While there is some truth in the view of the Middle East as a region of vast sandy deserts and political unrest this is selling it somewhat short. Iraq and Afganistan are still to be avoided, however the magical deserts, mountains and coastline, incredible archaeology and overwhelming hospitality of the people from Egypt to Iran have inspired travellers for centuries. The Middle East features the rock carved city of Petra, the Pyramids of Giza, Abu Simbel on the banks of the fabled River Nile, the coral reefs of the Red Sea and the architectural splendour and exquisite beauty of Isfahan and Shiraz. If Africa is accepted as the birthplace of humanity then the Middle East has a good case for being the ‘cradle of civilisation’, with archeological evidence of a fairly sophisticated society in what is now Egypt, dating back to 3000BC.

Geography
At the crossroads of Africa, Asia and Europe the region is bounded by the Caucasus Mountains, the Mediterranean, Black, Caspian, Arabian and Red Seas and encompasses Turkey, Egypt, Iran, the Arabian peninsula and the Levant. With the sandy deserts restricted to Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the region comprises great rocky plains and numerous mountainous areas (Mt Ararat 5165m in Turkey) traversed by life sustaining rivers such as the Nile, the Euphrates and the Tigris.

Climate
With the majority of the land mass receiving less than 100mm rainfall per annum variations are restricted to the mountains and the coast. Temperatures vary with the seasons and altitude; snow-capped peaks signal low winter temperatures however, the generally hot and arid climate of the lower interior gives way to 70% humidity and 40-50 centigrade summer temperatures along the coast in the Gulf and on the Red Sea.

Culture
Dissected by ancient trade routes, including the Silk Road and dotted with caravanserais and oases, the Middle East is the birthplace of three world religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It is Islam that has prevailed, despite the best efforts of the crusaders and it was the Arabs who in their turn spread the word of the Koran converting societies to Islam and thus into Arabs. There now exists a strong sense of an ‘Arab Nation’ from Egypt to Oman but the most ‘typical’ Arabs are the Bedouin, the camel driving nomads who still adhere to their ancient way of life not least their famed hospitality to strangers. Though both Persia and Turkey succumbed to the law of Islam, both managed to retain their own languages, with the Farsis (or Persians) adopting the Arabic script for written Persian.