(06-05-2011 11:35 PM)hoops330 Wrote: Anyone have any extended experience in the middle or near east? I'm looking to do some research and internships somewhere in the middle east and I'm not sure what I could expect as an American. I'm more interested in the travel experience than the gaming/girls experience. Possible countries: Israel, Jordan, Omar, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Bangladesh.
Hey
hoops330
I have done some travelling in the middleast and was recently in Israel and Jordan for some weeks. Loved it!
Israel: first off; as an american they will love you here!
Tel Aviv is a really cool place;modern, chill vibe, alot of young outgoing good looking people, they all speak english. Awsome beach culture (this is the Rio of the middleeast). Full of museums, nice cafes,bars and restaurants. hefty nightlife.There is always some cultural stuff going on like concerts, parades, shows and nice markets.
There is a big Ethiopian society here in Tel Aviv.
The whole time I was there I felt really safe, no matter what time of day it was. There is heavy security!
Good bus transport network makes it easy to travel all over Israel. Its a small country so its easy to get a round.
Then you have Betlehem, Nazareth and Jerusalem beautiful places full of history. You will spend days there just wandering around, enjoying and taking it all inn! Then there is the Palestine terretorries Gaza and West Banks which is good to see to try to understand the whole conflict better! The people are really nice and interesting; you will never forget their stories and the people you meet! Dont worry its safe!
For relaxing and sunbathing you can go enjoy Eilat (5 hour bus trip) or
the Dead Sea. Eilat is crazy during the summer months, and recives alot of scandinavian tourist and russians! Alot of clubs and drunk teenage girls having fun!
Israel is not cheap (saying this as a Norwegian), but this is easy one of my favourite places; i met so many nice helpful people, many of them will invite you for beer or cafe/tea, food is good, the girls are fucking hot, they all love to enjoy themself; going out, drinking, smoking, people will not try husle or fool you (like in many middleeast countries where you always have to negotioate for everything). I met alot of american girls in Tel Aviv.
Remember if you go, you will get a denied entry to alot of Arabic countries! and have an open mind!
Jordan: Jordanians are really quite nice people, and some people speak englsih. I would say its a safe place and its much cheaper than Israel. There is alot of palestinians ans Iraqis here. Mini-buses and shared (service) taxis is the best and easiest way to get around here. Its a small country so you can travel to all the corners within hours. Less crowds and tourist come here.
Petra (one of the 7 wonders of the world) is found here. A real impressive sight. Then there is the Desert of Wadi Rum (Lawrence of Arabia), some Roman ruins and the Dead Sea.
Food is okay, alcohol is not available everywhere. You need to go to clubs, bars, discos to get alcohol (expensive). Apart from Aqaba you will find moslty men and some prostitute/working girls there. One the side tip; Jordanian men dont like foregins fucking around with their ladies, that's a no no! Believe me! There is some hassel, especial with taxi drivers.
Aqaba is by the way Jordans only beach resort destination. Has good weather all year, and sees alot of scandinavian, russian and English tourist. Excellent for diving and snorkling.
Amman is nothing special, rather boring city, not much to see.
As for Turkey i have only visit Istanbul and Cappadoccia.
Istanbul is awsome. You be walking on history man!
Full of amazing sights. East meets west. Big, modern, the old and the new. Great value for money. Good food. Some of the best coffe is to be found here. Easy to get around. From Istanbul you can go anywhere by bus or flight. The Bus system is some of the best i have seen. Feels safe. I had nothing happeing to me during my time there. And I like to get fucked! Full of culture, shows, nightclubs, bars, heavy discotecs, menclubs (the dirty ones!).
Turkey in general has many impressive sights all over, and alot of nice beaches. Also good for trekking in the north, if thats youre thing.
Beautiful women, but difficult! Islam is the major religion here, but still its very liberal (Istanbul and big cities) , you can get alcohol everywhere, see girls in jeans and the like. English is no problem in Istanbul!
You will see alot of backpackers all over.
I dont know about Oman, but I have been to neighbourig United Arab Emirates!
Like Jim Krane (author of Dubai - the story of the world's fastest city) said ; "Dubai is Capitalism on Cocaine"! And yeah Dubai can be fun!
Just imagen 50 years ago this was no more than a creek, sand and a bunch of bedouins sitting around drinking chai and telling stories!!
...and today...WOW!! I think you either hate it or love it!
Dubai and the emirates is not that expensive as many people might think. Food can be had at reasonable price, and you can get everything from western - chinese, italian, lebanse alot of pakistani and indian food, and offcourse traditional arabic. and transportation in Dubai is new, modern and fast (Mrt). The country is stable and safe! But still you have to remember that it is a strict Islamic country, with some of the fun from the west; like alcohol and girls (prostitutes that is)!
You can get arrested for being drunk public, and even showing affection with a girl! Don't even touch drugs!! Still at the big ass hotels like Hilton they will allow you having a beer/drink at their beach!
There is alot of awsome clubs, but alcohol is expensive, also the only places where you can get it (some hotels do have). Or else you need like a offical permission!! All the people speak english. There is tons of foregin workers from india, bangladesh, philipines, pakistan staying her to work for shit salary! and girls from Iran, Russia all over east europe and some african countries prostituting. You will see them in every club! Sad!
If you planing on staying for some time, you might feel lonely at times.The emirates keeps to themself, and its hard to make friends with them.They dont have the awsome history and sights of Turkey or Israel. but you can enjoy some desert camping, diving, 4x4 or bungey in the desert. their is the camel races, good for golfing, you have crazy arcitehture, the burj khalifa (worlds tallest building), indoor skiing, waterparks, burj al arab, and the beaches with some water sports.
Alot of tourist comes here, you wont meet your typical backpacker!
But I noticed there is alot of schools for learning arabic.
The other emirates (except Abu Dhabi maybe) is very different for Dubai, you will be able to experience the more real arab/islamic culture and people.
I hope this in some ways was helpful!
-rdp