City Travel Guides > Books > Middle East

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.Turkey (Lonely Planet Country Guide)
City Travel Guides > Books > Middle East
by: Verity Campbell

April 01, 2007
I have visited Istanbul around nine times and Izmir about seven. This guide will really take you to the wrong hotels and restaurants. The cultural guide is ok despite a rather boring layout, esp. maps. But the restaurant suggestions are disasterous: where do you find Istanbul's best gourmet, Corne d'Or, or the intellectual bastion Yakup 2, or the best chicken and mezes in Istanbul (Hanedan), or the nostalgic charm of Istanbul's 1930's belle epoque (Rejans)? Instead mediocre places are recommended which will give the dogmatic reader a mediocre holiday. Also, Lonely Planet does not mention the new hotel in Izmir (Crowne Plaza Izmir) which receives raving critics. Does it not know of it yet? And no mention of restaurants like Bonjour, British Grill ... Read More:
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.Dubai Explorer: The Complete Residents' Guide ( Living and Working for Expats)
City Travel Guides > Books > Middle East
by: Explorer Publishing

January 15, 2008
I have visited Istanbul around nine times and Izmir about seven. This guide will really take you to the wrong hotels and restaurants. The cultural guide is ok despite a rather boring layout, esp. maps. But the restaurant suggestions are disasterous: where do you find Istanbul's best gourmet, Corne d'Or, or the intellectual bastion Yakup 2, or the best chicken and mezes in Istanbul (Hanedan), or the nostalgic charm of Istanbul's 1930's belle epoque (Rejans)? Instead mediocre places are recommended which will give the dogmatic reader a mediocre holiday. Also, Lonely Planet does not mention the new hotel in Izmir (Crowne Plaza Izmir) which receives raving critics. Does it not know of it yet? And no mention of restaurants like Bonjour, British Grill ... Read More:
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Used Price: £7.22

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.Israel and the Palestinian Territories (Lonely Planet Country Guide)
City Travel Guides > Books > Middle East
by: Michael Kohn

March 01, 2007
cannot praise this book enough. I rented a car and went to Jerusalem, The Galilee, The Golan, Tel Aviv and the Dead Sea. And this book made the trip what is was. From the secret view of the Dome of the Rock from the old Islamic college on the Via Delarosa to the unreal restaurant in the Golan ("Witch's Calderon" i think - in Nimrod).

cannot recommend highly enough - 6 stars
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Used Price: £8.57

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.Istanbul (Lonely Planet City Guides)
City Travel Guides > Books > Middle East
by: Virginia Maxwell

April 01, 2008
I love Istanbul, having lived there in the early 1990s. In 2005 I made my first return visit since then, and although I feel confident I know the city well, much has changed. This guide contained information which locals I stayed with weren't aware of, particularly public transport info.

My main criticism of LP books is that the maps are pretty useless, and this is once again the case. You really need to get a separate map f you are going to venture beyond the really well trodden path. (There are a couple of bookshops on Istiklal Cadessi that sell good maps).

I found the tone of the book suited me - it is enthusiastic about an amazing city, and the author certainly knows the place well. I don;t usually follow guide book suggestions ... Read More:
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.Syria and Lebanon (Lonely Planet Multi Country Guide)
City Travel Guides > Books > Middle East
by: Lara Dunston, Terry Carter, et al

July 01, 2008
A post from the authors of the last edition of 'Syria and Lebanon' in response to the review above. We're currently completing the manuscript for the new edition, so the out-of-date content (well over 4-6 years old now!) you've reviewed is being updated (the reason I give our guide 4/5!)

We're love Syria, as much as we love Lebanon. We've travelled to both countries myriad times over a decade. However, we weren't commissioned to write Syria for the edition you reviewed. Our commission was to write Lebanon, so the views on Homs/Hama weren't ours, but those of author Andrew Humphreys. Lonely Planet briefs authors to make a connection to the place they're writing about, hence that tendency toward Lebanon you detect in Terry's bio.

Hama is beautiful ... Read More:
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.The Way of the World
City Travel Guides > Books > Middle East
by: Nicolas Bouvier

May 01, 2007
Quite simply the most magical, delightful book I have read this year - intelligent, warm and down to earth. An inspiration for all travellers. My friends will get this one for Christmas.
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Used Price: £6.65

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.Living and Working in Dubai
City Travel Guides > Books > Middle East
by: Pippa Sanderson

August 06, 2007
I found this book giving an equal good versus bad account. It took off my rosey sunglasses I had on regarding how Dubai works. I can now look forward to going to Dubai with eyes wide open without being made a fool off or being taken advantage of regarding things I did not know.
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Used Price: £4.31

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.The Rough Guide to Turkey - Edition 6
City Travel Guides > Books > Middle East
by: Marc S. Dubin, Rosie Ayliffe, John Gawthrop, Terry Richardson

January 25, 2007
Having just returned from my first visit to Turkey I can only agree with the negative comments voiced by other reviewers. The general tone veers between sneering at the reality of turkish society and derision of anything that remotely relates to the general tourist. All this would be bad enough were the text not hopelessly out of date. Selecting a couple of examples at random from an extraordinary list of errors; Descriptions of the Bodrum penisula include references to sailing schools in Bitez. Guys! - all the schools moved further round the peninsua at least 3 years ago. For Ephesus the visitor is instructed to walk from the lower to upper gates (insane if you've ever been there), no warning of the extreme heat everyone will experience - even in Spring. Riddled with factual ... Read More:
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Used Price: £9.00

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.Abu Dhabi Explorer The Complete Residents' Guide (Living & Working for Expats)
City Travel Guides > Books > Middle East
by: Explorer Publishing

January 15, 2008
Having just returned from my first visit to Turkey I can only agree with the negative comments voiced by other reviewers. The general tone veers between sneering at the reality of turkish society and derision of anything that remotely relates to the general tourist. All this would be bad enough were the text not hopelessly out of date. Selecting a couple of examples at random from an extraordinary list of errors; Descriptions of the Bodrum penisula include references to sailing schools in Bitez. Guys! - all the schools moved further round the peninsua at least 3 years ago. For Ephesus the visitor is instructed to walk from the lower to upper gates (insane if you've ever been there), no warning of the extreme heat everyone will experience - even in Spring. Riddled with factual ... Read More:
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Used Price: £9.33

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.Jordan (Lonely Planet Country Guide)
City Travel Guides > Books > Middle East
by: Bradley Mayhew

April 01, 2006
A good country guide. Jordan is a small country which has many sights to see, the book is not very comprehensive and only provides details of sights in a brief format, which suits me as I don't like to be have every detail thrown at me.

As with all lonely Planet guides, this book is much more aimed at backpackers giving all the transport and budget details you'll need. I found a few details were significantly out of date and resulted in expensive taxi rides and some confused looks from the locals. Check the lonely planet website for updates.

If you are deciding whether to get the Rough Guide or the Lonely Planet (I used both for my trip) then you need to decide what you need to know. The rough Guide is very good at giving you lots of information about sights ... Read More:
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Used Price: £8.77