Afghanistan
Bahrain
Iran
Israel
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Syria
Turkey
United Arab Emirates
Yemen

AFGHANISTAN

• Watch out and be warned at Lonely Planet's Destination Afghanistan.
• Get enlightened (no, really) with Afghan Taleban Online.
• Afghanistan Today is 'an Afghan web, for the Afghans by the Afghans', and vents a dissident voice.
• The Afghan News has some of the latest breaking, and heart-breaking news.
• Amnesty International gets serious at the Afghanistan (The Islamic State of).
• The Internet Law Library will fill you in on human rights, or lack thereof.
• And if all this is too much and you want to cancel your trip, good idea. But you can still try the food at Food and dishes from Afghanistan, and for pictures good enough to eat, try Afghan Food.

• Start your webtrip with Lonely Planet's Destination Bahrain.
• Find out just how nice Bahrain is (no, really) at Bahrain Tourism - museums, hotels, resorts and sightseeing info galore.
• To see the other side of the story, visit human rights group, The Voice of Bahrain.
• If you need to know what's going down in the Gulf, check out the Bahrain Tribune.
• Get a solid cultural and practical backgrounding at ArabNet's Bahrain.
• So you think you know a bit about Bahrain, hey? The Bahrain Quiz is bound to prove you wrong.
• Check the lie of the land before get on the plane with My Bahrain Photo Album.

• Start your webtrip with Lonely Planet's Destination Iran.
• PersiaNet is a pretty classy link library.
• Edward Fitzgerald's translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam is a bit of a pearler.
• Smell the delicious Persian food emanating from Zoon's Kitchen.
• Japan's Saitama University has built the info-packed Iran: Country of the Nobles.

• Brief yourself before hopping on board at Lonely Planet's Destination Israel.
• The Israel Ministry of Tourism really believes that No One Belongs Here More Than You - background info, tourist tips and a reservations service in one slick package.
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs offers a similarly stylish guide to Jerusalem.
• With more than 1500 links, the (Almost) Complete Guide to the WWW in Israel is super-functional. The Complete Guide to Palestine's Web sites performs a similar service for Palestinian providers.
• The New Jerusalem Mosaic is an interactive trip back in time, an entertaining way to come to grips with the city's history.
• Check out up-to-date info on Israel including bus timetables, tours and directions to all the hot spots from a real-life traveller: 1000 Travel Tips.
• For a Palestinian viewpoint, take a look at the very sober and official Palestinian National Authority or the elegant Khalil Sakakini guide to Palestinian culture.
• Keep an eye on the latest conflicts and cartoons with the Jerusalem Post. The newspaper also offers great information on study and tourism in Israel.
• Stretching the diaspora - apparently Israelites came to Ancient Japan. Judge for yourself.

• Grab a cup of tea and hop on board at Lonely Planet's Destination Jordan.
• As good a place as any to start - except for Lonely Planet, of course - is Where To Go In Jordan. There's info on the usual range of galleries and hotels, as well as horoscopes and film recommendations.
• The Star is Jordan's weekly round-up of news, politics and business. Take a fresh look at the Arab world.
• There's no surprises at the no-nonsense Links to Pages About Jordan. Go back to their index if you'd like an eyeful of Jordan pics.
• Queen Noor of Jordan oozes glamour and refinement. Coo over her baby photos and nod sagely at her commitment to global issues.
• Focus Online's Ancient Cities in Jordan has pretty piccies and flowery factoids on Petra, Jerash and Wadi Rum.
• A bloke called Jim Malusa rode his bike from Cairo to the Dead Sea, via Wadi Rum and Petra. Read all about it in the gorgeously-presented Journey to the Centre of the Earth.
• Cook up a shepsra pastara with Jordan's ethnic Circassians at the Circassians' Home Page.
• Handy tips like what to do when you arrive in Amman in the middle of the night, which invariably you will, can be found at 1000 Travel Tips
  
  

• Get the good oil at Lonely Planet's Destination Kuwait.
• They claim Kuwait View covers 'everything Kuwait', but if everything ain't nearly enough, try Kuwait Online for more general info.
• Arab Net does its usual excellent job with a profile of Kuwait which covers business, history, culture, tourism and a stack of links.
• It's a national passion, so you'd better start swatting: Kuwait Football.
• Although it's far from unbiased, The Iraqi Crimes is an interesting dissertation on the environmental disaster the Gulf War inflicted on Kuwait. If you'd like to help clean up the mess, check out the Kuwait Diving Team.

• Lonely Planet's Destination Lebanon is the place to start your trip.
• Plenty of up-to-date info on the basics of travel can be found at the Lebanese Ministry of Tourism site.
• The Daily Star is an on-line newspaper with lots of up-to-the minute stories.
• Get your juices flowing at the Middle Eastern Cook Book.
• If you can handle all the flashing advertising banners and have a penchant for skiing, Skileb has lots of information on all of Lebanon's ski resorts.
• News, sport, tourism, the works! It's all there at Lebanon-Online.
• For more links than a chain-mail vest, head to Lebanonlinks.
• The LebHost Search Engine also includes links to news and general websites.

• What better place to start your web trip than Lonely Planet's Destination Oman.
• Explore Oman has a grab-bag of useful stuff - maps, photos, hotel lists, the lot.
• Juland's Omani Oasis is a home-made page with more info than most shop-bought ones - find out more about Islam, the Sultan, Oman's history and Omani literature.
• Feel like you're there with the Sultanate of Oman Live Radio & Live Television.
• Oman Studies Centre is an information-heavy, solid-text resource on the country.
• Find out how remote sensing uncoverd a lost Omani city at The Search for Ubar.

• Where better to start your underground web trip than Lonely Planet's Destination Qatar.
• This site is as dry as the Sahara, but if it's cold, hard info you're after, About Qatar is the page for you.
• For a comprehensive run-down on important aspects of life for travellers in Qatar, go to the funky Qatar Info Magazine site.
• Qatar.on.line compiles a bunch of news and current affairs story into a very friendly little package.
• For tourism info, take a look at the ever-reliable ArabNet's Qatar Tour Guide.
• Keep a finger on the Qatari pulse with The Gulf Times.
• A pack of pictures taken by a Qatari who knows his stuff: My View Point.

• Lonely Planet's Destination Saudi Arabia is the place to start your trip.
• For all the general info you're likely to find, have a look at Saudi Arabia Yesterday & Today or SaudiView
• Khaled M. Batarfi's Welcome to Saudi Arabia has lots of insider info on getting by in the Kingdom.
• Not just anyone can whip up a great cup of gahwa. Become one of the lucky few at ArabNet's Saudi Arabia culture page. Follow the links for more great info.
• The vast majority of visitors to Saudi are heading for Mecca. Find out why at Makkah the Blessed
• Saudi Arabia is all about Islam. Learn a little more about Ramadan and other aspects of the religion at Arab View's Ramadan. Women and Islam will answer all your questions about this thorny topic, while Islamic & Arabic Arts & Architecture is all about just that.

• Lonely Planet's Destination Syria is the place to start your trip.
• If you want the official version, Visit Syria has all the standard info.
• The net isn't exactly overflowing with super Syria sites, but if they exist you'll find them at Syria-net.
• Tan Wee Cheng's Thirty-six Years on a Pillar is a spiffing Syria travellogue, with lots of pretty pics. This bloke has done his homework.
• Syria, a Photographic Journey combines photographs and travel literature to give a different - if ultra-slow - look at Syria.
• Visas, border crossings, money, maps - 1000 Travel Tips has it all.
  
  

• Come and gaze at our navels in Lonely Planet's Destination Turkey.
• Turkey fans Walter and Cherie Glaser include shopping tips and chatty history snippets in Images of Istanbul.
• The Turkish Cuisine page goes way beyond kebabs.
• Turkish Style is a pictorial look at homes in Turkey with enticing captions like 'traditional guillotine', 'householder sometimes' and 'the sofa frequently opens'.
• The Turkish Embassy in Washington DC has put together a great site with good practical tourism information, cultural and historical background.
• akaKurdistan provides space for a people with no national archive to express and develop their collective memory, and serves 'as testimony to the long and suppressed history of the Kurds'.

• Get off at the first stop: Lonely Planet's Destination United Arab Emirates.
• ArabNet weaves its magic once again with the marvellously comprehensive profile of the UAE.
• emirates.on.line is funky, spunky and even frightfully useful.
• The Sharjah Tourist Authority gives fabulous, easy-to-navigate info on getting around and staying in the 'cultural capital of the Arab World'.
• The United Arab Emirates home page includes visa info and a photo gallery.
• Keep your finger on the pulse with the Khaleej Times.
• Have a gander at what you're in for at UAE photo gallery.
• UAE Forever has lots of the fun stuff that the other general sites skip over

• Get off at the first stop: Lonely Planet's Destination Yemen.
• All the Yemen links you'll ever need are at Yemen Gateway.
• For an intro to business and culture, head to YemenWeb.
• It's kinda slick, it's kinda groovy, and it's got all the usual background info: Yemen.on.line.
• Yemen Pictures is full of (you guessed it) pictures of Yemen.
• Get the news every week from the Yemen Times.
• If Yemen's on your mind, check out 1000 Travel Tips.