UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Middle East

Bahrain only has 3 UNESCO World Heritage sites and Bahrain Fort, Qal'at al-Bahrain, is deservingly one of them. This finely restored fort lies pretty on the waterfront with a backdrop of Manama skyline. It's real fort with moat and high protective walls. Evidence shows that the site has been occupied since 2300 BC, but the fort you see today is from the 16th century and built by the Portuguese. The grounds of the fort are popular for strolls and running at sunset. The villages right to the south of the fort as been known as "painted village" due to the pastel coloured murals on the houses, but they are now fainted, dusty and seem in disrepair – a stark contrast to the otherwise fine Bahrain Fort.

If looking for a mixture of history, religion and warfare, the fortified town of Akko (Acre) will suit all your needs. Dating back thousands of years, being a pillar of the Baha'i Faith and having nearly every major empire claiming rights to the place, Akko has been at the forefront of history since there was a history. Today, the UNESCO listed town is a pleasure to stroll around. An easy day-trip from Haifa or even Nazareth, the markets, fortifications, Khans and underground tunnels will have any visitor entertained for ages. On the outskirts of town is the temple of the most important person in the Baha'i faith. Although the gardens are not as impressive as the ones in Haifa, they still make for a lovely stroll.

At under 200 years old, the Baha'i faith could be considered one of the world's youngest faiths. But what they lack in age, they make up for in grandeur. The Terraces of the Bahá'í Faith in Haifa (commonly referred to as the Baha'i Gardens) is arguably one of the most visited sites in Israel. The magnificently 18 garden terraces (plus one for the Shrine of the Bab) are both serene and exciting at the same time. The UNESCO listed gardens are open to the public (on a free tour) and it's totally worth it. Perhaps most refreshing, the entire area is 100% free. No admission costs. No tips or gratuities accepted.

Irregardless of your religious leanings, one cannot discount the significance of the birthplace of Jesus. Tucked away in the back alleyways of Bethlehem, the Church of the Nativity was built on the place where Jesus of Nazareth was born in a manager over 2,000 years ago. Palestine's first, and so far only, UNESCO listed site, the church is said to be the oldest continually operating church in the world. Lacking in the grandeur if compared to the Vatican or similar structures, the Church still sees its fair share of visitors. Sneaking in between the seemingly endless stream of tour buses is half the challenge but worth it for a moment at one of the most important spots in Western culture.

The old town of Jerusalem deserves more than this single article. There is so much history and religious important places packed into one spot that it's hard to do more than scratching the surface. By being the holiest place on earth for Christians, Jews and the third holiest for Muslims (after Mecca and Medina) it's a place of controversy, something we won't dwell with. Go there as a traveller and just suck up the atmosphere. It's pure madness; hordes of tourist getting charmed by vendors, strangely outfitted religious characters rushing trough the narrow lanes and teenage soldiers with pimples and guns. With all the most-see sites like Western Wall, Temple Mount with the Dome of Rock and the church of the Holy Sepulchre taken the attention, there are a lot of wonderful strange sites that are half hidden. Try to find where the last supper took place, the birth place of Virgin Mary or the Ethiopian Monastery Deir-Sultan. No matter what your belief or expectations are, Jerusalem will blow you away.

Petra will no doubt be one of the highlights of any trip to Jordan, maybe even the reason to come here in the first place. Spectacular imposing tombs carved right out the rock face dating back to the civilisation of the Nabataeans about 2000 years ago. Winding narrow canyons leads into the area, and magnificent views over the desert and the tombs will reward you from the top of the surrounding mountains. Petra is taken right out of Indiana Jones, literately. But all this "amazingness" attracts a fair share of, let's face it, annoying fellow visitors. By arriving early, leaving late and general doing the sights in a non-obvious direction not only will you catch the best light, but you will also pretty much get the place to yourself. Off-the-beaten-track places not to be missed are the monastery Al-Deir with its many viewpoints, the viewpoint above the Treasury and the winding canyon trek through Wadi Muthlim (see photo gallery).

The most impressive ruin in Lebanon. Besides being located in the middle of "modern" Baalbek town, the site can offer several magnificent Roman's temples. The one for Jupiter is the grandest, unequalled in the world, with columns soaring 23m into the air, where six still stands today. The foundation consists of some of biggest building block, some weighing about 800 tonnes. It is thought that it have taken more than 120 years to complete the temple complex, though different Roman Emperors still added to the complex centuries after. Another temple is the one of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine. Smaller than Jupiter's, but still bigger than Parthenon in Athens, it's one of the best preserved in the world with beautiful decorations, where you can still make out the fine details - along with semi-ancient graffiti.

This ancient town claims to be the oldest inhabited city in the world. About 7000 years ago, long before the Greek and the Romans, this town started out as small fishing settlement and turned into a powerful city-state with flourishing trade. To this day it still has its small port, apparently also the oldest in the world. The ruin of the old town does not look like much, which is one of the charming characters of this tranquil site. A "newer" crusade castle (12th century), half a roman amphitheater and a few columns are the main leftovers, but it is the maze of crumbling walls covered in vegetation that makes Byblos special. In spring time the whole place burst into colours with wildflowers.

If only in ultra-Modern Doha, it's hard to see any sense of history in Qatar. One needs are a bit of an effort to get out of town and see the country's only UNESCO World Heritage site. Al Zubarah Archaeological Site lies in the north of the country... not really near anything. The thing is, Zubarah was neither unique or special in a series of fortified trading towns that dotted the region. But it's the closet thing the country has to history of architectural value. The fort, which is the crown is in the jewel, was actually only built in 1938, long after the town had been abandoned. But still, for those tired of skyscrapers of the city, there always a remote desert fort to visit.

Ad Diriyah is the original hometown of Saudi royal family and was the first capital of the Saudi Dynasty. Today the town is located in the outskirts of modern Riyadh.
One historical district of Ad Diriyah is Al Turaif, which overlooks the oasis and palm gardens of Wadi Hanifa. The mud-brick ruins have made Al Turaif a UNESCO World Heritage site. There are remains of historic palaces, a mosque and other buildings. The restoration started in 2011 and is still on-going, but the whole area will transform into a large open air museum.