The city of Qalqilya, located northeast of the West Bank, has its roots and origins in the Canaanite period. Qalqilya The name dates back to Roman times and medieval European sources, like his contemporaries residents refer to it as "Kalkilya.


Qalqilya has a temperate Mediterranean climate: hot and rainy in winter and hot in the summer with humidity levels reach 70 percent during the months of July and August. Average annual rainfall is 550 mm.


A local council was established for the first time in Qalqilya in 1909 during the last decade of the Ottoman Empire. His first municipal council was established in 1945.


The city has a great stadium, which hosts competitions and national tournaments. The city also has the only zoo in Palestine, which was established in 1986 and comprises 20,000 square meters. The same complex houses an amusement park, including electric cars, trains and other entertainment for children.


During a visit to Qalqilya, enjoy beautiful landscapes, food and specialty spend a relaxing day at home.
Palestinian Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities

...Continuar la lectura

The giant red mountains and vast mausoleums of a lost time have little to do with modern civilization, and ask nothing to be appreciated at its true value, as one of the greatest wonders ever wrought by Nature and Man.
Although much has been written about Petra, nothing really prepares you for this amazing place. We must see to believe.
Often described as the eighth wonder of the ancient world, Petra is undoubtedly the most precious treasure of Jordan and its most important tourist attraction. It is a huge city completely excavated in the rock by the Nabataeans, an Arab tribe hard worker who settled in the area over 2,000 years ago and became an important city for passing routes linking the silk, the spices and other connecting China, India and southern Arabia to Egypt, Syria, Greece and Rome.


The entrance to the city is through the Siq, a narrow canyon, a mile long, surrounded by cliffs that rise up to 80 meters. The simple act of walking through the Siq is an unforgettable experience. The colors and rock formations are dazzling. When you reach the end of the Siq catch your first glimpse the facade called Al-Khazneh (Treasury).
It is an awesome experience. A massive façade, 30m wide and 43 m high, carved into the rock face of pale pink and dwarfing everything around it. It was built in the first century as the tomb of an important Nabataean king and a sample of engineering genius of these ancient people.


The Treasury is the first of the many wonders found in Petra. You need at least four or five days to know the city thoroughly. As you enter the valley of Petra, you will be overwhelmed by the natural beauty of this place and its impressive architecture. There are hundreds of elaborate rock-cut tombs with intricate carvings, unlike the houses that were destroyed by the earthquake, were constructed to last for all eternity and 500 have survived, empty but bewitching as you go through their dark openings . There is also a large theater built by the Nabataeans in Roman style, with capacity for 3,000 people. There are obelisks, temples, sacrificial altars and colonnaded streets, high above, overlooking the valley is the impressive Ad-Deir Monastery, an increase of 800 rock cut steps leading up El.En inside the site also You can find two excellent museums, the Petra Archaeological Museum and the Petra Nabataean Museum. Both have a great background from excavations in the Petra region and provide an overview of the colorful past of Petra.
A thirteenth-century shrine, built by the Mamluk Sultan Al Nasir Mohammad to commemorate the death of Aaron, brother of Moses, can be seen today at the summit of Mount Aaron in the Sharah area.
Within the compound, several artisans from the town of Wadi Musa and the nearby Bedouin settlement set up their small stalls selling local crafts such as pottery and Bedouin jewelry, plus bottles of colored sand in the area.


Not allowed access to the area to motorized vehicles. If you do not wish to walk, hire a horse or a horse drawn carriage to tour the Siq, 1 mile long. For the elderly or handicapped, the Visitors Centre, located near the entrance to the Siq, granted a special permit (at an additional cost) for transfer to the inside Petra to visit the main attractions. Once inside the enclosure, you can rent a donkey or, if you look a little adventure, a camel. The two options include the support of a carer and travel routes of the site.


Petra was founded around the sixth century BC, Nabataean Arabs, a nomadic tribe who settled in the area and laid the beginnings of a business empire that reached Syria.


Despite successive attempts by the Seleucid king Antigonus, the Roman emperor Pompey and Herod the Great to take to their respective empires, Petra, the Nabatean city remained in power until around the year 100 AD when the Romans took it . Remained inhabited during the Byzantine period, when the Roman Empire established its interest in the East, to Constantinople, but later dropped its importance. The Crusaders built a fort here in the twelfth century, but soon withdrew, leaving Petra under the control of the local population until the nineteenth century, when the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt rediscovered in 1812.
Jordan Tourist Office

...Continuar la lectura

Amazigh Ouarzazate in the war-Zazat tifinagh ⵡ ⴰ ⵔ ⵣ ⴰ ⵣ ⴰ ⵝ, "quietly" in Arabic ورزازات is a city in southern Morocco known as the gateway to the desert, and the main city of the province the same name. Located at the meeting of the valleys of the wadi and Ouarzazate Oued Dades (from the High Atlas) that make up the Wadi Draa and below its confluence, is the hub of a vast region of southern Morocco. Ouarzazate evokes both the southern foothills of the High Atlas and the nearby desert.

His countless casbahs (hereinafter against the casbah Taourirt) in the mud, mountains and arid plains, valleys and lush oasis of palm trees and the peoples of the earth or of red ocher are the charm of this region and give its application appeal.

The symbol of the city is the kasbah Taourirt that belonged to the Glaoui Pasha, was built in the mid eighteenth century. Is represented in the new notes of 50 dirhams.

Founded in 1928 by French colonial power, has long been a garrison town. In the military field was the basis of aviation against the famous tribe of Ait Attas who fought fiercely against the troops of Enrique de Bournazel, (red jacket man, killed in Morocco in 1933) until 1934 where the rebel leader Assou Oubasslam went to France to prevent the slaughter of the evacuees in the mountains.

Today the town of Ouarzazate is booming tourism and film. It is also one of Morocco's most prized by the film. And have skyrocketed in part or in whole: One hundred thousand dollars in the sun, Lawrence of Arabia, Kundun, Gladiator, Alexander, Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra, The Mummy, Kingdom of Heaven, Babel, Banzai, Prince of Persia : The Sands of Time, etc.

Ouarzazate has an international airport and is accessible by road from Marrakech (4 hours by bus, taxi 3:30)

Climate:
Ouarzazate has an arid climate with annual rainfall of only 112 mm. Rainfall is erratic and low or zero in the summer. Winter temperatures are cold at night and in summer the heat is hot in the day. The vegetation is very scarce and agriculture is only possible through the use of waters of the Draa Valley to irrigate farmland.

...Continuar la lectura

Seas of golden dunes, lunar landscapes, strange rock formations and miles of rocky plains, so the western desert, an extension of the Sahara, neither uniform nor easily accessible. With five oasis, like an ocean islands (Siwa, Bahariya, Farafra, Dakhla, Kharga), are connected by a 1,000 km long track in the form of "Z" on the map.
Siwa
80 km long, dotted with limestone formations of mineral water and two salt lakes, Siwa culture lives on dates and olives, which gives it a small garden of Eden. In the center of Chali, the main town of the island, was erected strange ghostly ruins, the former town destroyed in the nineteenth century by the rains diluvianas.Algunas sand tracks run to the temple of the oracle of Ammon, who was consulted Alexander the Great in person. Located on a promontory, has weathered badly over time. I moved the twisted ruins, who knows if you will not find a jinn, very numerous in the region if you believe in the issiwanes. If not, content yourself with admiring the sea of palm trees stretching their pies.No longer go swimming round some of these sources, the water glows softly. Some date from the Roman occupation, while others have been built recently to irrigate the gardens.

Bahariya

The four villages of this oasis are scattered in a hollow surrounded by dunes covered with black volcanic rocks. Until the Middle Ages, Bahariya was an ideal stopover for caravans coming from the Maghreb en route to the Meca.Pero time of prosperity is far and oasis will gradually depopulated. However, access has been facilitated by the road that connects it to the capital.

Farafra
It is the smallest and least popular of the five oases. If you like quiet, if you need solitude after the overcrowded Nile valley, do not hesitate. Reaching Farafra is no easy task (two or three blogs a week by bus from Cairo). Farafra is spread over a plateau of white sand dotted with some green spots, hiding some earthen houses. From Qasr el-Farafra, the most important town, the sandy tracks to plow through the palm grove, where they play sol.No rays miss the trip to the White Desert, about 40 miles from the oasis. After the sand and black rocks, appear strange limestone formations in the form of pyramids, mushrooms and icebergs, which extend out of sight. Magic show at the sunrise or sunset.

Dakhla
Here, land is so fertile that it is easy to forget the desert. Dakhla is a series of palm groves, orchards and vegetable crops. From Mut, the most important of the ten villages of the oasis, some beautiful walks (motor, the distances are quite large) lead to interesting places like the abandoned village of el-Qasr, the Balat necropolis, the temple of Deir el-Haggar or Musawaka.En Pharaonic remains the last, will soon be open to the public the Roman necropolis, after long years of restoration
Kharga
Kharga is well worth a diversion to their old locations, as the temple of Hibis unique architectural evidence of the Persian occupation of Egypt and the Christian necropolis Bagawat (open from 8 to 17 pm Admission fee.) Perched on the hillside, lists several hundred tombs dating from the fifth century Some have been preserved in its walls painted scenes from the Old and New Testaments.
Egyptian Tourist Authority

...Continuar la lectura

It is one of the largest oasis in the south, and privileged access to go to Aqaba, Jordan. The city is divided into three parts: the port, the tourist area to the north, the Bedouin city of Tarabin, hiding in his palm the ruins of a fortress city mameluca.La, prima facie, shows no interest: what can be enjoyed in the Bedouin village emerged from the sand, with low houses, its streets deserted and gardens starving?

The sea and the beaches deserted, of course, a few steps away. And its fish restaurants where you can enjoy the outdoor-and small-priced lobsters freshly caught ... Not to mention the show is always great in the mountains of Saudi Arabia, across the gulf. Nap under the palm trees, diving around the coral where the fish are fun and some (small) sharks, feasts in the village ... Between Nuweiba and Taba lies a magnificent coastline of coves and long beaches. Sometimes the mountain seems to retreat from the sea. And elsewhere, in search of waves and combines the hardness of the rock with the smoothness of the turquoise sea.
Egyptian Tourist Authority

...Continuar la lectura

Nablus, about 63 kilometers north of Jerusalem, is the second largest city in the West Bank. It is a thriving industrial and commercial center complete archaeological sites and ruins in various stages of excavation. Visitors have been particularly fascinated by the Roman Theatre, near the center of the city. Have a steady stream of visitors throughout the year.
Nablus is known worldwide for its exquisite olives, olive oil, olive oil and wood products. In the Old City, you can walk for hours through the market. Nablus is known for tasty sweets. Knaffe sampling from a delicate combination of melted cheese, strips of grain, sugar and honey sauce, is a must for any visitor to Nablus.
Another important site is the well of Jacob, 2 miles east of Nablus in the village of Balata. It is the site where Jesus is said to have ordered a woman Samaritian to draw water from a well for him. Today Jacob's Well is in a Greek Orthodox monastery is open to the public.
Nablus has Samaritian a neighborhood west of the city. The Samaritans history dates back to 721 B.C.E. Samaritans follow the Torah, but differ on Judaism from northern sites sacrifice of Abraham and Isaac Joshua's altar. Samaritans have identified sites on Mount Gerzim in the Nablus area as places for these events. Therefore, independent and a small community of Arabic and Hebrew speaking Palestinian Jews.
Nablus soap has been made for years of soda and olive oil. Although production methods have changed somewhat over the years, made soap in Nablus is renowned for its purity and is exported to markets throughout the Middle East. Several traditional soap factories in Nablus offer tours of its manufacturing process soap. The soap is made from olive oil, making it a road trip. After the tour of soap can test your samples in one of the city, recently restored Turkish Baths.
Palestinian Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities

...Continuar la lectura

Jaul around the south of Wadi Hadramout are the Gulf of Aden and its two main ports and historical Mukkalla Shihr.



Hans Helfritz in the 1930's, wrote about "Mukkalla, a city of brilliant whiteness of extraordinary beauty, with its many palaces and tall towers, is located in a charming Bya close in the darkness of the cliffs the Jebel Kara. It is the gateway to the province of Hadramout. "Crammed between Yemen one of the great volcanic mountain regions and the sea, approached, either by road from the coast of Aden or Seiyun in Wadi Hadramout. This road passes through a succession of valleys and interesting towns and across the cage, a semi-desert plateau.

Mukalla has been of great importance for many centuries, with the expansion of their trade to India and Southeast Asia and India shows the many influences in its architecture.



The residents say the city was founded in 1625 by a Yafa'I Sultan Ahmed bin Madyam to Kasadi. In 1914 he took over from Shihr, about 50 miles east, as the capital of Hadramout when Qu'aitis (originally a tribe of Yafa) transferred his capital.

The city's architecture makes creative use of cast considerable and, in general, is distinguished by its nuances and Southeast Asia india inspiration, the latter evident everywhere in the narrow alleys where intrinsically beautiful carved doors and window screens can be find. The night lit ar-Rawdha and Umar mosques are lovely.

The traveler Jorgen Bisch writes in his book Behind the Veil in Saudi that the doors are so important around Mikalla that sometimes stands in the door first, and the house was built around it.)

The Sultan's Palace, which sits on the edge of the beach near the town, was built in late 1920 by the Sultan 'Umar Awadh sl-Qu'aiti million and is based in India and the new classical style.

...Continuar la lectura