Tourism is the mainstay of the economy in the Middle East. Middle East countries have many beautiful tourist spots, which are visited by millions of tourists annually from all over the world. Tourism in the Middle East is not limited to entertainment and natural places, but also includes archaeological, historical, cultural, and religious tourism, which are the most important tourist attractions in the world. Jordan is a small country with an area of 89. 97 million square kilometers, including the Dead Sea.
There are many famous tourist landmarks in Jordan. The Jordanian city of Petra is known by its visitors and readers as the “pink city” in relation to the color of the rocks that formed its unique building, a city similar to the citadel. It was the capital of the Nabatean state. Petra is a historic city located in Jordan, south of the country 225 km south of the capital Amman. It is considered one of the most important archaeological sites in Jordan and in the world because it has unmatched in the world.
The city of Petra was carved by the Arab Nabataeans in the rocks, and they made it an important strategic location. It formed a focal point as well as an important intersection point of trading Silk and Spice between the Arabian Peninsula to the south, the Levant to the north, to the heart of Europe, and even China. Within the city of Petra, there are two museums. The Petra Archaeological Museum and the Petra Nabataean Museum. Both museums present models of tools and artifacts which discovered through exploration.
Another famous place in Jordan is Jerash. Jerash is one of the best tourist cities in the Arab world. It is known as “A Thousand Pillars”. The city of Jerash is one of the cities of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and it is estimated to have a population of about 19,100 people. It is located in the north of the Jordan; it is about 48 kilometers from the capital Amman. There are many of the civilizations, such as the Romans, the Umayyad, and the Greek civilization, passed through Jerash city.
It is one of the important tourist cities in Jordan that characterizes with a beautiful and attractive nature, which attracts numerous tourists and visitors, especially in the summer, because of its features and ancient monuments that attract the attention of people. The most important feature of this region is Jerash theater, which dates back to the Roman era. A number of events and activities are being held at this stage, notably the Jerash Festival for Culture and Arts. Annually, there are many of famous Arab singers stand on the stage of Jerash to do many concerts.
The city of Jericho is one of the oldest cities dating back to 10,000 BC, located on the west bank of the Jordan River and the northern Dead Sea. It is considered the lowest city on sea level; it has important landmarks for tourism like the monastery of Qarnal. It is a very old monastery founded by Archimandrite Avramius in 1892, where it was erected on the mountain where Jesus Christ spent forty days of fasting, so it is also called the Mount of Forty. In addition to archaeological sites, Jordan is famous for its cuisine.
Mansaf is the traditional dish in Jordan, where the shoulder of lamb or the thigh is cooked in yogurt and served on a layer of rice and bread. Yogurt gives a refreshing sour flavor to the Mansaf. It can also be cooked with chicken meat. The Arab Republic of Egypt is one of the Arab countries that part of the Republic is located in the continent of Africa and the other part of the continent of Asia. Cairo, which is the capital of Egypt, is the largest cities in the Arab world in terms of population.
Egypt is characterized by numerous of tourist cities such as Port Said, Alexandria, and Sharm el-Sheikh because of their beautiful climate and stunning nature. Also, it characterized by the presence of the Pyramids. The Pyramids are located in Egypt, extending from Giza to Fayoum, these buildings built by the ancient Egyptians, Pharaohs, in 2630 BC. These buildings were owned by kings. The artists of that era were engraved in hieroglyphics on the walls of the burial chamber of the royal mummy; they wrote hymns and texts as a prayer for their gods to protect them after death.
The pyramids were built with mud bricks. They were built in the desert west of the Nile River, where the sun goes directly behind them. There are three Pyramids. Khufu is the Great Pyramid occupies an area of ?? 13 acres. Its height is about 146 meters. The length of the base side is about 230 meters. The weight of the stones is approximately one ton to eight tons or more. Khafre is the middle Pyramid with the height of 136 meters approximately, and the length of the base about 210 meters, which is close to the first Pyramid in terms of height. It was built in the area slightly higher than the first Pyramid.
Menkaure is the smallest Pyramid. The height of the Pyramid is about 66 meters. There is the king’s coffin, which is made of basalt stone, within it. Many people know that Egypt is famous for its ancient and archaeological landmarks only, but it is famous for its delicious cuisine. Alkushri is considered the Egyptian traditional dish, and it consists of pasta, tomato sauce, rice, lentils, onions with caramel, garlic, and chickpeas. It is the most common dish in Egypt for more than a hundred years. The mashed bean dish is one of the most popular dishes in Egypt.
It is made of beans with garlic and lemon juice, and it comes back to the Pharaonic origins. It can be prepared with butter or tomato sauce. Also, it can be served alone or with boiled or fried eggs, meat, or bread. Lebanon is considered one of the most thriving Arab countries in the region. It has a unique geographic location in the Arab world and a beautiful nature that combines the seas, plains, valleys, and mountains. It also has great historical importance for its archaeological sites, such as Roman, Byzantine, and many other civilizations.
All these features form important economic sources in Lebanon. A lot of Arabs and foreign tourists are going to spend their vacation there and to enjoy the beautiful views. Lebanon has many worthy places that attract large numbers of tourists. Baalbek is the archaeological and the historical city of Lebanese. It is located in the north of the Bekaa Valley; it is away from the capital of Lebanon about 83 km. Thousand of tourists visit Baalbek from different countries of the world to see this historical place, which is dated back to the Romanian empire.
In Baalbek, tourists can find the castle of Baalbek, which includes the most important Romanian temples and special columns built by the Romans. In addition to its importance of archaeological and historical, it makes the Baalbek International Festival that hosts many of celebrities to perform the concerts. Jeita Grotto is the second important tourist place in Lebanon. It is located away from Beirut about 20 kilometers to the north. It is known as “Jewel of Lebanese Tourism”. It is a cave containing cavities, narrow reefs, and structures formed by nature and leaked lime water from the Lebanese highlands.
It consists of two caves; the upper cave was discovered in 1958 by the Lebanese engineer Ghassan Klink, and the second cave, the Lower, discovered in the 1830s by the American orientalist William Thompson. The cave is characterized by the ability of its visitors to walk through the tunnel, which is 120 meters long, it is an enjoyable adventure that makes everyone wish to visit. With regard to the traditional dishes in Lebanon, Mnakeesh is a popular dish in the Arab world, especially in Lebanon. Lebanese Mnakeesh is known for its various kinds and delicious taste.
It is a dough formed in the form of a circle, and it is stuffed by olive, cheese, tomato, or many kinds of vegetables and then bake in the oven. Iraq is known for its abundance of archaeological places that dating back to different periods of time and to many of the civilizations that lived in the land of Iraq in the past. There are more than twelve ancient archaeological places in Iraq, which are considered as significant tourist and cultural places of the country. One of the most famous places in Iraq is Nimrud Monuments.
The site is located in the southern part of the city of Mosul, thirty-four kilometers away. This site was formerly the Assyrian city of Kal; it was considered the second capital of the Assyrians. It contains three royal tombs containing many treasures, many figures of winged bulls, many pieces of feminine shapes, and some remains of the palace of Ashurnasirpal II. In this site, many of the more than 600 pieces of gold were discovered, as well as the stones and treasures of the Nimrud, which were discovered in a cellar.
Another famous cultural and historical place in Iraq is Babel Monuments. It is located to the south of Baghdad, about ninety kilometers away. Babylon means “the door of God”, according to the Akkadian language. Nebuchadnezzar II is the most famous of its Chaldean kings while Hammurabi is the most famous of its Amorites kings. One of the most famous monuments there is the street of the procession, remaining monuments of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the monuments of some old palaces, Babylonian theater, the stone statue of the great lion of Babylon, and the famous Ishtar Gate.
Ashur is another cultural place located in Iraq, where it is located in the south of the city of Mosul. It was considered an important center of Ashuria; the city was historically destroyed in 612 BC. It has many monuments dating to the reign of king Sennacherib. The Assyrian monuments are spread over several other areas, most notably Duhok, which includes the archaeological sculptures of Malthaya, which is discovered in 1845 AD, and Khans sculptures, which is a natural archaeological museum. The most important monuments that left by the king Sennacherib is Sennharib Canal.
It is a link between Dohuk and Nineveh, a project to irrigate agricultural land in Nineveh. Iraq is also known for the presence of some other places such as castles such as Mosul Castle, Kirkuk Castle and Erbil Castle, which have a very high tourist attraction. What makes Iraq more distinctive than the neighboring countries is the presence of the marshes, which are almost the only ones in the world. The marshes are plains of land where the water from rivers and basins gathers. It has become a large lake of different depths.
These lakes are connected by natural channels, and it became as suitable ways to move within the marshes and connect with neighboring areas. Marshes is located in the southern part of the Iraqi sedimentary plain, with an area of between 9,000 and 20,000 square kilometers, with 20 districts in the three governorates of Maysan, Dhi Qar, and Basra. Southern Iraq includes three major marshes. They are Hawr al-Huwayzah on the Iranian border, the central al-Hamar area, and the Euphrates marshes that extend north and west of Basra and south of the Amara area to the mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates.
In addition to the historical places, Iraq is famous for several popular and traditional dishes, which are found in most Iraqi houses, and some of these dishes have moved to other countries for their fame and delicious taste. Masgouf is the traditional dish in Iraq. The brown or carp fish is used in this recipe, which is the best types of river fish. It is a fish prepared on charcoal with a special barbecue way. Dolma is an important and essential dish in Iraq. It is a variety of vegetables, such as onions, eggplant, squash, cabbage, grape leaves, and bell pepper, stuffed with rice, meat, and special spices.
Most of the Arab countries are characterized by their amazing nature, beautiful climate, different and distinctive religious landmarks, and traditional or popular cuisine. The ancient civilizations that were existed in these countries added a great importance to tourism in terms of old buildings or monuments that still exist to this day. All these features made Middle East countries as a target for people to visit for the sake of tourism and get acquainted with the beauty of natural and historical places.
