City-Off: Africa and the Middle East (Tel Aviv/Tripoli)

[Edu]

IN
Fes, Morocco
Jerusalem, Israel
Casablanca, Morocco
Alexandria, Egypt
Mecca, Saudi Arabia

OUT (oh my, i have plenty i would like out )
Doha
Durban

[Edu]

Never been to either of these and i don't think i'll be planning a trip there any time soon

I vote Baghdad because of it's history (despite all the problems today). And also because i know nothing about Antananarivo (well, it's in Madagascar, there ends my knowledge )

[Edu]

What's there to see in Kampala? I have absolutely no idea and the Wikipedia page is not very helpful

I vote for Riyadh, even though i would probably die in those summer temperatures (though i guess that the arid climate helps). Didn't Hash live in Riyadh? or i got that wrong? maybe he can tell us more

[Edu]

Didn't Hash live in Riyadh? or i got that wrong? maybe he can tell us more

Yes I did. What should I tell you guys?

Well, i just wanted to know how it is to live there and if you enjoyed it, just out of curiosity


This one is pretty easy for me.
Alexandria was the most beautiful city i saw when i went to Egypt in 2005 and the history of the place is fascinating. Of course you need to have a bit of patience because the traffic there is horrible (although it is much worse in Cairo which has the worst traffic i have ever seen, plus basically no traffic lights and people crossing the road on foot at all times) But it is worth it. In fact if you want to go to Egypt, Cairo is fine and all and probably you should spent a day there to see the pyramids and whatnot, but i would highly recommend staying most of the time in Alexandria. Luxor and Aswan were nice too, but it's no contest really.
Kabul is eeehh, well, i don't know but i can't imagine it being better than Alexandria.

So i vote Alexandria

[Edu]

I'm actually pretty interested in both, and I'm going to vote Kabul because they play cricket there.

How is that a good thing?

[Edu]

Well, either winning would be fine, so i'll stick with my "try to make things interesting" meme

I vote Durban

[Edu]

I was planning on going to Jordan a couple of years ago but it didn't work out, pity because the city looks interesting. Don't really have much to say about Ethiopia

I vote Amman.

[Edu]

I went to Harare for just a day and a half when i visited Zimbabwe in 1999, didn't like it that much. The focus of my trip there wasn't Harare though, in that trip i spent a week in South Africa (Cape town and Johannesburg) and then spent another week in Zimbabwe in a great place near the Victoria falls. That was one of the most amazing vacations i had, luckily i took my video camera there.
Never been to Nairobi but it looks more interesting than Harare, that's for sure

I vote Nairobi

[Edu]

Yep, Cairo has some cool stuff, but except for the main Tourist areas, the rest of the city is pretty awful. Plus the absence of traffic lights, the huge traffic jams and the total pedestrian and vehicular anarchy are major turnoffs (i mean, for a day it was sort of hilarious seeing how people crossed the highway on foot while dozens of cars were driving like they are in a Fast and the Furious movie, but after a day you start to get the sense of how dangerous it is ).

I vote Beirut.

[Edu]

Haven't been to any but i have only heard good things about Damascus, while i can't say the same for Tehran

I vote Damascus

[Edu]

Nothing to add except that i think this is an easy one.

I vote Jerusalem

[Edu]

Never been to Algiers but i went to Cape Town in 99 and i had a very good time (well, the best time a 12 year old can have ), so this one is easy for me.

I vote Cape Town

[Edu]

Ugh, i have no idea, neither really look appealing

I vote Dakar just because my parents went there decades ago and they somewhat enjoyed it.

[Edu]

I was in Dubai in January and while it's  nice enough city if you have loads of money or if you are a local guy (they basically don't work and get everything in a silver platter from the government). It was probably the only trip where i completely cut spending in things that were not eating or accomodation because everything is too friggin expensive, i can't afford to go on vacation in july thanks to this
It's nice to visit once but the city is too much of a parody of what you could possibly do if you had loads and loads of cash to spend for no reason whatsoever except to say "Hey, look at me, the tallest building in the world!". And even the locals think that it will be a ghost city in the next few decades. They are spending way too much and oil is not going to last forever.

I vote Mecca

[Edu]

I have no idea what the hell is there to see in Kinshasa. From what i saw in Casablanca it doesn't really differ from any other big city in the "western world", i spent there 3 days and i hardly ever saw women dressed like anything other than what regular western girls wear. while far from being the best city in Morrocco, Casablanca is certainly good and modern enough to win this.

I vote Casablanca

[Edu]

Just spent a day in Johannesburg but it was nice enough. Never been to Accra and, again, i don't know what can i really see there.

I vote Johannesburg