July 12 - As summer heats up, more Saudis are traveling outside the Kingdom to spend their summer vacation, with Europe as the favorite destination this year, according to travel officials. Summer vacationers this year have diversified destinations outside of the Mideast. These destinations include Turkey, Australia, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and South Korea, travel executives said. Europe, however, is the favourite spot, they said.
Destinations in the region, such as Egypt, Syria or the UAE, are not as popular as in the past, travel officials said. "Because of the better exchange rate in Europe, an advantage for visitors, there has been an increase in booking to European destinations by as much as 15 to 25 percent depending on the European countries to be visited," said Essam Al-Hassani, general manager of Minhal Travel and Tourism Agency.
The much-beleaguered euro currency is still in the midst of a long-term downtrend, having plunged almost 50 percent in value since December 2009. Global currency strategists are saying that they expect the euro to decline to $1.13 in the third quarter, $1.08 by the end of 2010 and for it perhaps to go as low as $1.01 next year before rebounding.
Located in the East End of London, Whitechapel Road is home to a vibrant and somewhat chaotic street market. Buildings along the road date back to 1670, and the areas past residents include Joseph Stalin and George Orwell. Whitechapel Road today is heavily populated with Middle Eastern, Asian and African residents, so you’ll find market stalls selling food, fabric and jewelry fro...
Located in the picturesque town of Besharre (or Bsharri), about 120km from Beirut, the Gibran Museum is dedicated to famed Lebanese poet, philosopher, painter, and author Gibran Khalil Gibran. He was born into poverty in 1883 and received no formal education – priests taught him how to read and write. In 1895, after their land was confiscated, Gibran moved to the US with his family. ...
Aberdeen to the south of the Island has Sampan tours around the harbor and the floating markets are a must for every visitor to see. ...
Christ Church Cathedral is considered the oldest building in Dublin. The original building dates back from Viking times, sometime shortly after 1028. The church stood on a hill overlooking the settlement and was one of just two churches serving Dublin at that time. It was completely rebuilt in the 1180s by Robert de Clare (aka Strongbow), the Norman conqueror of Dublin. Over...