Middle East Travel

The Global Citizen Language Learning vocabulary mastery audiobooks are intentionally and judiciously structured for vocabulary, definition, and pronunciation learning, retention, and recall for individuals who are completely new to the language!

In March 2022, Michael Palin travelled the length of the River Tigris through Iraq to get a sense of what life is like in a region of the world that once formed the cradle of civilisation, but that in recent times has witnessed turmoil and appalling bloodshed. It was a journey of sharp, often brutal contrasts. At one moment he would be exploring the old streets of Baghdad or the ancient ruins of Babylon. At the next he would be visiting the war-torn city of Mosul, or learning about the horrific Speicher massacre in Tikrit.

This extraordinary book is the result of Saul Bellow’s sojourn in Israel in 1975. A personal record of his stay—his experiences and impressions—as well as a meditation, it crackles with wit and controversy on America’s relationship with this embattled country.

Just 70 years ago, the Gulf nation of Qatar was a backwater, reliant on pearl diving. Today it is a gas-laden parvenu with seemingly limitless wealth and ambition. Skyscrapers, museums and futuristic football stadiums rise out of the desert and Ferraris race through the streets. But in the shadows, migrant workers toil in the heat for risible amounts. Inside Qatar reveals how real people live in this surreal place, a land of both great opportunity and great iniquity.

Returning to the UK in September 2010 after serving in Iraq as the political adviser to the top American general, Emma Sky felt no sense of homecoming. She soon found herself back in the Middle East traveling through a region in revolt. In a Time of Monsters bears witness to the demands of young people for dignity and justice during the Arab Spring; the inability of sclerotic regimes to reform; the descent of Syria into civil war; the rise of the Islamic State; and the flight of refugees to Europe.

The Innocents Abroad is a keenly observant, politically incorrect and often hilarious narration of the author’s cruise to the Holy Land aboard a retired Civil War ship. First published in 1869 and the bestselling of Twain’s works in his lifetime, The Innocents Abroad will delight listeners with the celebrated author’s musings on historic landmarks, cultural differences and silly travelling companions.

One woman, one bike and one richly entertaining, perception-altering journey of discovery. In 2015, as the Syrian War raged and the refugee crisis reached its peak, Rebecca Lowe set off on her bicycle across the Middle East. Driven by a desire to learn more about this troubled region and its relationship with the West, Lowe's 11,000-kilometre journey took her through Europe to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, the Gulf and finally to Iran.

Priyanka Mattoo was born into a wooden house in the Himalayas, as were most of her ancestors. In 1989, however, mounting violence in the region forced Mattoo’s community to flee. The home into which her family poured their dreams was reduced to a pile of rubble. Mattoo never moved back to Kashmir—because it no longer existed. She and her family just kept packing and unpacking and moving on. In forty years, Mattoo accumulated thirty-two different addresses, and she chronicles her nomadic existence with wit, wisdom, and an inimitable eye for light within the darkest moments.

The Nile, like all of Egypt, is both timeless and ever-changing. In this audio, renowned Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson takes us on a journey downriver that is both history and travelogue. We begin at the First Nile Cataract, close to the modern city of Aswan. From there, Wilkinson guides us through the illustrious nation birthed by this great river.

About the book A Saudi Hospital in the Empty Quarters. It became a tradition. People from the desert would come to visit their loved ones in our ICU, carrying weapons and ammunition. Confused, they would ask why they had to leave their guns at the door, and our guards would have to explain. Eventually, we put up a sign at the entrance, but it didn't help much as most of them couldn't read. In the early 1990s, I joined a medical team at a new hospital in Saudi Arabia. The country was closed off to foreigners and had strict cultural norms. We faced the challenge of integrating two vastly ...

This concise, easy-to-read book describes the method of performing Umrah and Hajj in simple steps. It is a must-buy for any Muslim who aspires to visit Makkah one day, in order to perform the sacred rituals of the holy pilgrimage, or for anyone else who wishes to gain more knowledge and insight about the fifth pillar of Islam. What is different about this book is that it also describes the emotional, human aspect of Hajj: the personalized, practical experiences of sacrifice, empathy and compassion that a pilgrim goes through during the journey, which leave an unparalleled impact upon them ...

Turkey's greatest living novelist guides us through the monuments and lost paradises, dilapidated Ottoman villas, back streets, and waterways of Istanbul - the city of his birth and the home of his imagination.

Once upon a time an Indian writer name Amitav Ghosh set out to find an Indian slave, name unknown, who some 700 years before had traveled to the Middle East. The journey took him to a small village in Egypt, where medieval customs coexist with 20th-century desires and discontents. But even as Ghosh sought to re-create the life of his Indian predecessor, he found himself immersed in those of his modern Egyptian neighbors.

An Oxford-educated scholar of the Middle East and a former foreign correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, Hugh Pope lived and worked in two dozen countries throughout the region. Following in the footsteps of Sir Richard Burton and Lawrence of Arabia, Hugh Pope's explorations of the people, politics, religion, and culture of Islamic nations shows there is no such thing as a monolithic "Muslim World".

From the New York Times best-selling author Victoria Twead comes the third in the Old Fools series. Reluctantly, Vicky and Joe leave their Spanish mountain village to work for a year in the Middle East. How could they know that the Arab revolution was poised to erupt, throwing them into violent events that would make world headlines? Teaching Arab kids, working with crazy teachers, forming lifelong friendships and being placed under house arrest, Vicky and Joe laugh and lurch through their year in Bahrain.

" The Spirit of man is Nomad, his blood Bedouin.....and so I came to live my life, not by conscious plan, but as someone following the flight of a Bird." " Only in the Desert, The Bedouin Declared, Could a man a Man find Freedom. " Wilfred Thesiger "Arabian Sands." " To live in the Dress of The Arabs, Quitted Me of My English Self, and Let me Look at The West ..... With Different Eyes." T. E. Lawrence "The Seven Pillars Of Wisdom." The Sultanate of Oman is a land of oases,deserts, rolling sands, shifting dunes and mountains upon which ancient cities have been carved from stone. A land that ...

"As the depth of truth of one's life can only be penned upon the pages of a diary, Jane Digby leads us through her passionate life . . . A wonderful piece of historical fiction that will delight your senses as well as your heart." - Peggy Lee Sprague, Author of The Truth Hunters series And now the conclusion of Jane Digby's Diary . . . Bright, bold, and beautiful, Jane Digby led a remarkable life. Born to privilege in 1807 at Dorset, England, she soon scandalized Europe with her reckless pursuit of freedom. Kings, princes, barons, brigands, lords, and sheikhs were among her lovers. A gifted...

In Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms, former diplomat Gerard Russell ventures to the distant, nearly impassable regions where these mysterious religions still cling to survival. He lives alongside the Mandaeans and Ezidis of Iraq, the Zoroastrians of Iran, the Copts of Egypt, and others. He learns their histories, participates in their rituals, and comes to understand the threats to their communities.

Fourteen years after the publication of his landmark travel narrative Among the Believers, V.S. Naipaul returned to the four non-Arab Islamic countries he reported on so vividly at the time of Ayatollah Khomeini’s triumph in Iran. Beyond Belief is the result of his five-month journey in 1995 through lands where descendants of Muslim converts live at odds with indigenous traditions.

Are you setting your sights on the rich tapestry of experiences that await in Arabic-speaking lands, from the bustling markets of the Middle East to the timeless landscapes of North Africa? Or perhaps you’re eager to delve into the Arabic language in a way that transcends the confines of traditional, dry grammatical studies? If you're nodding in agreement, Learn Arabic: The Traveler's Survival Toolkit is your indispensable companion. This isn't just another boring language book; it's a gateway to confidently engaging with the Arabic-speaking world, tailored for tourists and travelers like you.