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Jordan is the Middle Eastern country most Western travellers approach with the least expectation and leave with the most enthusiasm. It is small (roughly the size of Indiana), almost entirely desert, with very few natural resources — and it contains ...
Most people planning a Middle East trip think of Dubai's towers or Jordan's Petra. Far fewer think of Oman — and that's one of the things that makes Oman so extraordinary. It's a country that hasn't been over-explained, over-touristed, or turned into...
***The advice of the UK FCDO, US State Department, and most European foreign ministries as of May 2026 is Level 4 "Do Not Travel" for Lebanon.*** Lebanon entered 2026 in a way that its residents describe as "the new normal" which is to say, be...
If you're planning a trip to Israel and wondering whether it's actually feasible right now — the answer is: it depends on where you're going and what your government recommends. As of April 2026, the situation is complex but not uniformly dangerous. ...
Kuwait is a small, oil-rich emirate at the northwestern tip of the Persian Gulf — bordered by Iraq to the north and Saudi Arabia to the south. With a population of around 4.8 million (of whom roughly 70% are expatriates), Kuwait is one of the world's...
After you've read the list of what you can't do in Qatar, here's the good news: Qatar has invested billions of dollars in creating extraordinary things to see and do. It's a genuinely surprising destination for curious travelers. Visit the Museum ...
Qatar has made remarkable efforts to welcome international visitors — particularly during the 2022 FIFA World Cup and beyond. But it remains a conservative Islamic monarchy with strict laws that are genuinely enforced. Here's an honest, practical gui...
At an elevation of 2,300 metres above sea level and with a recorded history stretching back over two and a half millennia, Sana'a is among the most remarkable capital cities in the world. It is the capital of Yemen — a country that sits at the southw...
Syria was, before 2011, one of the most underrated travel destinations in the Middle East: a country of extraordinary ancient cities, exceptional food, and some of the most significant historical sites on earth. The civil war that began in 2011 devas...
Before traveling to the Middle East, safety is the first question most people ask — and for Oman, the answer is genuinely reassuring. The Global Peace Index regularly places Oman among the top 10% safest countries in the world. Crime against tourists...
Here's the paradox of traveling to Iran as an American: the country itself is incredibly cheap, but getting there is expensive. Iran's currency has lost enormous value against the dollar due to sanctions and inflation, which means your money goes abs...
The short answer: yes, people absolutely still travel to Iran — and the numbers might surprise you. Before COVID-19, Iran was receiving over 8 million international visitors per year. While the pandemic and geopolitical tensions reduced those numbers...
The state of Hawaii has the cleanest air of any state in the United States, and the reason is simple: it's 2,400 miles from the nearest continent. Why the Hawaiian Islands Win Air quality is measured by the Air Quality Index (AQI), which tracks...
While second citizenship is typically acquired by birth or through length of residence, a small number of countries have changed their policies to offer citizenship in exchange for investment or residency. Here are three of the most accessible and cr...
Around 60 miles, or 90 kilometers, southeast of Paris, the medieval town of Provins is situated on the plains of Seine-et-Marne. Provins is a UNESCO World Heritage site with fortified walls and gates, round towers, and even medieval festivals and fai...
Laramie is 7,165 feet (about 2,200 meters) above sea level in southeastern Wyoming, with the Laramie Mountains to the east, and the Medicine Bow Mountain Range to the west. Why People Came to Laramie in the 1940s The Union Pacific Railroad ...
If you're considering travel to Iran as an American, you need to understand the political landscape because sanctions, diplomatic relations, and political tensions directly affect your ability to travel, spend money, and stay safe. Travel Advisory...
Morocco is a compelling destination for business travel — a modern, connected economy with a sophisticated hospitality infrastructure. But it helps to understand the local business culture before you land. Here's a practical guide for anyone travelin...
If someone showed you a picture of Socotra Island without telling you where it was, you would probably think it was from a movie set. The trees look like enormous upside-down mushrooms, and some of them even bleed dark red sap if you cut them. An...
If you have spent any time traveling outside the United States, you have probably noticed something interesting. People will tell you — sometimes to your face, always politely, occasionally with a beer in hand — that they love Americans but canno...
Cyprus is the third-largest island in the Mediterranean, located at its eastern end — closer to Beirut than to Athens, closer to Turkey than to Italy, but very much a European Union country with European standards of infrastructure, food, and safe...
Michigan's largest city has been the subject of two opposite narratives for the past decade: one says Detroit is a dangerous, abandoned city; the other says it's America's greatest urban revival story. The truth, as of 2026, is more nuanced than ei...
Connecticut is the third smallest US state by area and, measured by median household income and GDP per capita, historically one of the wealthiest. It sits between New York City and Boston, a geography that has always defined what it is: a sophistica...
Uzbekistan is one of the most architecturally extraordinary countries on earth. The Silk Road cities that pass through it — Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva — were, for centuries, among the most important cities in the world: hubs of commerce, Islamic schol...
Nepal's monkeys are not a wildlife sighting — they are a participant in daily Nepali life. In Kathmandu Valley and throughout the hills, rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) move through temples, rooftops, and forest edges as naturally as the forest does...
Armenia adopted Christianity as its state religion in 301 AD — over a decade before the Roman Empire. That fact is a useful introduction to what kind of country this is: ancient in a way that isn't metaphorical, shaped by history with a weight that's...
Oslo is a capital city on its own terms — not trying to compete with London or Paris, but increasingly confident in what it does uniquely well. At roughly 700,000 people, it combines genuine city amenities with remarkable proximity to nature: you can...
The question "Are modern Greeks the same people as the ancient Greeks?" has been asked — and answered differently — by Byzantine theologians, Ottoman administrators, 19th-century European Romantics, German philologists, Greek nationalists, and modern...
Nigeria doesn't ease you in gently. Lagos in particular arrives at full volume — traffic that defies description, energy you can feel physically, commerce happening in every available square metre, and human warmth that catches most visitors complete...
Where you stay in Cuba shapes your entire experience. The island has two distinct accommodation worlds: government-owned hotels (often overpriced and underwhelming) and casas particulares (private homestays that are Cuba's secret weapon). This guide ...