Hot, but Wonderful, Middle East spots
The Middle East is not a hot spot for travel right now, with the uprisings in Syria and Egypt, but that is one of the reasons you should be heading there as soon as you can manage. The costs of being there right now are way down, just because of these issues over there, so you can manage to see a lot of places for far less money than you could have this time a year ago.
Some of the sights that I particularly like there are the Roman ruins you can see in all of the countries, such as Baalbek, Jerash and also the really cool desert terrain of Wadi Rum. Baalbek is in Lebanon and is easy to get to. You can stay in the village right around the ruins and explore them in just a few hours. The photographs you get will be stunning and well worth the effort.
Similarly, Jerash is easy to get to. It is just a couple hours by car from Amman, which is the capital of Jordan. I would plan on trying to get there early in the morning, if you can, before the mass of tourists arrive and also because it is a lot cooler then to walk around. The site is bigger than Baalbek, but is still easy to walk around in a half of a day. Wadi Rum on the other hand is massive and you will need to explore by camel or jeep, but the sights are truly spectacular. Enjoy the Middle East.
