Jaunted - Tag: Middle East

Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi's Putting Giraffes In The Desert

amandak — 2009-01-02T09:30:41-05:00

Dubai's lil' bro Abu Dhabi is apparently doing more than just becoming a cultural capital of the UAE--now it's heading into a new career in being environmentally conscious too.

Well, they're calling the new Desert Islands project "conservation," but we're not quite sure yet. With the first stage just open, the Desert Islands are just southwest of Abu Dhabi and while they used to be a royal retreat, this area is becoming home to individually-irrigated trees and an incredible mix of animals.

So far in the Arabian Wildlife Park section there are 23 species of animals, including the almost-extinct Arabian oryx, along with giraffes and antelope. Cheetahs are due to arrive soon and in time the fences that divide the animals will come down, allowing them all to mix in a "like wild" habitat. Conservation--or feeding time?

Related Stories:
· Desert Islands [Official Site]
· Animal Prints [The Australian]
· Abu Dhabi Sneaking Out Of Dubai's (Big) Shadow [Jaunted]

[Photo: Desert Islands]

Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Sneaking Out Of Dubais (Big) Shadow

amandak — 2008-11-10T09:00:10-05:00

Playing little brother to international city of the moment Dubai would definitely suck, but tourism officials are keen to make the UAE’s second city Abu Dhabi famous for something other than bizarre morphing skyscrapers. Abu Dhabi is proudly striving to become the cultural capital of the Middle East instead.

And while we scoffed a bit at first, on closer investigation it seems like Abu Dhabi does know something about culture. There’s going to be a Guggenheim Abu Dhabi by 2012, and in keeping with the UAE's penchant for world records, it'll be the world's biggest Guggenheim museum.

They've also got a bunch of national cultural buildings in Abu Dhabi like the National Theater and the main national library. Perhaps we’ll soon be able to skip the skyscrapers of Dubai and spend our layover soaking up the museum culture of Abu Dhabi. Pity the shopping will probably never be as good.

Related Stories:
· Oil’s Well in Abu Dhabi [The Age]
· The Incredible Morphing Skyscraper [Jaunted]

[Photo: Ioan Barbulescu]

Doha: Architecture Travel: Hidden Museum in the Desert

Dan Gould — 2008-08-27T10:30:17-05:00

A giant sand dune is going to be home to the new Museum of Modern Arab Art in Doha, Qatar. From a distance, it just looks like another pile of sand, like thousands of others in the desert. Upon closer inspection, it becomes apparent that the dune isn't quite what it seems.

Architect Rafael Viñoly designed the museum to blend seamlessly with its environment. In a possible reference to historic Bedouin tents, Viñoly has used a sand-colored stretched canvas-like material to cover the 350,000 square foot space.

This camouflaged building will house Sheikh Hassan Bin Mohammed Al-Thani's large collection of Arab art dating from the early Qur'anic period to modern times. And, you'll find plenty of other treasures to explore at the MOMAA. The collection includes 5,000 paintings, 700 antiques, sculptures, metalwork, ceramics, a calligraphy section, photography and more. The museum is scheduled to be finished by 2011.

Related Stories:
· Enormous Artificial Sand Dune To House Museum of Modern Arab Art [Gizmodo]
· Rafael Viñoly Architects [Official Site]
· Architecture Travel coverage [Jaunted]

Saudi Arabia Says Tourism's Coming Soon

amandak — 2008-06-06T09:45:01-05:00

Given that for most of us women, vacationing with a head to toe cloak isn't our top priority, we haven't often considered Saudi Arabia as a destination. But maybe that's about to change.

The Saudi government is pushing to attract more tourists to the country, aiming for 1.5 million a year, not including the Muslim tourists who come on pilgrimage. Three new training colleges will teach the locals to work as tour guides, airport officials and travel agents.

But it's not "tourism at any cost": The government will tell tourists what we can expect (we're waiting to hear) and that includes somewhat restrictive cultural norms. Probably not a destination for a beach vacation but you might get to run up and down a sand dune fully clothed.

Related Stories:
· Saudi Arabia a Sleeping Giant [The National]
· Saudi Arabia Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: zedorwin]

Dubai: New Low Cost Carrier Heading for Dubai

amandak — 2008-03-24T11:30:01-05:00

Even though the Middle East already has five low cost carriers in operation, the UAE has decided that it needs another one. In a slightly complicated-sounding business arrangement, Emirates is going to help the government set up a Dubai-based budget airline--which doesn't yet have a name--and one of Emirates' current VPs will then resign from Emirates to run the new, independent-from-Emirates airline.

The new airline will use some single-aisle aircraft (currently rare in the Gulf) and will fly to various destinations less than five hours away from Dubai. Exactly how low cost it'll be is also a bit unclear. All they've said is that "services should be priced on the living and economic conditions to suit their income."

It's all supposed to be up and running within the next year, so watch this space for more info. We're curious about a name: Dub-Air, perhaps, although that makes it sound like a Dubious Airline. We're guessing they'll choose something else.

Related Stories:
· Dubai Government to Launch Budget Airline [Gulf News]
· Emirates coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: woody1778a]

Oman's Great, But...

benh — 2008-03-17T13:00:01-05:00

Call it the curse of The New York Times. We recently talked about how Oman is just now opening its doors to tourism, but with the Times now dubbing this calm gulf state the "anti-Dubai" it looks like it's gonna be pushed into the mainstream. Hey, it happened to Bangladesh.

The lure of craggy canyons, barracuda-filled coral reefs and untainted streets teeming with history is enough to attract plenty of travelers. And no place can stay "undiscovered" forever. But with Oman's selling point being its authenticity, it seems only a matter of time before some entrepreneur offers "authenticity" in a vacation package.

Of course that doesn't mean we wouldn't go. Gotta get there before a Pizza Hut opens up, right?

Related Stories:
· The Anti-Dubai (for now) [NYT]
· Oman Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Middle East Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: ringogoingo]

Come Back Soon: Oman Is Full

amandak — 2008-03-04T09:25:01-05:00

It must be fun to be a country just opening up to tourism, with all the excitement of tacky souvenirs and tourists getting in your way still to come. That's the position the people of the Middle Eastern country of Oman find themselves in at the moment. The tourism ministry had been aiming to increase visitor spending to 3 percent of the GDP by 2015, but it looks like they'll meet that target by the end of this year instead.

But don't hurry to book your Oman vacation just yet. There are just 9,000 hotel rooms in the country, currently enjoying close to 100 percent occupancy rates, so there's not much room at the inn. The plan is to double the number of rooms nationwide in the next seven years.

Once there's a place to stay, you can count on all kinds of interesting experiences in Oman. There's cave diving for the thrillseekers, traditional souk markets for the shoppers and incredible wadis and desert landscapes for those who like to use a camera. And presumably they'll throw together some tacky souvenirs for us, too.

Related Stories:
· Oman Tourism Week to Create Awareness [Khaleej Times]
· More Muscat, Please [Jaunted]
· Still Crushing on Oman [Jaunted]

[Photo: Parvinder Singh]