Al Mahara > Dubai’s most extravagant restaurant
At a high price, the dim sum is no steal, at Dubai’s most extravagant restaurant!
We are in luck, the submarine is working. Our reservation reconfirmation email, which followed the confirmation email and the briefing on what to wear and how much we would forfeit if more than 30 minutes late for our lunch booking, advised [...]
Out in the desert growing a skyline
The expanding skyline of Doha, the capital of Qatar.
More than 100 buildings and towers are under way in the city, which is aiming for a future as a tourist destination.
Jordan > Caravan to the lost city
There can be few sights left in the world today that have the “wow” factor of the rose city of Petra, in Jordan.
Lost city found… a cameleer at the ancient Al-Khazneh at Petra.
Discovered only about 200 years ago, after having been hidden for more than 2000 years, its spectacular monuments have not been over-exposed to [...]
Touch of Arabian magic in bustling Qatar
Some people say that if you’ve seen one camel, you’ve seen ‘em all. If you think all camels are the same, you should spend some time in the saddle. From Egypt to Tunisia I’ve ridden camels called Ferrari and Sheila, with temperaments as different as a finely-tuned racing-car and a cranky jalopy.
Camels, you see, come [...]
Ski in the desert? It could only happen in Dubai
(Editor’s Note > this post comes from our archives with minor editing changes)
There are no hills and it never snows but Dubai wasn’t going to let details like that stand in the way of its dream of creating a winter wonderland. Check out this season’s hottest new ski resort.
It’s 35 degrees outside and [...]
Gulf States strike it rich again
Desert wonderlands are taking shape in Arabia. The Sheiks have decided that after oil, there is tourism.
From the Burj Al Arab’s Al Muntaha restaurant on the 27th floor, you can see the future of Dubai. Out to the left, protruding from Jumeirah Beach, is the Palm, the tree-shaped development you can see from outer space [...]
Jerusalem lost in translation
Something always gets lost in translation, but usually not an entire city!
“Jerusalem. There is no such city!” the Jerusalem Municipality said in the English-language version of a sightseeing brochure it had published originally in Hebrew.
The correct translation should have been: “Jerusalem. There is no city like it!”. Carrying a photograph of the brochure, Israel’s Maariv [...]
Shop till you drop in Dubai > updated
Travellers fond of a spot of retail therapy will be in their element at this year’s Shopping Festival in Dubai.
It’s the time for you to fasten your seat belts as Dubai is warming up to have you at its huge, sprawling Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF), a period of non-stop festivities for 32 days from January [...]
Temples at the sacred source
I am in northeastern Israel, just one mile from the Lebanese border, three from the Syrian, on the slopes of Mount Hermon, the 9,286-foot, snowcapped peak that dominates the Golan Heights.
Near the base of Hermon is a ledge of soft limestone from which flows the Dan, named for the seventh tribe of ancient Israel. It [...]
