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Middle East

View from the Top of Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building.

Why Dubai Should be on Your Bucket List

May 29, 2020 KeepCalmAndWander 0 Comments

What comes to mind when the City of Dubai is mentioned? Is it the sweeping views of high-rises? Is it the world record titles (the tallest, the biggest, the largest) attached to its name? Or is it the immense wealth the city is known for, as evident in extravagant shopping

Middle East

8 Things to do in Kuwait

April 23, 2018 KeepCalmAndWander 0 Comments

Sandwiched between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, my experience with Kuwait, a tiny Arab country, is nothing spectacular. That’s mainly because aside from being so expensive, public transport around the city is almost non-existent. Taxis? Duh, they’ll rip you off, especially tourists. Uber and other car sharing business? Nada. It can

Middle East

10 Things to do in Bahrain

April 18, 2018 KeepCalmAndWander 0 Comments

Riches are the first thing that comes to everyone’s mind when most people think of the Arab world. However, I’d like to add here that besides all of its oil reserves, luxury hotels, glittering gold, and everything expensive, I found Bahrain rich in culture, too. Wandering through the following 8

Saudi Arabia

The Fireworks at Yanbu Flower Festival

March 31, 2018 KeepCalmAndWander 0 Comments

Here are the photos of the fireworks at Yanbu Flower Festival! Saudi Arabia might be the least country you would expect to have a flower show, but yeah, they have one! Yanbu Flower Festival is on from March 1 – April 7, 2018. Saudi Arabia isn’t really famous for its

Middle East

Coptic Museum in Cairo has the World’s Largest Collection of Coptic Artifacts

May 8, 2017 KeepCalmAndWander 0 Comments

The Coptic Museum in Cairo has the world’s largest collection of Coptic artifacts. I find this museum more interesting than the overcrowded Egyptian Museum in downtown Cairo. But these two have one thing in common – lack of interesting descriptions. I think when you’re visiting Cairo, you should divide your sightseeing

Coptic Cairo - Church of Sts Sergius and Bacchus (Egypt).

UNESCO Sites

Jesus was a Refugee in Egypt and This is the Cave Where He Stayed

May 4, 2017 KeepCalmAndWander 0 Comments

Jesus was a refugee in Egypt and this is the cave where he stayed with Mary and Joseph. It is also believed that Joseph, the carpenter, might have worked at the Babylon Fortress nearby. When Jesus was still an infant, King Herod of Judea ordered to kill all “first borns.”

Middle East

Montaza Palace Gardens – A Beautiful Refuge from the Heat

May 2, 2017 KeepCalmAndWander 0 Comments

Montaza Palace Gardens is your beautiful refuge from the heat in Alexandria. Though it can be chilly in winter, it is still an ideal place to watch the Mediterranean sunset. A walk in this huge park should be relaxing, while admiring the well-tended gardens. You’ll never run out of shades

Middle East

Bahrain Skyline at Night

March 1, 2017 KeepCalmAndWander 0 Comments

Last weekend, a colleague and I went to Manama to renew our working visa from another Gulf country. I’ve been to Bahrain 4 times already and I stayed 3-4 nights in each visit. There’s nothing much to do in Bahrain, really. You can even explore the whole country in half

Middle East

The Tree of Life in Bahrain – A Miracle in the Desert

June 12, 2016 KeepCalmAndWander 0 Comments

Just 45 minutes drive outside Manama, the Tree of Life in Bahrain survives miraculously in the middle of a desert where gas pumps are working everywhere. This mesquite tree stands alone in the arid land and under the searing heat of the sun. Related: Things to do in Manama The

The World's Most Beautiful Starbucks at Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai.

United Arab Emirates

The Most Beautiful Starbucks in the World

June 10, 2016 KeepCalmAndWander 0 Comments

A friend (whom I’ve never seen in ages) and I went to Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai with one purpose – to see, try and experience what it’s like sitting in the most beautiful Starbucks in the world. Well, apparently. It’s not just gorgeous but it’s grand and magnificent! The

6 Incredible Hikes Sunrise at Mt Sinai, Egypt.

Middle East

Climbing Mt Sinai – Where Moses Received the 10 Commandments

April 11, 2016 KeepCalmAndWander 0 Comments

Climbing Mt Sinai – where Moses received the 10 commandments – at two in the morning is something I never had in my bucket list. To be cliche, “not even in my wildest dreams.” After getting too much history of ancient Egypt in Cairo and Luxor, I decided to fly

United Arab Emirates

View from the Top of Burj Khalifa

March 8, 2016 KeepCalmAndWander 0 Comments

The view from the top of Burj Khalifa in Dubai shows the fast-growing pace of wherever the city is heading to. Since The Burj is the tallest building in the world, the other skyscrapers you see when you’re overland look nothing but skinny matchsticks from above. It is amazing to see

Qal-at al-Bahrain is your window to the country's historical past.

Middle East

The Historical Bahrain Fort – Land of Immortality

January 6, 2016 KeepCalmAndWander 0 Comments

I was in Manama (Bahrain) for three days and two nights—and the whole time I was there, it rained. It did stop a few times during the day but it’s murky cloudy and then rain showers would come back and forth. I didn’t really explore the city much, except visiting

King Fahd Causeway - the bridge that links Saudi Arabia and bahrain.

Middle East

King Fahd Causeway – Connecting Saudi and Bahrain

December 21, 2015 KeepCalmAndWander 0 Comments

King Fahd Causeway in Manama is a structure that connects two countries by the Arabian Gulf—Saudi and Bahrain. It is 26 kilometers long and looks like a humpback whale from afar. There’s a small island between two countries, like in the middle of the sea, that serves as the border.

Middle East

Photos: Manama Skyline From The Fort

December 17, 2015 KeepCalmAndWander 0 Comments

If you want to see Manama skyline, you better head out to the city’s 16th century Fort. It’s 15 minutes drive away from the city without traffic. Manama’s streets can be really congested during peak hours and you won’t like it. I had developed 1000+ wrinkles while stuck in traffic. But

UNESCO Sites

The Amazing Petra in Jordan

January 23, 2014 KeepCalmAndWander 7 Comments

YOU HAVE TO SEE IT TO BELIEVE IT! Petra in Jordan is amazing. Dazzling. Breathtaking. Magnificent. Phenomenal. Insert your own adjectives—they’re all true for many reasons. Petra, no doubt, would never fail to amaze you. It’s jaw-dropping! Literally. Another item in my bucket lis: to gawk at the amazing Petra. Checked.