Jordan | Oman | United Arab Emirates | Yemen

Aqaba (Petra), Jordan
From Jordan's port on the Red Sea, you can travel to the mysterious lost city of Petra, which was hidden for centuries. At first it looks like a mirage: rugged sandstone hills seem to melt into windows and doorways, columns and gargoyles. But it is not: all the buildings of Petra, except one, were elaborately carved into the rock hills by a nomadic Arabian tribe in the 6th century B.C. It is a remarkable sight. You can also visit Wadi Rum, where Bedouin families set black goat-hair tents at the base of massive, striated "jebels," the sheer-faced hills of the region.

Muscat, Oman
The town has changed in recent times, but a glimpse of Muscat's past shows in the old houses lining the Mutrah corniche above the harbor, and in the traditional market souks. See the Sultan's Palace, the National Museum and perhaps indulge in Amonage or Ubar perfumes produced here—the world's most expensive.

Salalah, Oman
Like a magic carpet spread before the sea, Oman's coastal plain is one of the most fertile areas of Arabia. Famous since antiquity as the source of frankincense, Salalah was already a prosperous town when Marco Polo visited it in the 13th century! Inland rise the forbidding Al-Quarà Mountains, and the desolate "Empty Quarter" of central Saudi Arabia.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Despite the primeval desert that surrounds it, spirited Dubai has spent its oil income on modern architecture based on soaring Islamic spires. Explore the souk bazaars for gold and silks, Persian and Afghani rugs and more. And be sure to visit the Juneira Mosque.

Aden, Yemen
Strategically located at the southern entry to the Red Sea, the Land of the Queen of Sheba is a mosaic of desert sheikdoms and was for years the primary British outpost in Arabia. From Aden you may take an optional full-day tour of the ancient city of Sana’a — a little-known capital of long ago and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Travel by airplane to explore this city, where remarkable mud and stone tower houses stand more than 400 years old. Tour the National Museum and the Summer Palace of Imam Yahya.