New Audley North Africa & the Middle East brochure

The Sphinx at Giza, Egypt

Our new North Africa & the Middle East brochure, which replaces the North Africa & Arabia brochure, is now available. Written by our North African and Middle East specialists it features a selection of popular itineraries, along with information on the best places to visit, favourite accommodation options and practical advice on planning a trip to this region.

Also featured are travel guides for cruises on the Nile in Egypt, Jordan’s beautiful nature reserves and archaeological sites in Tunisia, as well as information on walking in the Moroccan High Atlas Mountains, camping at the heart of the desert dunes in Morocco, Jordan and Oman and diving on Egypt’s Red Sea coast.

For the new 2012 brochure we have also discovered a range of new hotels and excursions, and for the first time we also feature Jerusalem, and showcase self drive holidays in Oman.

Take a look at the brochure:

• View the online version (you will need Adobe Flash Player). 
• If you would like to download any of our brochures as a PDF, view online versions of them, or request a free physical copy, simply go to our brochures page.

To book a tailor-made trip to North Africa & the Middle East, call one of our specialists on 01993 838 400 or contact us online.

Ashmolean Museum opens new Ancient Egypt galleries

Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford recently opened the doors to its new galleries of Ancient Egypt and Nubia. Its old Egyptian galleries have been redesigned and extended with state of the art facilities. This means that more than double the number of mummies and coffins are now on display, along with many of its other artifacts that have been in storage for decades.

The galleries have been designed to take visitors on a chronological tour covering more than 5000 years of human life on the Nile valley, from prehistory to the 7th century AD.

As well as the mummies and coffins on display, you will also be able to see the museums other iconic objects, such as  the wall painting depicting Akhenaten and Nefertiti’s daughters, the Shrine of Taharqa from the temple at Kawa; and the enormous limestone statues of the fertility god Min which date to 3300 BC.

Visit the Ashmolean Museum website to find out more about its new galleries and when to visit.

To book a tailor-made trip to Egypt, call one of our Egypt specialists on 01993 838 410 or contact us online.

Our top 10 travel apps

The ubiquitous smartphone: fast becoming the ideal companion when abroad

Today, there are literally thousands of travel apps (or applications) on the market for smartphones. I’ve picked my top 10, some of which are free to download.

Have a look and see if you agree?

Continue reading »

Muscat voted second best city in the world by Lonely Planet

Grand Mosque in Muscat, Oman

I’ve just heard from our North Africa & Middle East Regional Manager, Matt, that Muscat has been voted the second best city in the world by Lonely Planet in their ‘Top 10 Cities for 2012′ poll.

This is exciting news, not least because this area of the world has seen its fair share of trouble over the past year - I really think this can be seen as yet another positive sign that travel to the Middle East remains high on the agenda for many tourists.

A number of other Audley destinations were included in the poll too. Santiago in Chile was named seventh best city in the world, closely followed in eighth by Hong Kong. Darwin in Australia completed the list with a highly respectable tenth position.

With thousands of cities around the world for Lonely Planet to choose from, it’s no small feat that these cities made it into the final 10 and we are pleased that so many of them can be visited on a trip with us!

Charles MacQueen: The Golden Triangle

The Golden Triangle

This fresh and varied exhibition will run from 8/10/2011 to 29/10/2011 at the John Davies gallery in Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, and features a selection of new paintings of Rajasthan by Charles MacQueen. Continue reading »

The Audley Food Festival 2011

Audley Food Festival 2011

Friday 23rd September 2011 was the date of the first ever Audley Food Festival and, as with anything food related at Audley, the event was tipped to be a merry affair! Continue reading »

Seven wonders of the natural world

Uluru or Ayers Rock in Australia has been shotlisted for the new 7 wonders of the natural world

A global campaign organised by a Swiss philanthropist has begun to decide the seven wonders of the natural world, out of 28 that have been shortlisted. Continue reading »

Royal Opera House to open in Muscat

Royal Opera House in Muscat, Oman

I’ve just heard from our North Africa & Arabia Regional Manager that a brand new, state-of-the-art Royal Opera House is to open in Muscat, Oman on 14th October 2011.

With a capacity of 1000, the venue will showcase a number of world-famous productions during its first season, including Swan Lake, Carmen, Giselle and Turandot.

Described as “A unique art and cultural edifice with no parallel in the Middle East region“, it will be possible to include a visit to the Opera House in a tailor-made trip to Oman with Audley.

To find out more about tailor-made holidays to Oman, please visit the Oman section on our website, or speak to one of our Oman specialists directly on 01993 838 430.

The Royal Opera House in Muscat, Oman

Tunisia reopens it doors to tourists

The amphitheatre at El Jem

Way back in December 2010, Tunisia was the first of the countries across North Africa and the Middle East to be hit by popular uprisings. This unrest lead to the collapse of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali’s regime and ended his 23-year rule of the country.

As a popular tourist destination that relies heavily on inbound travellers, Tunisia’s tourism was badly affected, but in the last couple of weeks the country has been encouraging people to venture back to its shores, embarking on a brand new (and some might say, slightly controversial) marketing campaign targeted at travellers from the UK and other countries.

This is great news for tourists who wish to visit the country as it shows Tunisia is well on the road to recovery and is keen for travellers to return after a difficult couple of months.

If you would like to find out more about arranging a tailor-made trip to Tunisia, visit the Tunisia section on our website, or call our Tunisia specialists on 01993 838 445.

A specialist in Morocco

Steve during his trip to Morocco

Steve Howes, one of Audley’s Morocco specialists, recently returned from a trip to the lesser-visited northern region of Morocco, where he spent time exploring the  cosmopolitan cities and quaint fishing villages of this relatively untouched area. Here, he talks about his trip in detail: Continue reading »