Things to Do in Middle East And Africa

Hwange National Park is Zimbabwe’s largest and most historic game reserve. Just two hours drive from Victoria Falls, this park (about the size of Belgium) is home to more than 100 species of mammals and some 400 different types of birds, making it one of the most diverse game parks in the world. Packs of painted wild hunting dogs, buffalo, lions and leopards call Hwange home, as well as one of the largest elephant herds on earth. 

Accommodations within Hwange range from exclusive lodges to tented camps and visitors can choose to explore the park on guided game drives, walking tours or even horseback safaris.

The KwaZulu-Natal town of Himeville is near the dramatic Drakensberg mountains, roughly 132 miles from Durban. It's a gateway to the Sani Pass en route to Lesotho. Himeville was settled in the late 1880s, and the city's museum is housed in a building that dates from 1900. There are exhibits about the area's agricultural history and rural life in this part of South Africa.

The Drakensberg area near Himeville is popular for outdoor sports of all kinds, including rafting, horseback riding, and fly fishing. The nearby Sani Pass links South Africa with the enclave of Lesotho, though the road is difficult enough that 4x4 vehicles are required.

A forest of white masts poke up from the aquamarine waters along the redeveloped waterfront in Hurghada. While Hurghada has always been a bustling marine port, it wasn’t until 2008 that the city redesigned the Hurghada Marina as a place for locals and visitors to stroll in the sun, get some fresh air or grab a bite to eat with views of the sea.

The marina itself has 200 berths for sail boats and mega yachts, while the waterfront Hurghada Marine Boulevard is home to cafes, restaurants, shop and stylish bars, many hosting live music most nights of the week. Visitors can shop in a recreated Souk, dance the night away at a beach bar or board a glass-bottom boat to explore the colorful corals just offshore.

Insider’s Tip: The Hurghada Marina hosts special events and festivals throughout the year. Check their Facebook page for the latest.

Since excavations began in the village of Al Hili, located 7 miles (12 kilometers) north of Al Ain, began during the 1960s, archaeological teams have uncovered ruins of settlements and tombs dating back to the Bronze Age. By 1995 the site was fully excavated, restored and opened as the Hili Archeological Park. Today, visitors from around the United Arab Emirates and the world come to see the remains of the country’s oldest settlement, where inhabitants once worked in agriculture and the copper trade.

Among the highlights of the UNESCO-listed park is a giant tomb where six hundred people were found buried. The two tomb entrances are decorated with reliefs depicting crude human and animal figures. Kids (and their parents) will appreciate the small children’s play area located within the archeological park grounds.

The Slave Lodge Museum, housed in one of the city’s oldest buildings, is today an informational capsule and memorial dedicated to the difficult history of slavery in Cape Town and around the world.

The refurbished two-story edifice once described as a “shameless fortress of human misery,” was formerly owned by the Dutch East India Company and housed hundreds of slaves between 1679 and 1811. They worked in the adjacent Company’s Gardens, awaited auction on nearby Spin Street, and, some – as many as 20 percent – also died here.

Visitors to the museum learn about the routes that brought slaves to Cape Town via Indonesia, India-Ceylon, Madagascar and Mozambique and the slaving era through exhibits of period artifacts, audio-visual shows, maps depicting the uses of the building’s rooms, and other experiential displays like a reconstruction of the cramped conditions of a slaving ship. A light-infused memorial lists names of known slaves held here. Traveling exhibits on global human and civil rights issues occasionally appear and in the past have put a spotlight on segregation in schools in the United States and the role of women during the South African apartheid.

Also worth visiting: The building’s interior courtyard, which houses the tombstones of the city’s founder Jan van Riebeeck and his wife. Though the museum is expansive, many visitors find even a short visit of an hour or two to be both enlightening and emotional.

Howick Falls is a waterfall in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, some 63 miles from Durban. It falls roughly 310 feet from the river into a pool before the river continues on.

The Zulu name for the falls is KwaNogqaza, and legend is that a huge serpent lives in the pool beneath the falls. Sangomas, or fortune tellers, are said to be the only ones who can go near the waterfall safely.

Whether you believe the stories or not, the truth is that many people have died attempting to cross the Umgeni River just above the falls. Howick Falls remains a popular tourist destination, perhaps as much due to the legends as to its natural beauty. 

Known as the gateway to Oman’s Sharqiya region, the city of Ibra is one of Oman’s oldest cities, well known for its impressive horsemen and camel-racing celebrations. Ibra sits 87 miles (140 km) south of Muscat on the ancient caravan route through the Omani interior and is surrounded by hills dotted with watchtowers. Ibra is also famous for its wadis and old trading links with Zanzibar, which made the city rich. In Ibra’s old quarter, you can still see the grand houses of the wealthy merchants who built their mansions on East African riches, and in the remarkably green city, you’ll find banana trees and date palms.

With a population of about 55,000, Ibra is home to an especially lively souk. In a modern building in the heart of the town, you can buy everything from carpets to traditional daggers to the silver Ibra is known for. Female travelers should also make time to visit Ibra’s women-only souk on Wednesday mornings. The only one of its kind in Oman, the market’s female merchants sell powders, creams and lotions, as well as fruit and vegetables. 

Located in the Mirdif neighborhood of Dubai, iFly Dubai is a skydive center that lets you replicate the experience of a parachute drop in a controlled indoor environment. iFlyers—as they’re called—fly on air gusts created in an acrylic wind tunnel. You’ll get the sensation of a real skydive—without having to jump from a plane.

iFlyers take part in an introductory briefing with an instructor before donning a wind-suit and full-face helmet and entering a 32-foot (10-meter) wind tunnel in a small group. Then, with an instructor on-hand throughout, they rise up to 13 feet (4 meters) above-ground on air gusts to experience an exhilarating, gravity-defying “flight.” Depending on the instructor’s judgment, participants may also be invited to perform flips and turns.

Visitors can prebook for iFly sessions online to save time and hassle. Options include beginner’s packages that feature two 1-minute flights, upgraded packages that offer two 2-minute flights, or virtual reality experiences that let you fly over virtual Dubai locations.  All include training and equipment. Repeat iFlyers, meanwhile, can experience two 1-minute flights specifically aimed at helping them develop their technique.

iFly is situated in the City Center Mirdif Mall in eastern Dubai. Hop in a cab—most drivers will know where it is—or take the metro to the Rashidiya stop and catch a taxi from there—it’s a few minutes’ drive. Regular shuttle buses also run from the station to the mall.

Summer is ideal for enjoying iFly; it’s indoors, so you can escape Dubai’s worst heat and avoid the center’s busiest periods during the peak winter tourist season. iFly is open daily: 12pm-10pm Sunday-Wednesday, 12pm-11pm Thursday, and 10am-11pm Friday.

Once you’ve booked for iFly, arrive 30 minutes before your scheduled flight to allow time for signing waivers. It’s best to wear a short or long top, plus long pants and trainers as you’ll need to put the supplied wind-suit over your clothes. Free lockers are available.

Africa's tallest structure is in the skyscraper-rich city of Johannesburg, in the suburb of Hillbrow to be exact. The Hillbrow Tower stands at 883 feet and has held the title of Africa's tallest tower for 40 years.

The Hillbrow Tower was completed in 1971, and was at one time the tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere. It lost that designation in 1978 when a chimney in Queensland, Australia was built to be two feet taller. The structure is technically called the Telkom Jo'burg Tower, after the telecommunications company for whom it was initially built.

The distinctive Hillbrow Tower is one of the symbols of Johannesburg – it was decorated with an enormous soccer ball during the 2010 World Cup. The tower was closed to visitors in 1981, which is too bad for anyone who appreciates soaring views – the tower was once one of the city's top tourist draws, and one of the top floors even had a revolving restaurant.

Since the Hillbrow Tower was closed, the furnishings in the high-end restaurants and observation deck in the upper floors have been removed and are in the Telkom buildings in Pretoria. Some of the building is now used by Telkom for office space.

Set near Cape Town, the Imizamo Yethu Township in Hout Bay Valley is relatively small when compared to some other South African townships, with just over 33,000 people calling it home. Living conditions are slightly better than they were under apartheid, but not as much as one might think.

Many of the houses in the township are simple metal shacks, little changed since the apartheid era, and certainly not ideal as housing. Others are new and sturdy homes, built by Irish volunteers in 2002.

Islamic architecture abounds in Cairo—after all, it is one of the world’s oldest Muslim cities and also known as the City of a Thousand Minarets. The densest and oldest concentration of historic hammams, mosques, education centers or madrasas, mausoleums and fountains—some dating to the 10th century—comprise Islamic Cairo, a loosely defined bastion of old Cairo. Here, visitors can spend days winding through narrow streets, exploring mosques and markets, and feeling transported to a Cairo sans‐McDonalds and shopping malls. Popular points of reference include the old citadel built in the 12th century atop the tallest point in the city to defend from marauding crusaders and the Al‐Azhar Mosque with its marble‐paved interior courtyard, affiliated University—perhaps the oldest such institution in the world—and stalactite cornicing representing dripping water. Other popular stops include the Mosque‐Madrass of Sultan Hassan with its 220‐foot minaret and the Mosque of Ibn Tulun located on a small hill that local legend says is where Noah’s Ark rested following the floods instead of at Mount Ararat.

House of Wonders, which is home to the Museum of History and Culture, is not only the largest—but also the tallest building in Stone Town. Built in 1883, the palace was the first building on the island to have electricity and the first in the region to have a working elevator. Since the early 2000s, House of Wonders has showcased a permanent collection of artifacts related to Swahili and Zanzibari culture. 

Travelers can explore the grounds, which include a traditional Swahili boat, old-world fishing tools and famous ships, or wander the halls that offer an up close look at traditional garments, historic portraits of royalty and ancient furniture taken from former sultans’ homes. A visit to House of Wonders provides travelers with a window into the local culture and the island’s rich history. 

A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999 (the first in South Africa), iSimangaliso Wetland Park encompasses 820,389 acres (332,000 hectares) of lakes, estuaries, beaches, swamps, coastal dunes and coral reefs extending for some 125 miles (200 kilometers) along the coast of the Indian Ocean. 

This wide variety of interlinking ecosystems has yielded incredible biodiversity in the area — the park is home to more than 6,500 plant and animal species, including 521 species of birds, as well as African elephants, humpback whales, loggerhead and leatherback sea turtles, Nile crocodiles and hippos.

The best way to explore the vast wetland park is by boat, which allows visitors to observe the park’s wildlife from relatively close up. Diving, snorkeling, kayaking, camping and horseback riding are also on offer within the park.

A small island covering just over 100 acres (42 hectares), Ilot Gabriel is a gem in the crystal clear waters near Grand Bay. Day trippers sail to Ilot Gabriel aboard catamarans from Grand Bay, and after a 90-minute journey, arrive on the unspoiled beaches of the island.

Geckos creep along the greenery lining the beach, and the gentle waters are popular for snorkeling and diving right off the beach. Since the island is part of a protected nature reserve, its natural habitats remain largely untouched. Most excursions to the island also include a BBQ lunch, served al fresco on the beach.

Founded in 1965, the Israel Museum in Jerusalem ranks as the largest cultural institution in Israel and one of the world’s top archaeology and art museums. The extensive collection of nearly half a million objects, which contains works spanning from prehistory to today, is divided into Fine Arts, Archaeology, Jewish Art and Life collections and includes the world’s most extensive collection of biblical and Holy Land archaeological pieces.

Within the galleries and exhibits of the recently upgraded 20-acre museum campus, visitors will find find the Shrine of the Book where the Dead Sea Scrolls are kept, as well as the Billy Rose Art Garden, considered among the best outdoor sculpture gardens of the twentieth century. Sculptures by masters like Pablo Picasso, Auguste Rodin and Henry Moore are scattered throughout.

One of the worst defeats in British military history occurred on January 22, 1879 during the Battle of Isandlwana. The battle, fought near a hill in Zululand of the same name, took place early in the Anglo-Zulu war when a British invasion column of some 1,300 soldiers under the command of General Lord Chelmsford was attacked by a 20,000-strong Zulu army, resulting in a humiliating defeat.

Today Isandlwana Battlefield is dotted with stone cairns indicating the resting places of soldiers killed in the battle. A small on-site museum and visitors center showcases artifacts, relics and background information on the battle — a bonus particularly for those visiting the battlefield without a guide.

In September 2016, IMG Worlds of Adventure opened in Dubai as the world’s largest indoor theme park. The 1.5 million square foot space is divided between three themed areas and IMG Boulevard, the park’s welcome zone.

In the Marvel zone, visitors encounter their favorite comic book superheroes, with thrilling attractions like Avengers Battle of Ultron, Hulk Epsilon Base 3D, Spider-Man Doc Ock’s Revenge and Thor Thunder Spinner. The Lost Valley zone brings dinosaurs to life, while the Cartoon Network zone features characters from Adventure Time, The Powerpuff Girls, Ben 10 and The Amazing World of Gumball. IMG Worlds of Adventure also houses a 12-screen cinema screening the latest blockbusters.

Located 7 miles (14 kilometers) west of Tangier, near Cape Spartel, Hercules Cave is one of the area’s top attractions. Discovered in 1906, the cave extends for 18.6 miles (30 kilometers) and is both natural and manmade. It features two openings, one to land and one to sea, with the latter known as the “Map of Africa” for its distinctive shape.

 

The cave system takes its name from the mythical hero Hercules, who allegedly slept in the cave before one of his 12 legendary labors. It’s been in use since prehistoric times, most recently by the Berbers to make millstones, which helped to enlarge the cave system. You can see still the indentations on the cave walls and ceiling. The “Map of Africa” is believed to have been created by the Phoenicians and is one of the most intriguing aspects of the cave. Don’t forget to take in the wonderful ocean views from inside the cave.

 

Hercules Cave features on many guided tours, whether half-day or full-day, which typically include nearby Cape Spartel and other top Tangier attractions such as the Kasbah. It’s also possible to visit as part of a shore excursion from Tangier, or even on a day trip from southern Spain.

 

 

The easiest way to visit Hercules Cave is as part of a guided tour. To visit on your own from Tangier, it’s best to take a taxi. There is also one sightseeing bus from Tangier that stops near the caves.

 

The cave system is open daily, year-round. July and August are the peak season and see the most visitors, including at the nearby beaches. Visit early morning on a weekday during peak season to avoid the crowds. Or visit in the late afternoon, then stay for the sunset at a nearby café.

 

Legend has it that Hercules rested in this cave before his 11th labor, to obtain golden apples from the garden of Hesperides, located in nearby Lixus. On his way to the garden Hercules had to cross the Atlas Mountains, but instead of doing so, he smashed through them and as a result created the Strait of Gibraltar.