• 1. Swap the Grand Canyon, top, for Jebel Shams, Oman, bottom. Getty Images
    1. Swap the Grand Canyon, top, for Jebel Shams, Oman, bottom. Getty Images
  • 2. Swap the familiar faced of the Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, with the Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque in Beirut, right. Getty Images
    2. Swap the familiar faced of the Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, with the Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque in Beirut, right. Getty Images
  • 3. Swap the fjords of Norway, top, with a much cheaper cruise of the Musandam peninsula, bottom. Getty Images
    3. Swap the fjords of Norway, top, with a much cheaper cruise of the Musandam peninsula, bottom. Getty Images
  • 4. Why slog to the peak of Huaynapicchu (young mountain) at Machu Picchu, the ancient lost city of the Incas, when the Treasury of Petra is on your doorstep? Getty Images
    4. Why slog to the peak of Huaynapicchu (young mountain) at Machu Picchu, the ancient lost city of the Incas, when the Treasury of Petra is on your doorstep? Getty Images
  • 5. If you can't get to the Maldives, top, don't worry. Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Public Beach is one of the world's finest. Alamy
    5. If you can't get to the Maldives, top, don't worry. Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Public Beach is one of the world's finest. Alamy
  • 6. Don't take our word for it: market research company Ipsos has listed New York and Abu Dhabi as the top two cities in the world to live and work in, and there are many geographical similarities, too. Getty Images
    6. Don't take our word for it: market research company Ipsos has listed New York and Abu Dhabi as the top two cities in the world to live and work in, and there are many geographical similarities, too. Getty Images
  • 7. The UK's Stonehenge seems parochial when compared to the Giza pyramid complex in Cairo, Egypt. Getty Images
    7. The UK's Stonehenge seems parochial when compared to the Giza pyramid complex in Cairo, Egypt. Getty Images
  • 8. The Las Vegas strip, left, can seem tacky when compared to Dubai, right. Getty Images
    8. The Las Vegas strip, left, can seem tacky when compared to Dubai, right. Getty Images
  • 9. There are many geographical similarities between Athens and Amman, not least that both are built on 7 hills; Amman's Roman ruins, such as those on the right, are much less crowded.Getty Images
    9. There are many geographical similarities between Athens and Amman, not least that both are built on 7 hills; Amman's Roman ruins, such as those on the right, are much less crowded.Getty Images
  • 10. Sure, the Sahara desert is bigger, but the Rub Al Khali, bottom, offers the same feeling of vast emptiness. AFP PHOTO / Wissam Keyrouz
    10. Sure, the Sahara desert is bigger, but the Rub Al Khali, bottom, offers the same feeling of vast emptiness. AFP PHOTO / Wissam Keyrouz

Tight on time and money? Here's our top 10 Middle East holiday swaps - in pictures

Destinations including Oman, Jordan, the UAE and Lebanon have tourist sites that can rival those much further afield

Rosemary Behan

July 24, 2017

  • English
  • Arabic

Tight on time and money this summer? As the holiday season reaches its peak, travellers in the region don't have to fly thousands of kilometres to experience some of the world's most impressive environments. Here we swap 10 world famous tourist sites with their Middle Eastern alternatives. Picture research by Olive Obina

OmanMiddle EastJordanLebanon