Thinking of going to the Middle East...

Da Shins Kelly

I'm kind of fascinated by the Middle East and I'm keen to visit it. I've been kind of warned away from Saudi Arabia, but I was thinking of visiting maybe Palestine or Iran (heard some great things), but I was just wondering if anyone has been there. I'm a girl, so I'm just a bit worried about the ettiquette for women in these countries. I don't want any trouble, so I need to be extra careful I'm sure. Also, what about expenses in these countries and fun things to do!

Thanks!

solerina

I have never been but I would recommend that you have a look at a programme called THE PROMISE...it is available on channel 4 on demand (4OD) and I though it was amazing, give some historical background to palestine.

schemingbohemia

personally, i would stay out of the whole area for the next few months until things have died down. an italian peace worker was murdered in Gaza a few weeks ago by the very people he was helping there - Palestinians. With things kicking off in Syria I just think it would be foolish to head to the region.

Clareboy

I have visited Israel and I would highly recommend it. It has a combination of western values and infrastructure with the desert and the Mysterious East. Israel is a fascinating mixture of cultures and has some really stunning desert landscapes. English is widely spoken and the people are very friendly.

opinion guy

OP you have seen the news lately have you not ?

I'd stay well away for the time being

whatsyourquota

Ya Id stay well away too at least untill things have died down. there are 100's of other places you could go untill this area is safe again.

Paco Rodriguez

I was also considering Lebanon/Syria/Turkey next year. And Iran seemed a great place.
But I think this unsettlement will last longer than months, so i would save it for another time.

Israel would be a nice destination, but if you travel here, you wont be able to enter many other Middle Eastern countries. So i think you will see more by going to other middle eastern countries.

I think Turkey would be still safe to visit, and it would be a good introduction to that life, especially for a girl travelling alone. a female worker of mine travels there often and loves it, and the people are very friendly. So you could try there, while waiting for the political climate to settle.

mdebets

Paco Rodriguez wrote: »

Israel would be a nice destination, but if you travel here, you wont be able to enter many other Middle Eastern countries. So i think you will see more by going to other middle eastern countries.

You should be able to get a second passport if you have an Israeli Visa stamp in it and want to go to a country that wouldn't give you a Visa because of this.

opinion guy

Paco Rodriguez wrote: »

I was also considering Lebanon/Syria/Turkey next year. And Iran seemed a great place.
But I think this unsettlement will last longer than months, so i would save it for another time.

Israel would be a nice destination, but if you travel here, you wont be able to enter many other Middle Eastern countries. So i think you will see more by going to other middle eastern countries.

I think Turkey would be still safe to visit, and it would be a good introduction to that life, especially for a girl travelling alone. a female worker of mine travels there often and loves it, and the people are very friendly. So you could try there, while waiting for the political climate to settle.

From what my Turkish friend tells me Turkey is not really safe for a single woman - she tells me more rural parts of it are quite lawless and anything can happen. Another single lady I knew who went there had to pretend she was married to one of her travelling companions in order to avoid being constantly harassed by Turkish men.

blorg

Turkey is bad for single women, especially out in the countryside, certainly. Still a great country though. It is not the only place that is like this, most of the rest of the ME would be similar, as are many other traditional societies. I wouldn't let that put you off, in the ME there is a strong societal shame about harassing women so you just need to avoid being in certain situations with men on their own. If there is a problem yell and anyone else around will come to help you. In India (for example) there isn't the same idea of shame and you can basically get felt up in public and nobody cares. Wear a wedding ring, dress conservatively, and say you are married.

As to the danger, it is not equal across the region. I wouldn't be rushing to Syria right now but the level of protest in Jordan and Iran, to take two examples, has not been anywhere near as severe... or for that matter anywhere on the Arabian peninsula other than Yemen and Bahrain- although the peninsula would not be top of my list anyway.

You can visit Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Egypt on one trip without any bother but many other states will have issues, forcing the trip to Israel to happen last. Note AFAIK visiting the West Bank is as bad as visiting Israel if you are looking for a visa to a country that has a problem with Israel.