Club Mid
The Council makes it a specialty to chronicle the potential threats, cataclysms and thaws the United States faces overseas. Not surprisingly, Middle Eastern roils figure prominently in the Council's quarterly journal. Four of the latest issue's 13 main pieces are Middle East related, a 31 percent ratio --or a .308 batting average, if you're in baseball withdrawal. If you include Sens. Hillary Clinton's and John McCain's foreign policy essays, the bulk of which are focused on the Middle East, the ratio approaches 50 percent.
The Middle East's 13 Percent Share
Against that, the Times' seven favored Middle Eastern destination, out of 53, represents for that much-maligned region an acceptable 13 percent of the world's choicest vacation spots. Not a bad counterpoint. Then again, let's not forget that the likes of Muhammad, Christ and a long run of like-minded prophets before them chose the Middle East rather than, say, the Yukon or the Kuril Islands, to make their mark. There's something inherently attractive about the Middle East, even, if not especially, for the gods.
Lesser tourists should find themselves no less enchanted. So what are the Times' suggested destinations? For the complete story from a Mideastern perspective, see my "Club Mid: The Middle East's Best Travel Spots."
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Comments
Pierre,
What do you know. Iran, one of the axis of evil, one of the most demonized countries in recent memory, a tourist attraction? It wasn’t long ago when hundreds of thousands foreigners traveled to Iran to visit the heritage of its glorious past. In Persepolis there is no rock that is not carved with European names.
A small, and perhaps unimportant correction:
Early History: : The first Iranian empire was founded by the Medes (one of the major Iranian tribes) after defeat of the Assyrians. The first Persian empire was founded by Cyrus in 529 B.C., followed by that of the Parthians, a major Iranian tribes famous for their mastery of archery and horseback riding, who ruled Iran for nearly 500 years. They were one of the. They were followed by the Sasanians - of Persian origin –…
The most fateful event in the history of Iran was the invasion of the Mongols and the utter destruction of the country from which after nearly eight hundred years it hasn’t recovered.
Iran is a fascinating country (if one ignores the mullahs). One third of the country is covered by the desert (Dasht-e Kavir) and another third by majestic mountains. One of the rarest of deers, the one famous for its musk, live at the periphery of the desert. The greatest bird sanctuary, a crossroad of the migrating birds of the rarest kinds, in the world is in the northeast on the shore of the Caspian Sea. Iran is the only country where the last Asiatic Cheetah are found today. Tehran, nearly four hundred years old, is the youngest city. The majestic Damavand near Tehran, a dormant volcano with its cap covered with snow all year around, is a wonder to see. During my military service near the Iraq border, I noticed that the local sheppards, who are Kurds, wore expensive and very elaborate jewelry. It turned out that during the winter time they go around the mountain hills with a long crowbar tapping the ground looking for ancient graves. Often they find one and of course they loot it (illegally).
Minor correction:
Early History: : The first Iranian empire was founded by the Medes (one of the major Iranian tribes) after defeating the Assyrians. The first Persian empire was founded by Cyrus in 529 B.C., followed by that of the Parthians, a major Iranian tribe, famous for their mastery of archery and horseback riding, who ruled Iran for nearly 500 years. They were followed by the Sasanians — of Persian origin — …