Middle East Odyseey as written by Toby Rosenbloom
After flying more than 7500 miles, Toby Rosenbloom recalls the ups and downs of a 42-night tour of 10 hot spots in Turkey and the Middle East, including visits to the world’s tallest building and the lowest point on earth, arranged for him by Mandy Mooney of Travel Counsellors.
As a then 46-year-old single, male traveller, my visits to Istanbul, Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel between May and July 2018 were based on an interest in each destination’s art, culture, history and food, not to mention a love of 40C-plus heat and sandy beaches.
However, my number one memory is being driven round the Yas Marina F1 track during a tour of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix circuit. I even learned why the Champagne bottles given to race winners are filled with Diet Sprite rather than bubbly.
Other highlights of my Grand Tour of the Middle East included… • My huge and luxurious room at Ramada Plaza Jumerirah Beach hotel in Dubai, which as an added bonus had its own private beach • Getting an ultra-high flying bird’s eye view of the capital of bling during a trip to the 148th floor of the Burj Khalifa – the world’s tallest building – in Dubai.
The Dubai Mall, home to the entrance to the Burj Khalifa and the city’s aquarium and dancing fountains, also provided the best retail experience of my travels. But beware. Due to most clothes and consumer goods needing to be imported, it’s not cheap.
In fact, I found the best bargains of my travels in Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar – just a short hop from the city’s Blue Mosque – where I picked up a pair of Nike Air trainers for a mere £15. What do you mean they might not be genuine?
My list of holiday highlights also includes… • Seeing jaw-dropping displays of art at the Louvre Museum Abu Dhabi plus the Sheikh Zayed Mosque – the largest in the UAE. • Touring the many ancient forts between Muscat and Nizwa in Oman. • Taking a taxi along the $800m King Fahd Causeway, which links the island of Bahrain to Saudi Arabia. • The food at the Doubletree by Hilton hotel in Doha, Qatar. The seafood buffet (including lobster) has to rate as my favourite meal, closely followed by the fish kebabs served up by the Four Seasons Hotel – a converted gaol – in Istanbul. The fresh fruit and vegetables, particularly in Israel, were also mouth-watering.
Although Kuwait was not my favourite destination, the experience of being caught in a sandstorm will live long in the memory. Qatar, on the other hand, was fantastic. Here, I visited the architectural masterpiece that is the Museum of Islamic Art, experienced a desert safari, watched the sun set over the capital city Doha’s skyline on a Dhow cruise in addition to catching a glimpse of one of the stadia the state is building for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
My own trip coincided with the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and while watching football in hotel bars in Muslim countries during Ramadan is not recommended due to alcohol not being served in many locations outside the UAE, my entry into Dubai provided another positive holiday memory.
As I walked through the green channel at Dubai Airport, a customs officer stopped me and asked for my passport. After seeing that I was born in Liverpool, he smiled and told me that Liverpool and Egypt star Mo Salah was “brilliant” before waving me through.
My experience of eight of the 10 airports I passed through was very positive, with the notable exception of Ben Gurion in Israel – the final leg of my trip. Here, despite being a (non-practising) Jew, I was detained for two hours because the official at border control took exception to the Arab stamps on my passport. This was certainly the most unpleasant – and scary – experience of my Grand Tour of the Middle East.
Once allowed entry into Israel, highlights of my time in the seaside city of Tel Aviv included the mile upon mile of ultra-clean beach, exploring Carmel Market, and particularly the street art, plus a visit to Jerusalem.
If Qatar was my favourite Gulf state, Israel’s neighbour Lebanon is the country I would most like to return to. From the incredibly well-preserved ancient buildings of Baalbek and Anjar in the Bekaa valley to the genuine friendliness of Beirut, this country is nothing like the images I have from the 15-year civil war between 1975 and 1990.
In fact, Beirut is a thriving capital with great nightlife and some of the best wine in the world. When it comes to well-preserved ancient cities, the Rose Red city of Petra in Jordan takes some beating. My other highlight from my visit to Jordan was floating in the Dead Sea – a feat made possible by the fact that it is both the saltiest body of water and lowest point on earth.
Did I say eight of the 10 airports I visited provided positive experiences, including fast and efficient check-in and baggage reclaim procedures? The only other airport inconvenience I experienced was on my return home from Ben Gurion to Manchester via a change of plane Istanbul.
After waiting at baggage reclaim for over an hour, I was told my suitcase had not made it onto the flight from Turkey and would be sent by taxi to my home the following day.
What’s a 24-hour delay when I’ve a lifetime of happy experiences to dine out on and more than 500 photographs of to keep those memories fresh? Here’s a healthy selection…