The Best Places in the Middle East to Visit in 2024

Okay, forgive us for the technicality on this one. Morocco, obviously, isn’t part of the Middle East. In fact it stretches further west than any point of mainland Europe. However, the Maghreb region of North Africa is very much an extension of the Middle East. You can trace this culturally, with Arabic and Islamic heritage dominating much of the region and, as a result, the architecture, local traditions and general ambience of cities in particular is very similar to that of Middle Eastern countries. Geographically, meanwhile, you have the Sahara Desert, which stretches all the way from Egypt in the Middle East to Morocco, the Maghreb’s westernmost nation. That’s our justification for including Morocco in this list, but more importantly we’re talking about the world’s largest (and most famous) hot desert. Our 11-day Epic Morocco itinerary includes a visit to this sprawling sandy landscape, as you visit a rural Gnawa village to learn about Saharan culture, before zooming across dunes to reach our desert campsite. That’s where we’ll spend an evening of wine tasting and stargazing around a campfire in the heart of the Sahara, before waking early the following morning for an unforgettable sunrise camel ride – is there a travel experience more quintessentially Middle Eastern than that?