Middle East - Anthony Ham [530]
Watersports
Any Red Sea resort worth its salt – from the expensive package tour resorts of Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt) to the chilled, backpacker-friendly Dahab (Egypt) – will let you indulge your passion for watersports from windsurfing to water-skiing.
Eilat (Click here) in Israel is arguably the Middle East’s watersports capital with waterskiing, parasailing and a host of other water-borne thrills on offer. In Egypt, Sharm el-Sheikh (Click here) has a full range of options, while Hurghada (Click here) has a happening kite-surfing scene. For the region’s best windsurfing spot, though, head to Moon Beach in Sinai (Click here). Aqaba (Click here) in Jordan, Beirut and Jounieh (Click here) in Lebanon, and many of Turkey’s Mediterranean beach resorts all offer ample opportunities for year-round snorkelling, water-skiing and windsurfing.
For more details, see the Activities sections in each country’s Directory.
BUSINESS HOURS
With just a few exceptions, the end-of-week holiday throughout the Middle East is Friday. In Israel and the Palestinian Territories it’s Saturday (Shabbat), while in Lebanon and Turkey it’s Sunday. In countries where Friday is the holiday, many embassies and offices are also closed on Thursday, although in areas where there are lots of tourists, many private businesses and shops are open on Thursday and many stores will reopen in the evening on Friday.
It’s worth remembering that shops and businesses may have different opening hours for different times of the year – they tend to work shorter hours in winter and open earlier in summer to allow for a longer lunchtime siesta. During Ramadan (the month-long fast for Muslims), almost everything shuts down in the afternoon.
Where possible, throughout this book we give the opening times of places of interest. The information is usually taken from notices posted at the sites. However, often the reality on the ground is that sites open pretty much as and when the gate guard feels like it. On a good day he’ll be there an hour early, on a bad day he won’t turn up at all. Who can blame him when in out-of-the-way places he may never see a visitor for days anyway? With the exception, perhaps, of those countries with a more Western concept of timekeeping (Israel and the Palestinian Territories and Turkey, for example), all opening hours must be prefaced, therefore, with a hopeful insha’allah (God willing).
CHILDREN
People who’ve never visited the region may tell you you’re crazy, but we have a simple message for those of you considering travelling with your children to the Middle East: go for it. Our confidence is well placed: at least two of the authors writing this book have travelled in the region with their kids (see, for example, the boxed text, Click here) and not only lived to tell the tale but also plan to do so again at the earliest available opportunity. If you don’t believe us, look around – you won’t see many families of travellers, but the ones you do see will probably be having a pretty good time. On the all-important question of security, any place that’s safe for you to visit will generally be similarly safe for your children.
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TOP MIDDLE EAST SIGHTS FOR KIDS
Dahab (Click here) Diving in the Red Sea at Dahab will open up a whole new world that they never imagined (except when watching Nemo).
The Nile (Click here) A felucca trip up the Nile, from Aswan to Luxor (Click here), offers a break from sardine-can shared taxis.
Temple of Karnak (Click here) The sound-and-light show here is a great alternative to history books for learning about ancient Egypt.
Jerusalem (Click here) A host of child-friendly activities and the perfect place to bring Sunday school lessons to