Category: Middle East

The Jerash Ruins (Gerasa), Jordan

Jerash in northern Jordan is noted for its well-preserved Roman ruins, one of the largest in the world.

Empires in World History

A History of Empires Throughout the World The history of human civilisation has been for the most part a history of empire. The term empire refers to the rule by a particular group in a…

Al-Andalus, Spain: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Ruleain

Al-Andalus: History of Islamic Spain In 711 CE, Muslim armies crossed from North Africa into the Iberian Peninsula and, within a few years, brought most of modern Spain and Portugal under Islamic rule for the next seven centuries. The society they built, Al-Andalus, became renowned for its libraries, medicine, and architecture, reaching its height under […]

Tips for Packing Light

25 Tips to Travel Light Packing light isn’t easy, but if done properly it can bring unheard benefits to your travels. By streamlining your packing down to hand luggage only, you can save a great deal of money on check-in fees, reduce your carbon footprint as a lighter plane uses less fuel, and skip those […]

Responsible Travel Tips

35 Tips for the Responsible Traveller The tourism industry is one of the world’s most powerful, accounting for around 10% of the world’s jobs and GDP, and with nearly 1.2 billion people a year taking international flights. Travelling in a responsible and sustainable manner thus has the potential to reap extensive benefits. Unfortunately, though, many […]

Islam in the Mediterranean

Islam in the Mediterranean During the Early Middle Ages In the early 7th century, a religious and political power emerged that would transform the early medieval Mediterranean world. Although it was not born in the…

Vikings go East

In the early days, Norse traders and raiders came predominately from eastern Scandinavia, Sweden to be exact, using its location and eastern seashore as a stepping stone into Russia. From the islands and waterways heading east, crossing the Baltic Sea, sailing into the Gulf of Finland and there entering the waterways of Russia.

The Phoenicians and Purple Dye

The most expensive and treasured product of the Phoenician civilization was the famous Tyrian purple dye (also known as Phoenician purple, royal purple, imperial purple, or imperial dye) extracted from the mucus of the murex shellfish.

What to pack for holidays

What to Pack for a small group tour holiday can be a challenge. Checked luggage fees, tight airline bins and potentially long waits at the luggage carousel are just a few reasons it pays to pack light with just hand luggage if you can. However, packing for an overseas trip remains a challenge and a […]

Seven Ancient Roads That Connected the World

Ancient Roads Around the World For thousands of years roads have played a vital role in the development of human societies. For trading civilisations, they facilitated the exchange over vast distances of specific goods in…

Discover Cairo: The City Victorious and Mother of the World

Discover Cairo: The City Victorious and Mother of the World Magically chaotic and full of contrasts, Cairo is Egypt’s largest city and its capital. With more than 20 million people in the greater city (one of the largest cities in Africa), it is a bustling and vibrant blend of old and new worlds, teeming with […]

Understanding Petra

Understanding Petra. Travelling through Jordan in the Middle East can be something like a trip through history as you explore the remains of cultures of the ancient world dating back thousands upon thousands of years. Certainly, these days a tour of Jordan is experienced in a little more style than the explorers of yesteryear but […]

Jordan: A Definitive Guide

The desert kingdom of Jordan is a place of wonder and majesty. With a history stretching back thousands of years, past civilisations and peoples have left Jordan with an incredible cultural heritage.

Madaba, Jordan

Madaba, Jordan Madaba is a town in west central Jordan situated on a highland plain 760 metres above sea level, 32 kilometres south of Amman. It is famous today in historical cartography for the Madaba mosaic map, a 6th-century mosaic map of Jerusalem and the Holy Land housed in a Greek Orthodox church, and for […]

Shobak Castle, Jordan

Shobak Castle, Jordan Shobak Castle is the name given to the ruins of a Crusader castle perched on a rocky hill in the modern town of Shobak (or Shoubak) in Jordan. The hill was formerly called Mons Realis, Royal Mountain, which gives the traveller an idea of the castle’s former might and majestic location. The […]

Wadi Rum, Jordan

Wadi Rum, Jordan Wadi Rum in southern Jordan is the largest wadi (valley) in the country. About 60 kilometres east of Aqaba, this valley in the Jordanian desert, where famously Lawrence of Arabia was filmed and where the Bedouin tribes reside, cuts into sandstone and granite, producing a varied red desert landscape and unique scenery. […]

The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea The Dead Sea is a landlocked salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel to the west. It is located 430.5 metres (1,412 feet) below sea level in the Jordan Rift Valley, the lowest point on earth, and receives nearly all its water from its main tributary, the Jordan River. […]

Amman, Jordan

Amman, Jordan Amman is the capital and largest city of Jordan. It is the seat of government and the city where the king resides, and among the most modernised Arab cities. Built on the rolling hills of the Aljun Mountains, Amman is a relatively young city, dating to the late 19th century, though it has […]

Petra, Jordan

Petra (“Rock”), situated between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea, was once the capital of an ancient kingdom of the Nabateans that flourished during Greek and Roman times, its impressive ruins and archaeological wonders located in what is now southwest Jordan.

Mount Nebo, Jordan

Mount Nebo is a revered holy site. According to the Hebrew Scriptures, Moses, who led the Israelites in an exodus out of Egypt across the desert for 40 years.

Elements of Mosque Architecture

The word “mosque” often brings to mind not this simple prayer space, but the ornately decorated monuments built by powerful Islamic rulers.