MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA

Middle East & North Africa

From Istanbul and the Nile to Morocco’s medinas and Jordan’s Petra, first learn the customs around prayer times, dress and Ramadan.

Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg · CC BY 4.0

City guides

Start with a city

Every city guide has a timeline, stories of local figures, must-see sights, festivals and local etiquette.

İstanbul

Istanbul

2 places

A thousand-year imperial capital spanning two continents: Byzantium, the Ottomans and the Bosphorus

القاهرة Cairo

Cairo

3 places

'The Victorious City': Islamic Cairo, Khan el-Khalili and the pyramids of Giza

الأقصر Luxor · 古称底比斯

Luxor

1 places

Thebes, 'City of a Hundred Gates': Karnak and the Valley of the Kings

أسوان Aswan

Aswan

2 places

Ancient Egypt's southern gateway: Nubia, Philae and Abu Simbel

مراكش Marrakech

Marrakesh

3 places

The 'Red City': the night market of Jemaa el-Fnaa and the old city at the foot of the Atlas

فاس Fès

Fez

1 places

A thousand-year-old university and a labyrinthine medina: al-Qarawiyyin and the tanneries

أبوظبي Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi

3 places

'Father of the Gazelle': from pearling village to capital of the UAE

البتراء Petra · Wadi Musa

Petra (Wadi Musa)

2 places

The rose-red Nabataean city, and the Valley of the Moon to the south

FoodMarrakesh, Morocco

Moroccan tagine

A North African stew slow-cooked in a pointed clay pot — the dish is named after the pot.

Classic landmarkOunila Valley, Ouarzazate Province, Morocco

Aït Benhaddou

An 11th-century earthen village — a thousand-year-old staging post on the trade route from the Sahara to Marrakesh, and a location for Gladiator…

Classic landmarkAtlantic coast, Casablanca, Morocco

Hassan II Mosque

A 210-m minaret, the tallest in Africa, and prayer halls built right over the sea — one of the few Moroccan mosques open to non-Muslims.

Classic landmarkRif Mountains, northern Morocco

Chefchaouen

A mountain town painted blue since the 1930s, where the culture of Andalusian exiles meets Berber mountain culture.

The colourful dye vats of Chouara Tannery

Classic landmarkFes el-Bali, Fez, Morocco

Fez medina and Chouara Tannery

Coloured dye vats in use since the 11th century, in the same city as the world's oldest university, founded in 859 and still teaching.

Jemaa el-Fnaa at night with the Koutoubia minaret

Classic landmarkMarrakesh medina, Morocco

Marrakesh medina and Jemaa el-Fnaa

UNESCO Oral and Intangible Heritage — a thousand-year-old open-air theatre of storytellers, snake charmers and Gnawa musicians.