“Exploring the Enchanting Middle East: A Journey through Ancient Wonders and Modern Marvels”

The trip through Arabia was a mesmerizing journey and honestly one of the best travel experiences I have had to date. While I was getting ready for my trip and planning, given the current situation in Gaza, I can not begin to tell you the amount of time people would said, ” why are you going?, it is dangerous”, I was forced to say many times, “please look at a map.” As usual, I shook off the naysayers and embarked on my journey. I was not disappointed!

Jeddah

My dear friend Flora and I met in Jeddah and embarked on 14 days of a mesmerizing journey through the enchanting landscapes of Saudi Arabia, the glitzy wonders of the United Arab Emirates, and the cultural treasures of Oman. From the decadence of Dubai to the serene tranquility of the holy city of Madinah, my journey was a tapestry of diverse landscapes and profound spirituality.

The Trip To Madina

The highlight of the Saudi Arabia trip was undoubtedly the scenic train ride to Madinah, a city steeped in Islamic history and significance. This was a very moving and profound experience seeing so many people committed to their faith. As, we stood at the gate of Masjid al-Haram (we were not permitted as non-Muslims to enter, which we obliged by to be respectful) the young man in the photo above, ran up to me and asked that I take his picture and then ran off.

We spent an amazing 5 days exploring the sites and enjoying the foods of Saudi Araba, then it was on to UAE.

United Arab Emirates (UAE)

We flew into the Dubai and right away, it struck me how dated the airport was in comparison to the Jeddah. Dubai was added to the itinerary because I had friends who live there and I wanted to see them and also explore the city. The Gold Souk is a vibrant and exciting place full of colors and shady salesmen, but fun none-the-less. We visited the Dubai Mall, which was extremely crowed and is one of the biggest malls I had ever visited. We took in the fountain show and enjoyed delicious Turkish food with the Burj Khalifah in the backdrop.

Abu Dhabi

We hired a car and driver to get away from the hustle of Dubai for a day and visited the capital of the UAE, Abu Dhabi. It was about an hour drive and was not as scenic as I thought it would be. However, I did love the city, it was very clean and had a very modern skyline. We visited the Sheikh Zayed grand Mosque and I don’t believe the photos about can give it justice. This place was spectacular. Firstly, I was surprise at all the shops underground, it was like a mall. Secondly, the beauty of the inside of the mosque can only be witness in person.

After the Grand Mosque, we visited the Presidential Palace. This place just exuded opulence, it literally smelled like wealth and was equally beautiful.

The plan was to go to the beach while in Abu Dhabi, but our driver suggested that we head back to Dubai and go to the beach there so as not to get stuck in traffic. The beach was dreadful in Dubai, it was crowded and in my opinion dirty, and it didn’t help that there were rip currents as well.

Oman

While planning for this trip I was asked, ” where I was going” often when I said Oman, the reply would be, “where is that?” So , for those who don’t know:

Oman is a country located in the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. Oman also shares maritime borders with Iran and Pakistan.

The Road Trip

The first thing I noticed about Oman is how clean and beautiful it is. On the drive from the airport you see mountains and a lack of skyscrapers, which I appreciated after leaving Dubai. We rented a car with the intention of driving along the coast to visit small villages, wadis and souqs.

We started out with a visit to Al Qurum Beach and then a visit to Nizwa Souq, and Fort where we got beautiful henna tattoos and was wowed by the beautiful Sunset. By the time we were done exploring it was much too late to visit other places, so we headed back to Muscat for some food and rest.

The following day we headed out to drive along the coast with the intention of visiting the city of Sur but ended up taking so many detours that we did not reach our intended destination, but met some incredible people along the way . We visited the tiny town of Fin, did the 40 minute hike and swam at Wadi-Al Shab, swam in the Bimmah Sinkhole and made a few other stops along the way. It was an amazing drive where we got to see camels, Arabian Gazelles and the beautiful Arabian Coast.

I will definitely be going back to this part of the world. I encourage you to visit as well. Add these countries to your bold, brave and beautiful list of places to visit. Perhaps you will learn a lot about yourself as I did. As always thank you for reading and happy travels!