Middle East

Jerusalem has been the holiest city in Judaism and the spiritual center of the Jewish people since the 10th century BCE. The city contains a number of significant ancient Christian sites and is widely considered the third-holiest city in Islam.

Tel Aviv is Israel's economic hub, home of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and many corporate offices and research and development centers. Its beaches, cafes, upscale shopping and secular lifestyle have made it a popular tourist destination.

Israel travel guide

The city of Doha was founded in 1850 under the name Al-Bida. The name Doha came from the Arabic ad-dawha, the big tree. The reference is to a prominent tree that must have stood at the site where the original fishing village arose, on the eastern...

Medina is celebrated for containing the mosque of Muhammad, and so ranks as the second holiest city of Islam, after Mecca. It was also the place where Muhammad and his followers left after attacks against them in Mecca, now known as the Hijrah.

The city is revered by Muslims for containing the holiest site of Islam, the Grand Mosque of Mecca. A pilgrimage to Mecca is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, a sacred duty that is required of all able-bodied Muslims who can afford to go, at least...

Damascus it is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It has a wealth of historical sites dating back to many different periods of the city's history and also a lovely new and modern face, successfully combining old and new.

Dubai is considered to be an important tourist destination and its port, Jebel Ali, constructed in the 1970s, has the largest man-made harbor in the world. Dubai is also increasingly developing as a hub for service industries such as IT and finance.