Mosque, Al Hosn Palace, Frankincense souk, Turkish lunch and a free afternoon in Salalah,
To the Edge of the Empty Quarter	23/11/2018	Khareef and the Mystery of the Empty Hotel, To Thumrait and beyond, The ruins at Shisr and the lost city of Iram, Into the Empty Quarter, climbing a dune, black camels, curry in Thumrait, frankincense orchard, The Salalah Museum, Going home

Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque

Lunch in Sur

Dune Bashing in the Wahiba Sands

Date Palms, Birkat Al-Mawz

Nizwa Fort

Driving up the Jebel Shams

Misfat Al Abriyyin

Dhows on the beach, Mirbat

Frankincense Souk, Salalah

Frankincense Tree

The Empty Quarter, empty but for our car

Oman is also labelled in

Lost and Forgotten - Things Big and Little that Disappeared for Centuries	27/02/2020	A collection of artefacts, buildings and cities that disappeared into the groiund, jungle or sand for several centuries before being refound. The Omani contribution is the first century BCE Frankincense trading port of Sumharam
Praying Facing East: The Variety of Mosques Part 3	20/07/2020	One of three posts about the finest of the many mosques we have been privileged to visit. Mecca is west of Oman, and Omanis actually pray facing west, but to balance up the posts I have cheated. The Omani contributions are the huge, modern and very beautiful Sultan Qaboos mosque in Amman, and a tiny and very old mosque in the southern town of Mirbat.

Egypt

We have visited Egypt several times but not since the 26th of July 2010 when I started this blog. There are, however 2 posts concerning our visit to Cairo and Alexandria in early July 2010 and 5 more labelled'Egypt.'

Egypt

When Aunty Edith Went to Alexandria	01/02/2010	Text only. Some thoughts about travel blogging and unconscious racism inspired by my Aunty Edith. A women, now long dead (and with a different name) whom I always found a little 'difficult'.
Alexandria	28/01/2011	Thoughts about my first visit to Egypt as a schoolboy in 1966, Montazah and the Haramlik Palace, the Alexandria Musuem, the Roman Theatre, Catacombs, Pompey's Column, The Great Library, The Pharos, Fish Market restaurant, the Corniche
A Shark in the Red Sea - My Brush with Death	28/01/11	Text only. A true story from 1990. Spoiler alert: I survived
Cairo Before the Revolution (which might as well have never happened)	08/02/11	Written during the Arab Spring and subsequnetly updated, but largely about our 2010 visit. The Citadel, Ibn Tulun Mosque, Gayer-Anderson House, Coptic Quarter, Dining in Cairo, Kushari and fuul.
Out to Lunch in Corsica, Tamil Nadu and the Western Desert	29/02/12	Three lunches we have enjoyed at various times in various places. The Egyptian contribution is lunch in Cleopatra's Restaurant, Bawiti, in the Bahariya Oasis, Western Desert, in Nov 2009
Three Desert Journeys	24/06/13	The Egyptian journey is across the sand between the Bahariya and Siwa Oases, Western Desert Nov 2009
November and where to Spend it	23/11/14	A list of places I would rather be in November. The Egyptian contribution is again from the Western Desert 2009, The Farafra, Siwa and Kharga Oases