Egypt’s tourism sector is eying a gradual recovery after revenues plunged by nearly 70% to $4 billion in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the tourism minister and travel companies said.
Egypt, a country linking northeast Africa with the Middle East, dates to the time of the pharaohs. Millennia-old monuments sit along the fertile Nile River Valley, including Giza’s colossal Pyramids and Great Sphinx as well as Luxor’s hieroglyph-lined Karnak Temple and Valley of the Kings tombs. The capital, Cairo, is home to Ottoman landmarks like Muhammad Ali Mosque and the Egyptian Museum, a trove of antiquities.
Winter in the Old City of Jerusalem. Israel. The Christian Quarter is one of the four quarters of the walled Old City. The Christian Quarter is situated in the northwestern corner of the Old City, extending from the New Gate in the north, along the western wall of the Old City as far as the Jaffa Gate, along the Jaffa Gate – Western Wall route in the south, bordering on the Jewish and Armenian Quarters, as far as the Damascus Gate in the east, where it borders on the Muslim Quarter. The Christian quarter contains about 40 Christian holy places. Among them is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of Christianity’s holiest places. Most of its residents are Palestinian Christians, despite their dwindling numbers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christi…
Ajman is the capital of the emirate of Ajman in the United Arab Emirates, located along the Persian Gulf. It is the smallest emirate of the United Arab Emirates and is engulfed by the larger emirate of Sharjah.
Sharjah is the third largest and third most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, forming part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. The emirate of Sharjah borders with Dubai to the south, Ajman and Umm Al Quwain to the north and Ras Al Khaimah to the east.
The United Arab Emirates, sometimes simply called the Emirates, is a country in Western Asia located at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It borders Oman and Saudi Arabia, and has maritime borders in the Persian Gulf with Qatar and Iran.
Welcome to the United Arab Emirates!! This is the start of our new FOOD series from this amazing and diverse country. We are leaving the big city of Dubai to show you the traditional food and culture of the Emirates, starting with a very special family meal, and ending with an awesome desert feast!
BIG thank you to our friends Omar and Salem for their help and hospitality. For our first Emirati family experience and food, we were kindly invited to the guest home of the Royal Al Qasimi family. We ate a delicious Arabic biryani, salads and Khabees (traditional dessert). This food is often what guests will experience when they are invited into a family’s home. After the meal, it is also common to enjoy a cup of Arabic coffee, which was rich with cardamon. The family was also kind enough to show us their vintage car collection, which included the original Land Rover from 1948. Thank you very much for the warm invitation and the wonderful gifts! Next, we explored the town of Ras al-Khaimah to see original architecture, old cafes and experience real Emirati lifestyle.
We visited the oldest cafe in the city, where locals from the mountains and locals from the coast would meet and exchange news and drink tea. We tried their sangini tea and it was very sweet. We also stopped at a traditional juice stall that serves mixed fruit juices with avocado. So refreshing! We then drove into the desert near Sharjah, to visit Omar’s family farm. Along the way we met a camel farmer who offered us tea and Omani halwa.
At Omar’s desert farm, we started cooking Majboos, an Arabic rice dish that is cooked with goat, vegetables, potatoes, dried fruits and tons of spices. The Majboos was then cooked for several hours over wood fire, which worked up a big appetite! The Majboos is served on a massive tray and shared with everyone. The goat was so tender and the rice soaked up all of the flavours of the spices. It was an extremely special experience and we are very grateful.
Luxor is a city on the east bank of the Nile River in southern Egypt. It’s on the site of ancient Thebes, the pharaohs’ capital at the height of their power, during the 16th–11th centuries B.C. Today’s city surrounds 2 huge, surviving ancient monuments: graceful Luxor Temple and Karnak Temple, a mile north. The royal tombs of the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens are on the river’s west bank.
For me, Dubai is a very interesting mixture of the hypermodern skyline with the Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Frame but also the “old” part at the Dubai Creek with the gold souk, deira, and old dhows which carry goods from Iran and beyond (wooden arab boats). Watching people loading and unloading these old dhows and the busy scenes in the souk are a real joy to witness.
I hope you enjoy my little mini documentary about an overnight stay in February 2020, just before the pandemic hit.
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates known for luxury shopping, ultramodern architecture and a lively nightlife scene. Burj Khalifa, an 830m-tall tower, dominates the skyscraper-filled skyline. At its foot lies Dubai Fountain, with jets and lights choreographed to music. On artificial islands just offshore is Atlantis, The Palm, a resort with water and marine-animal parks.
The Old City of Jerusalem. Walk along the ancient southern wall. Israel. In this video: The Armenian Patriarchate St., Zion Gate, Hativat Estyoni St., Habad St., Ma’ale HaShalom St., Batei Mahase St., Derech HaOfel.
The Golden and Lions Gates are located on the east side of the old city of Jerusalem. Israel.
GOLDEN GATE: As it is called in Christian literature, is the oldest of the current gates in Jerusalem’s Old City Walls. According to Jewish tradition, the Shekhinah (שכינה) (Divine Presence) used to appear through this gate, and will appear again when the Messiah comes (Ezekiel 44:1–3) and a new gate replaces the present one; that is why Jews used to pray for mercy at the former gate at this location. Hence the name Sha’ar HaRachamim (שער הרחמים), the Gate of Mercy. In Christian apocryphal texts, the gate was the scene of a meeting between the parents of Mary, so that Joachim and Anne Meeting at the Golden Gate became a standard subject in cycles depicting the Life of the Virgin. It is also said that Jesus passed through this gate on Palm Sunday. In Arabic, it is known as the Gate of Eternal Life. In ancient times, the gate was known as the Beautiful Gate. It has been walled up since medieval times. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR…
LIONS GATE: The Lion’s Gate is located near Mount of Olives and the Via Dolorosa. This is one of the seven gates that were created in the wall of the old city, and the only one that is open towards the east. The gate was built as part of the wall of the old city during the 16th century by the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. On both sides of the gate there are lion embossments. According to the legend, they were integrated into this structure following the dream of Sultan Suleiman, in which two lions were about to devour him, as a punishment for the situation of the holy city of Jerusalem, which was not protected at the time. The sultan interpreted the dream as a sign from above, and ordered to surround the city with a wall. In fact, the embossments resemble cheetahs more than lions. Some say that they were taken from a more ancient building of the Mameluke ruler Baibars, whose symbol was a Cheetah. https://www.itraveljerusalem.com/ent/…
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates known for luxury shopping, ultramodern architecture and a lively nightlife scene. Burj Khalifa, an 830m-tall tower, dominates the skyscraper-filled skyline. At its foot lies Dubai Fountain, with jets and lights choreographed to music. On artificial islands just offshore is Atlantis, The Palm, a resort with water and marine-animal parks.
Burj Khalifa – The 828-meter-tall Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world. Everything about this majestic structure spells out opulence: the exquisitely landscaped Burj Khalifa park and the giant fountain system with its fifty colored projectors and over 6,000 lights. Check in at one of the hotels in Burj Khalifa and join the At the Top tour to watch the spectacular view of the metropolis from the observation deck.
Palm Jumeirah – Choose from any of the numerous hotels and resorts at Palm Jumeirah, a manmade archipelago that had cost $12.3 billion to make off the coast of Dubai. Shaped like a palm leaf, the artificial island’s fronds are home for many residential villas. Palm Jumeirah has scenic marinas, several luxury resorts and spas, as well as many upscale shopping districts.
Dubai Marina – This popular Dubai tourist attraction sports a breathtaking skyline, a picturesque beach, and numerous shops, restaurants, and coffee shops. Tour Dubai Marina’s two major walkways, The Marina Walk and The Walk, and then join a cruise on a yacht.
Wild Wadi Waterpark – If you travel with kids, consider spending a day at the Wild Wadi Waterpark. Beat the sweltering desert climate of Dubai with a frolic at the park’s water rides and waterfalls.
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