West Bank
With its unmissable green roof, Masjid Jenin Al Kabir (Jenin Great Mosque), was built in 1566 on the orders of Fatima Khatun, then wife of the Governor of…
Must-see attractions in Middle East
Mecca
This indoor amusement park popular with Saudi families is a heady mix of lights, sounds and children's rides. There are also trampolines, arcades, air…
Jeddah
This recreated historic gate marks the northern entrance to Al Balad, and is surrounded by some of the most beautiful historic houses, including the…
Kuwait City
Considerable wealth has been channelled into the nation's religious architecture, with some 60% of Kuwait’s mosques financed and built by individuals,…
Bahrain
A few visible column stumps remain at the site of this small 3rd millennium BC temple. Protected by a crude fence on the side of a busy highway, these can…
Saudi Arabia
Built in 1943 as a summer residence for one of Mecca’s most important merchant families, Beit Kaki is among Taif’s finest buildings. The intricately…
Kashan
The modest Kashani National Museum, which occupies a small pavilion in the grounds of Bagh-e Fin (Fin Garden) showcases some fine examples of Kashani…
Haifa
A few hundred metres east of Paris Sq is the late 18th-century Al Jarina Mosque, topped by an early-20th-century minaret that looks a little like a…
Haifa
The shaded slopes below Gan Ha'Em are home to a compact zoo with free-roaming peacocks, an aviary, a reptile house and habitats for monkeys, meerkats,…
International Center of Bethlehem
Bethlehem
This Lutheran-run centre puts on concerts, plays, films, English-language documentaries, workshops and lectures. There’s also a coffee shop, guesthouse,…
North Coast
Built by Al Jazzar around 1780 and reconstructed in the early 19th century, this Ottoman aqueduct once supplied Akko with water from the Galilee uplands…
Haifa
Serving Haifa's Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, founded in India in 1889, this mosque is on the Mediterranean-facing slopes of Mt Carmel in the palm-lined…
Tehran
The late 19th-century building housing the first public bank in Iran sits at the east end of Imam Khomeini Sq. At the time of writing the brick building…
Tel Aviv
This huge tower, the first skyscraper in Israel opened in 1965, is one of Tel Aviv's major landmarks and a notable part of its skyline. It has permanent…
Tel Aviv
This is the city’s religious beach, where men and women are segregated. Women can use the beach on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday; it’s the men’s turn on…
Jerusalem
With a conical glass roof feature, the Reform Movement’s educational and cultural complex is an arresting feature of Jerusalem's downtown skyline. Part of…
Iran
From a similar era to the BuAli Sina (Avicenna) Mausoleum, but architecturally more bizarre, looking like a giant child's sippy cup. There’s little reason…
West Bank
Al Kebir Mosque (Great Mosque) is built on the site of an earlier Crusader church and Byzantine and Roman basilicas. Bits and pieces of its earlier…
Tel Aviv
Close to the Carmel Market, Jerusalem Beach is at the start of Allenby St and its seafront fountain. Come with beers, music, watermelons and a nargileh…
Kuwait City
This refurbished, simple city gate once used to enter Kuwait's walled city is around a century old. Although the wall has come down, similar gates all…
Tehran
Ringed by perpetually seething traffic, Imam Khomeini Sq is not a place to linger. Little of the grandeur of the Qajar era remains here, although there is…
Kuwait City
This pyramid-shaped mosque is another example of Kuwait's exceptional modern mosque architecture. Non-Muslims can't go inside but are free to take a look…
Bethany-Beyond-the-Jordan
Mary the Egyptian was a ‘reformed sinner’ who lived and died in a two-room house in the 4th century, now a ruin. The trail continues left, up some wooden…
Iran
A steep stairway near Mashahir Sq leads down into what was once a water cistern, though it's now blocked off. Behind, what appears to be a fortress tower…
Mecca
According to a hadith (Prophetic tradition) of Bin Abbas – a cousin of the Prophet and an early Islamic scholar – numerous prophets prayed here. It's…
Abu Dhabi
This iconic 27-floor building, with a 'golf ball' as its crowning glory, makes an excellent landmark for navigating the city's grid system. Built in 2001,…
Tripoli
Gleaming brassware characterises this market street, just outside the cramped central area of the souq. You'll need plenty of tenacity and elbow grease to…
Israel
Dedicated to Israeli and international contemporary art, with an emphasis on political subject matter, this gallery aims to engage as well as entertain…
Bethlehem
A short walk from Manger Sq is the lesser-known Milk Grotto Chapel. Legend has it that Mary and Joseph stopped here to feed the baby during their flight…
Jerusalem
Resting place of an Uzbek prince's daughter, the tiny tomb from 1352 is adorned with carved geometric designs. Little is known of the woman interred here,…
Jordan
Encompassing a range of insects and stuffed animals and birds, as well as rocks from the region, this may not be to everybody’s taste, but it's a good…
Akko
Thought to be the earliest mosque in Akko, the so-called 'Sea Mosque’ dates to the 16th-century, though the current turquoise-domed structure was built in…
Akko
A broad, sandy municipal beach with lifeguards. Though not one of Israel’s best, it’s makes for a pleasant break from exploring Akko’s ancient sights…
Tehran
Under construction since the 1990s, this mammoth mosque, with 230m-tall minarets, will be one of the largest in the world when eventually completed – an…
Iran
Tucked into the western corner of the Shah Abbas Caravanserai is this small museum of stuffed birds, local animals, pinned insects and pickled snakes…
Tehran
This minor attraction within the sprawling Sa’d Abad Museum Complex is one for motorheads with its well-buffed collection of Rolls Royce and Cadillac, and…
Tyre
Part of the Al Bass archaeological site, these aqueducts run parallel to the Roman road and once supplied the city with fresh water from the inland hills.
Tiberias
A sloping pedestrian park featuring sculptures by contemporary Israeli artists; most are made of mosaic tiles or carved from stone. Situated along a…
East Jerusalem
The tent-roofed Tomb of Zechariah, flanked by Ionic columns, is carved out of rock. According to Jewish tradition, this is where the prophet Zechariah is…
Iran
Most accessible of the region’s castle ruins is the eroded grassy lump of Dezhe Sasal, which clings wart-like to a small wooded knoll 400m west of the…
