Middle East

Top three Middle East tours

1. Marrakech & The Sahara, Morocco: Said to be imbued with strange and magical qualities, the dunes and plains of the Sahara stretch into eternity. Well, almost. Its name comes from Arabic, meaning the Great Desert. And great it is. Reaching from the Atlantic Coast to the Red Sea, it’s the size of the USA and covers a quarter of the African continent. It’s largely uninhabited, but nomadic Berber people live in tents here and the most reliable means of transport is camel.

2. The Lost City of Petra, Jordan: Discover the legendary lost city of Petra. Carved into red and pink sandstone cliffs, the vast subterranean township was once a thriving trade centre and capital of the Nabataean Empire between 400 BC and AD 106. In 1812, a young Swiss explorer – whose ambition was to discover the source of the Niger – disguised himself as a Bedouin in order to explore the area and stumbled upon the fabulous ghost town of ornately decorated tombs, temples and theatres.

3. Nile Cruise, Egypt: Sail between Aswan and Luxor by cruiser to witness the landscape of the Nile Valley and the lavish tombs of the Valley of the Kings, and savour the tranquility of your setting during a day aboard a felucca – these single-masted wooden boats have been sailing the Nile since ancient times. From here watch the golden late-afternoon sun dissolve into a spectacular sunset.