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Behind the Scenes

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THIS BOOK

THANKS

OUR READERS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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THIS BOOK

This 6th edition of Middle East was researched and written by Anthony Ham (coordinating author), James Bainbridge, Amelia Thomas, César Soriano, Jenny Walker and Rafael Wlodarski. For details of who wrote which chapters, Click here. Dr Caroline Evans wrote the text that formed the basis of the Health chapter. The previous edition of this book was researched and written by a team of authors also led by coordinating author Anthony Ham.

This book was commissioned in Lonely Planet’s Melbourne office and produced by the following:

Commissioning Editors Kerryn Burgess, Emma Gilmour

Coordinating Editor Anna Metcalfe

Coordinating Cartographers Erin McManus, Andy Rojas

Coordinating Layout Designer Jacqui Saunders

Managing Editor Bruce Evans

Managing Cartographers Shahara Ahmed, Adrian Persoglia, Mandy Sierp

Managing Layout Designer Sally Darmody

Assisting Editors Nigel Chin, Andrea Dobbin, Cathryn Game, Carly Hall, Evan Jones, Simon Sellars

Assisting Cartographers Anita Banh, Marion Byass, Clare Capell, Di Duggan, Tadhgh Knaggs, Joanne Luke, Peter Shields

Cover Designer Pepi Bluck

Colour Designer Carlos Solarte

Project Manager Eoin Dunlevy

Language Content Coordinator Quentin Frayne

Thanks to Adam Bextream, Lucy Birchley, David Carroll, Laura Jane, Lisa Knights, Chris Love, Gina Tsarouhas

THANKS

ANTHONY HAM

Shukran to Abu Shady and Shady (Damascus), Ammar Saleh (Damascus), Simon and Amer (Damascus), Tariq (Damascus), Baha (Aleppo), Mohammed Ziadeh (Lattakia), Nisrine Haddad (Maalula), and to fellow travellers Beatriz Castaño, Juan Olazabal, Emilie Aris, Martin Wade, Suzanne West (and Carys), Robin and Saima Nichols, Cameron Powers and Kristina Sophia. Thanks also to my coauthors, editor extraordinaire Kerryn Burgess and Virginia Maxwell. It has been my immense good fortune to share Damascus with my father Ron, parents-in-law Alberto and Marina, and my wife and daughter who made one of my favourite cities so much more special. To Marina and Carlota – sois mi vida wherever we find ourselves in the world.

JAMES BAINBRIDGE

Teşekkür ederim (thank you) to Padi and Hulya for the bed in İstanbul, and to Jahid, Aziz and the Hemi posse for the paragliding demo in Sivas; to Pat, Süha, Ali Mustafa, Maggie, Kaili, Osman and everyone who brought Cappadocia to life, and to Crazy Ali for giving a poem to the Queen of Spain; to Mustafa in Boğazkale and Nazlı in Konya (good luck in Ibiza); to Ollagh for the whisky and manly companionship in Kayseri, and to the Kurds in Çorum for the beers and more manly companionship. Şerefe (cheers)!

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THE LONELY PLANET STORY

Fresh from an epic journey across Europe, Asia and Australia in 1972, Tony and Maureen Wheeler sat at their kitchen table stapling together notes. The first Lonely Planet guidebook, Across Asia on the Cheap, was born.

Travellers snapped up the guides. Inspired by their success, the Wheelers began publishing books to Southeast Asia, India and beyond. Demand was prodigious, and the Wheelers expanded the business rapidly to keep up. Over the years, Lonely Planet extended its coverage to every country and into the virtual world via lonelyplanet.com and the Thorn Tree message board.

As Lonely Planet became a globally loved brand, Tony and Maureen received several offers for the company. But it wasn’t until 2007 that they found a partner whom they trusted to remain true to the company’s principles of travelling widely, treading lightly and giving sustainably. In October of that year, BBC Worldwide acquired a 75% share in the company, pledging to uphold Lonely Planet’s commitment to independent travel, trustworthy advice and editorial independence.

Today, Lonely Planet has offices in Melbourne, London and Oakland, with over 500 staff members and 300 authors. Tony and Maureen are still actively involved with Lonely Planet. They’re travelling more often than ever, and they’re devoting their spare time to charitable