Middle East Travel

When Jamie Maslin decides to hitchhike the entire length of the Silk Road, he decides to travel first and plan later. Then, unexpectedly stranded in Iran - a country he's only read about in newspapers - he wonders whether he'll make it out alive. After crossing the border on foot from Turkey, Maslin finds himself suddenly plunged into the subversive, contradictory world of Iranian subculture, where he is embraced by locals who are happy to show him the true Iran as they see it....

Prize-winning author Michael J. Totten returns with a masterpiece of travel writing and history in this journey through 13 nations - all but two formerly communist - just beyond the edge of the West where few casual travelers venture. His work as an independent foreign correspondent takes him deep into the field beyond the sensational headlines, from his hilariously miserable road trip with his best friend to Iraq to the Wild West of Albania, the most bizarre country in Europe; from the killing fields in Bosnia and Kosovo to a Romania haunted by the ghosts of its communist past.

This book is a practical map that will help you understand the people and demystify the culture of the Arab world - the beliefs, values and social structures that determine how business is conducted and how things are done. This is not a sterile list of dos and don'ts. This book will help you develop a deeper knowledge and understanding of the motivators of behavior. It will also widen your perspective and arm you with the knowledge that will enable you to float with ease and confidence from one situation to the other.

Renowned Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson leads us through space as much as time: From the river's mystical sources (the Blue Nile which rises in Ethiopia, and the White Nile coursing from majestic Lake Victoria); to Thebes, with its Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, and Luxor Temple; the fertile Delta; Giza, home of the Great Pyramid, the sole surviving Wonder of the Ancient World; and finally, to the pulsating capital city of Cairo, where the Arab Spring erupted on the bridges over the Nile.

Pamela Olson, a small town girl from eastern Oklahoma, had what she always wanted: a physics degree from Stanford University. But instead of feeling excited for what came next, she felt consumed by dread and confusion. This irresistible memoir chronicles her journey from aimless ex-bartender to Ramallah-based journalist and foreign press coordinator for a Palestinian presidential candidate.

For a period of seven years, Wilfred Thesiger canoed through the marshes at the confluence of Iraq's Tigris and Euphrates rivers, living among the native Madan tribes and their islands made of reeds. Now extinct, their ancient way of life is speculated to have existed for 5,000 years, going back to the days of ancient Sumer, and possessed a unique culture found nowhere else in the Middle East. Thesiger documents the tribes' conflicts, traditions, cuisine, relationships, justice systems, and art, and reveals how they built their unique water-borne society

Are you excited about planning your next trip? Do you want an edible experience? Would you like some culinary guidance from a local? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this Eat Like a Local book is for you.

Greater Than a Tourist—Istanbul, Turkey by Daiana M. Altinay offers the inside scoop on Istanbul. Most travel books tell you how to travel like a tourist. Although there is nothing wrong with that, as part of the Greater Than a Tourist series, this book will give you travel tips from someone who has lived at your next travel destination.

An Oxford-educated scholar of the Middle East and a former foreign correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, Hugh Pope lived and worked in two dozen countries throughout the region. Following in the footsteps of Sir Richard Burton and Lawrence of Arabia, Hugh Pope's explorations of the people, politics, religion, and culture of Islamic nations shows there is no such thing as a monolithic "Muslim World".

Two retired American high school teachers, former Peace Corps Volunteers, have sailed their 35 foot Nauticat sailboat from the US to the Caribbean, across the Atlantic, through the Mediterranean to Turkey. We begin this third book of the trilogy in 2008, with again launching our 35 foot sailboat Tapestry. We, along with 80 other boats, explore the Turkish Coast, Cyprus, and Syria, before the storm. Imagine Le Krak des Cehvaliers, a huge crusader castle, and the oasis of Palmyra, before the uprising and before they were vandalized, nearly destroyed.

In this Sam's Travel Guide on Egypt, you will find all the information you NEED to know about: Things you MUST know about Egypt. Best places to visit in Egypt. Best cities to visit in Egypt. Best beaches in Egypt....

Ida Pfeiffer (1797 – 1858) ist eine absolute Ausnahmeerscheinung im Genre der Reiseliteratur – und ihr Leben eine Verfilmung wert! Zunächst fügte sie sich den "guten Sitten", heiratete einen Mann, den sie nicht liebte, bekam zwei Söhne. So weit, so normal. Dann starb ihr Mann – und auch ihre Mutter. Nachdem die Söhne eigene Karrieren begonnen hatten, waren die Zeiten der Pflichterfüllung für Ida Pfeiffer vorbei: Sie wollte reisen! Und das tat sie. Ganz allein fuhr sie in neun Monaten von Wien nach Konstantinopel, dann Beirut, Jerusalem, zum Toten Meer, nach Damaskus, Baalbek, Alexandria und Kairo.

Most visitors to Israel face an important task: crossing the highlights off their list. After guiding countless tours through the highlights, Shakked realized that they can never replace the excitement of discovering a hidden gem. In her book Secret Israel, Shakked reveals the Israel that she knows and loves, the one most people never get to see. Hidden sites off the beaten path are presented to the listener from a personal angle of a 10th-generation native Israeli Jewess with a spicy personality, guaranteeing a fun listen.

A Traveling Grandma's Guide to Israel: Adventures, Wit, and Wisdom is an inspiring and heartwarming account of a grandma’s many journeys throughout Israel for nearly forty years. From Joppa/Tel Aviv through Galilee, Jerusalem, the Negev, the Red Sea, and most points in between, Topliff presents a tapestry of Israel’s history and culture with insight and humor.

This memoir tells the story of an American English teacher working in a new university in Palestine during a time of political strife and upheaval. Cynthia Yoder describes the joys of life in Palestine, against the backdrop of military occupation and the second intifada, which began soon after she arrived in 2000. Rather than give political analysis, the book gives glimpses into the lives of the Palestinian people the author met. Yoder details the effects of the occupation and describes her journey as a pacifist working amidst violence.

Dubai is a city in the Arabain Desert, full of ambition with sights to behold, from the tallest building in the world, the biggest mega malls to keep even the keenest shoppers never thirsting for more, and huge manmade islands like the world has never seen. If you’ve never visited this "City of Gold", as it is often referred to, then you seriously need to consider doing so, and I’ve compiled 101 reasons in this guide that should hopefully persuade you to do so.

A professional reference for Tour Leaders, Pastors, and laymen – for anyone and everyone. Basically, any person with a vision to bring a group to Israel, and yet has no idea where to start and what to do? This book is for you – Touring the Holy Land. Touring the Holy Land is a simple listen that explains from A to Z all the steps on how to prepare a group visiting Israel. This book will equip you with the right information on how to understand all the legal, ethical, and even cultural considerations.

With razor-sharp wit and insight, intrepid journalist Tony Horwitz gets beyond solemn newspaper headlines and romantic myths of Arabia to offer startling close-ups of a volatile region few Westerners understand. His quest for hot stories takes him from the tribal wilds of Yemen to the shell-pocked shores of Lebanon; from the malarial sands of the Sudan to the eerie souks of Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, a land so secretive that even street maps and weather reports are banned.

Es ist offiziell verboten. Trotzdem reist Stephan Orth als Couchsurfer kreuz und quer durch den Iran, schläft auf Dutzenden von Perserteppichen, erlebt irrwitzige Abenteuer - und lernt dabei ein Land kennen, das so gar nicht zum Bild des Schurkenstaates passt. Denn die Iraner sind nicht nur Weltmeister in Sachen Gastfreundschaft, sondern auch darin, den Mullahs ein Schnippchen zu schlagen. Ob beim Rotwein-Besäufnis mit einem persischen Prinzen oder bei einem Wohnzimmer-Date mit versammelter Großfamilie, im stinkenden Schmugglerbus oder im rasenden Kleinwagen.

Damaskus – Hauptstadt Syriens, eine der ältesten bewohnten Städte der Welt und außerdem Geburtsstadt von Autor Rafik Schami. Gemeinsam mit seiner Schwester Marie Fadel lädt er ein zu einer literarischen Reise in die orientalische Stadt. Neben der Geschichte und Kultur der uralten Metropole bringt uns das Autorenduo die kulinarischen Welten der Stadt näher.