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Middle East Travel Blogs

Map of Middle East

Most Western definitions of the "Middle East" define the region as "nations in Southwest Asia, from Iran to Egypt". However, North African nations without Asian links, such as Libya, Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco, are increasingly being called North African — as opposed to Middle Eastern. On TravelBlog, we use a slightly narrower definition for The Middle East - the area stretching from the Bosphorus (Turkey) to Afghanistan, and the Red Sea.

In the Western world, the Middle East is generally thought of as a predominantly Islamic Arabic community defined by frequent war and upheaval. Yet the area encompasses many distinct cultural and ethnic groups, and seven main languages. As a result it holds some of the most diverse and vibrant population centers.

Highlights

• Jerusalem
• Hagia Sophia in Istanbul
• Beirut
• The Persian capital of Esfahan

Middle East

Latest Middle East Blog Entries
Middle East Photos

By Born to be Wild
November 10th 2009

Day 2 1st Full Day in Israel Middle East » Israel » Tel Aviv District » Tel Aviv

The day began with breakfast. We passed on the pickled fish and salad, but had excellent eggs, potatoes, fruit, pastry, and coffee. We met our guide, Anat, who met us exactly on time. Following a brief driving tour of Tel Aviv ("new hill") we toured our first historic site. The Ayalon underground munitions factory was a secret ammunition factory which operated during the British Mandate. During a three year period, about 2.25 million shells were manufactured here and which were used during the early days of Israel. The factory existed under a laundry and bakery which were both used by the [View Full Entry]

By KateVoss
November 9th 2009

I'm Staying! Middle East » Israel » Haifa District » Haifa

It's official, as of this morning, I am staying in Haifa for a 2nd semester! I'm quite excited, though a bit scared too. I've been thinking about the decision all weekend and it was kind of driving me insane, so I talked it out with a friend from home this morning and finally it hit me: I do want to stay and study abroad some more. It's too early to come home already; I'd have to leave in only 2 months, meaning my stay would be half over! There's still so much to learn and see and explore, and I'm pumped! [View Full Entry]

By crumblybum21
November 8th 2009

Madaba, birthday celebrations and everyday life Middle East » Jordan » North » Amman

Madaba!
I think Madaba might be a good place for my family to stay when they visit in May.

Whew, it's been a really long time since I've written last! I apologize for that. I don't really know what else I've been busy with other than everyday life. I guess life here is beginning to seem ordinary. Maybe that's a good thing! Anyways, last Friday was a very lazy day. I hung around the house and did basically nothing. It was so nice! Saturday, however, was a little more eventful. It was a bit sad though, because it was the day we took the kittens to the humane society. The Humane Center for Animal Welfare is pretty far from where [View Full Entry]

By pn76
November 7th 2009

If I see one more cucumber or tomato for breakfast I will scream! Middle East » Turkey

The final entry from a North Shore library ona gorgeous sunny Auckland day. I has been a long haul through from Bratislava to Cappadoccia for 9 weeks where I terminate my celebration of post graduate study. The lira, lev and euro are spent, the email addresses are collected, the exchanges I have had with many locals resonate in my memory, and the food will too........please no more tomatoes or cucumbbers for breakfast, I want Asian food! Photos from the final days arr prohibited so use your imagination....heavy snow capped trees and mountains, cold damp cave hotel and wily lcoal faces e [View Full Entry]

By Jastay
November 6th 2009

Retreat to the Negev - entry 6 Middle East » Israel » South District

Tatzpit at Makhtesh Ramon

[PLEASE NOTE: We have not emailed you about all our entries in order not to flood your inboxes, but we have already published 5 entries. Please click HERE to see all the other entries you missed. Happy reading!] Before Matti left us, we enjoyed one last big dinner with the extended Shalev family at Kibbutz Givat Chaim. Matti was born and raised on this kibbutz, and his parents were among the first pioneers to settle here back in the 1920's. As the sun set and we welcomed Shabbat, we paid tribute to his parents and grandparents, w [View Full Entry]

By Lauren Shoestring Levy
November 6th 2009

Urfa back to the West Middle East » Turkey

Bus Service
On the bus they hook you up wıth tea and juıce and cookıes!

I really liked Eastern Turkey...but was fındıng ıt hard to meet other travelers sınce ıt was off season. I have decıded to come back and explore that part of Turkey wıth a frıend at a later date....but for thıs trıp I decıded ıt was tıme to head West (back to where wearıng a t-shırt wasnt makıng a scene and beıng relatıvely blond wouldnt cause people to turn all the way around and stare everywhere you walked). I took a 16 hour bus rıde from east to west and ended up on the Meddıteranıan c [View Full Entry]

By Jastay
November 5th 2009

Holiest of holies - entry 2 Middle East » Israel

The Testa family - where is Gal?

Our first day in Jerusalem started with what we thought would be an innocent run with Matti. I thought, he's twice my age...how fast can he really run? Think no more folks, we ran on and off for 3 hours!! I took up running 10 days before going to Israel and could not believe that Matti who is not a regular runner gave us the running tour of Jerusalem. We saw all the important buildings in town before heading to a bustling market where people were busy shopping for Shabbat dinner. I started my fresh juice kick that day and tried [View Full Entry]

By Jastay
November 5th 2009

Mediterranean Delights - entry 4 Middle East » Israel

Hamin!

You scream, I scream, we all scream for hummus, kabobs and falafel! Rivka (Drora's sister) hosted us for two unforgettable meals, including Hamin. It's a slow cooked dish of meat wrapped in cabbage, vegetables and rice wrapped in grape leaves, hard boiled eggs, zucchini...you name it! It's my favorite and takes a lot of effort to make as each bite size piece is hand wrapped. So, big thanks to Rivka! One thing I did not know before going to Israel is how much hummus is consumed on a daily basis. Outside of breakfast, it is served for every snack and meal [View Full Entry]

By Jastay
November 5th 2009

Frolicking at the border - entry 5 Middle East » Israel

How far to D.C.?

A wise guy (aka Gai Elkin) once told me, "Israel is a small country surrounded by enemies." This was glaringly visible on our trip to the Quneitra Tatzpit, or lookout point. It was a steady feature throughout the trip to stop for tatzpit moments, overlooking cities, religious sites, valleys, wadis, and various other geopolitical and natural vistas. At the edge of the Golan heights, we enjoyed a pit stop at Coffee Anan, just a few meters away from the Quneitra Tatzpit. We saw up close the border with Syria: to our left was Mount Hermon, the highest peak in Israel and [View Full Entry]

By chavofraser
November 4th 2009

Turkey + Bulgaria Middle East » Turkey

Greetings from Transylvania! That's right, I made it to Romania. Or if you really want to look hip and in the know, you might want to refer to it as "Ro-land". But I'm not gonna touch "Ro-land" right now - I'd like to tell you about Turkey and Bulgaria. Since the last post, I visited Istanbul, Cappadocia, Veliko Tarnovo (Bulgaria), and in Romania - Bucharest, Sinaia, and now Brasov. I was in Istanbul for approximately 2 weeks, Cappadocia for 5 days, and Veliko Tornovo for about 3. Here are some pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8 [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » Middle East