Situated in the Persian Gulf, Bahrain is a small island nation  known for its black-and-white treasures: oil and pearls. That there are rich minerals and gems to be found here is not particularly surprising since archeologists have uncovered evidence of settlements that date back 10,000 years. Most intriguing are the 85,000 burial mounds that dot the Bahrain landscape. For a full explanation of Bahrain’s unique natural setting and of the history of the people who have lived there, set some time aside for the National Museum of Bahrain in Manama.

If archeology is not your thing, consider some after-hour exploration of the capital, Manama. The word means “Sleeping Place,” but this is where to find the jet-set of Arabia in the pulsing nightclubs and bars and even late-night shopping.

And if your travels have not taken you to any mosques, Bahrain may be just the place. Options include the contemporary Al-Fateh Mosque, with its gleaming golden dome, built to accommodate up to 7,000 worshippers. For a little more perspective, the Khamis Mosque is believed to be oldest in Bahrain, with a foundation that dates as far back as 692.

Who cruises there? Costa Cruises, Regent Seven Seas, Silversea

Turkey’s Ephesus, a crossroads at a critical time in the early development of both the Roman empire and the Christian religion, is one of those travel destinations that manages to live up to all the hype. In the early years of the Roman empire, Ephesus was second in importance only to Rome, and at the same time, the city hosted Paul and other early Christians who contributed books to the Holy Bible. As a result, the once-splendid Ephesus, which had a population approaching 500,000 in the year 100, contains probably the largest collection of Roman ruins at the eastern end of the Mediterranean, which is why the archeological site is a favorite attraction for international travelers as well as locals.

Cruise passengers disembark in Kusadasi to get to Ephesus, and once they’ve had their fill of ruins, Kusadasi offers several entertaining possibilities. A small fishing village up to the recent growth of Ephesus tourism, the town has numerous cafes where travelers can enjoy the sea view and sip either coffee and wine. The shopping opportunities for rugs, leather products and jewelry, especially in the shops in the old town, where you will find busy markets and traditional Turkish baths – and a few vendors trying to sell rugs.

Who cruises there? Azamara, Celebrity, Cunard, Holland America, P&O, Oceania, Princess, Regent Seven Seas, Royal Caribbean, Silversea.

A fascinating country at the southern edge of the Arabian peninsula, Yemen, especially the capitol city, Sana’a, provides an opportunity to step back and see how a modern culture operates within an ancient city.

The Old City of Sana’a has been inhabited for more than 2,500 years, and it still has 103 mosques, 14 traditional bath houses and more than 6,000 houses that date from before the 11th century, which provides a pretty comprehensive look at how people actually lived 1,000 years ago. And while you are in Sana’a, find the souk or market where you can buy the Qamariah lanterns made from gypsum and small glass plates or the colorful wrap skirts known as mawa’z that Yemeni women frequently wear.

Not far west from Sana’a, Al Hudaydah on the Red Sea is one of the principal seaports where you can visit the fish market and view the wooden boats that are still used by local fishermen. Another appealing Yemeni port, the ancient town of Aden was built upon a former volcano. Interesting sights in Aden include the first-century cisterns of Tawila, eighth- and 14th-century mosques, and several small museums.

Who cruises there? Costa and Voyages of Discovery

If you ever wondered what a place looks like after roughly three millenniums of foreign occupation, the capital city of Tunisia would be the place to go. Among the wealthiest and most important Arab cities from the 12^th to the 16^th centuries, Tunis has actually been independent – and thriving — since the French let it go in 1956, but that ended nearly 3,000 years of occupation by the Phoenicians, the Romans and the Byzantines, the Turks and then the Spanish and, finally, the French.

Given that list of colonial and conquering powers, it shouldn’t come as a great surprise that Tunis mixes cultural influences like a good stew. Tunisia sits on the Mediterranean, and visitors will certainly notice strong African influences, such as traditional clothing, often juxtaposed with clothes and behaviors that might be more common in great European cities such as Rome or Paris.

At the center of the city, not far from the grand Avenue Habib Bourguiba, known as the Tunisian Champs-Elysees, the ancient medina invites visitors to explore its dense maze of alleys ad passages, where you can see, taste, feel and haggle over food, produce, trinkets and treasures. Tunis also provides easy access to Carthage, where three wars with the Romans and another with the Greeks pretty thoroughly erased a city’s history, although researchers are still striving to uncover more clues. Also be sure to visit Sid Bou Said, with its blue and white sugar cube houses perched on the hillside overlooking the sea.

Who cruises there? Costa, MSC and Oceania.

On the Red Sea, Jeddah is gateway to Mecca, the birthplace of Islam and a required pilgrimage for the able-bodied faithful. The second largest urban center of Saudi Arabia, Jeddah provides a good look at the contrasts of life in a modern country where society is still organized strictly according to Islamic customs. For instance, all business activities and markets cease and are closed five times a day for prayer. Life here, however, is more liberal and cosmopolitan than most other places in this country, possibly because of its dual role as a sea port and as a destination for traveling Muslims, whose cultural sharing has impacted Jeddah.

The city has many historical buildings, and several nice museums worth exploring, such as the Regional Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography, formerly a palace but now the home of Stone Age artifacts and other mementoes from pre-Islamic cultures. Other attractions include the Jeddah fountain, where sea water jets nearly 900 feet into the air to create the world’s tallest fountain.

A busy city with nice beaches and excellent shopping, Jeddah hosts a variety of festivals, art exhibitions and musical performances. During the festivals, there are many games and activities held in the city. There are shopping sprees, water skiing competitions, art exhibitions, and music festivals. Not only that, but the prices are reasonably cheap. The city also has a great shopping district on Tahlia Street, where the designer labels illustrate how this city is experimenting with contemporary culture.

Who cruises there:? Crystal and Princess will both call in Jeddah during their 2010 world cruises.

Accessed from either Port Said or Alexandria, Cairo heads any must-see list simply because of the Sphinx and the Great Pyramids of Giza, one of the world’s Seven Wonders. But the largest city in the Arab World has more to recommend it. With its many minarets, Cairo is a showcase for Islamic architecture, and the Egyptian capital, which dates to the 10^th century, has long been a center of the region’s political and cultural life.

The pyramids and the sphinx can be toured on foot, horseback or camel. Other must-see attractions include the Ibn Tulun Mosque, which dates to the ninth century, and the Citadel, a massive stone fortress built by Salah ad-Din in the 12th century and subsequently crowned with the Mosque of Mohammed Ali. It now offers amazing views of the city, and, if the smog isn’t too thick, even the pyramids.  Also, the Egyptian Museum has the world’s most extensive collection of artifacts from ancient Egypt, including King Tut and quite a few of his treasures.

For shopping, Khan Ali-Kalili is Cairo’s major open air market, operating pretty much as it always has since the 14^th century, with many vendors whose families have done business there for generations. Shoppers work through rows and rows of exotic jewelry, spices, perfumes, Bedouin rugs and souvenirs, and as is the case throughout the Middle East, haggling is the rule rather than the exception.

Who cruises there? Just about everybody, but we’ll start the list with Azamara, Costa, Crystal, Cunard, Holland America, Norwegian, Oceania, Princess, Seabourn and SeaDream.

If you are familiar with the classic film Lawrence of Arabia, you may remember Aqaba as the destination of Lawrence’s first campaign across the desert. But for modern travelers, Aqaba is probably best known as a diving and beach resort, with gorgeous coral reefs, that provides access to the remarkable archeological sites at Petra and the Wadi Rum Desert.

While in Aqaba, visit one of the many coffee shops for sumptuous Jordanian dishes such as mansaf, knafeh or baqlawa, but don’t tarry long as both Petra and the Wadi Rum (pronounced Ramm) deserve plenty of your attention.

Wadi Rum is a valley cut into the sandstone and granite rock in southwest Jordan. The dramatic landscape attracts many rock climbers and hikers, and the Bedouin tribes there have done well promoting adventure sports.

Petra is renowned for its rock-cut architecture from more than 2,000 years ago. A UNESCO World Heritage site, Petra is described in several Bible passages as the “cleft in the rocks,” and it served as Lawrence’s base of operations during his World War I operations against the Turks.

Who cruises there? Crystal, Cunard, Holland America, P&O, Princess, Seabourn, Voyages Of Discovery