However, Bahrain is still imbued with Islamic tradition. Manama, the capital, is jam-packed with majestic mosques and minarets. Some females dress in western-style clothing but immodesty is still frowned upon. It is a symbolic bridge that connects the archipelago to Saudi Arabia's mainland.
Nevertheless, Bahrain is a wealthy country that has been unafraid to distinguish itself from other Islamic Gulf countries. Under Portuguese rule between 1521 and 1622, attacked by various tribes and groups for more than 100 years, and willingly becoming a British Protectorate between 1861 and 1971, Bahrain was ecstatic when it discovered oil in 1931. In just four decades, Bahrain's protectorate status was relinquished and Bahrain became one of the world's most affluent countries. Bahrain's first independent ruler, Sheikh Isa al-Khalifa, caused controversy by bolstering Bahrain's relationship with western countries: both British and US military forces were granted use of Bahraini ports and airfields, vital to the prosecution of the two Iraq wars and the 2002 Afghan war.

Despite the Islamic presence, about one-third of Bahrain's population are foreign expatriates who seek that ideal blend of stability and prosperity. Perhaps this influence has shaped modern Bahrain, now rapidly modernising, full of shopping malls and restaurants. Many argue, however, that the supposed liberal outlook of the country is a sham: alcohol and casinos cannot disguise that the country is an absolute monarchy in which dissent is barely tolerated.

Regardless, visitors to Bahrain are more likely to want to revel in its antiquity, anyway. During construction of Bahrain's causeway, thousands of burial mounds were disinterred, dating back to the third millennium BC. Bahrain is now the proud owner of the largest ancient necropolis in the world, and its foundations still rest upon the ancient city of Dilmun and the ancient civilisation that resided there.

It is exactly this blend of eastern and western cultures, this commingling of mosque and skyscraper, which draws so many to Bahrain. Perhaps its famous Tree of Life – a verdant tree blooming out of arid desert – says it all: Bahrain is full of surprises and contradictions.

More traditional towns, such as Rey, Varamin, Qazvin and Shemshak are within easy reach of Tehran. The town of Tabriz is known for its restored blue mosque built in 1465. The covered Qaisariyeh Bazaar dates back to the 15th century. The Golden Triangle is the name popularly given to the region enclosed by the ancient cities of Hamadan, Kermanshahan and Khorrambabad. For many centuries the Silk Road passed through the pleasant rolling countryside of the region. Local dishes include chelo khoresh (rice topped with vegetables and meat in a nut sauce) and morgh polo (chicken and pilau rice).

However, Iraq has been blighted by resurgent conflict: from the Arab Caliphate to Mongols, and from the Timur Empire to the Ottoman Empire. In 1920, the Hashemite Amir Faisal ibn Hussain was proclaimed king; independence came in 1932. In 1958, the Hashemite Dynasty disintegrated via murder and coup. Iraq’s final coup in recent history came in 1968, bringing the Ba’ath Party to power.

In 1979, Saddam Hussein became president and party leader of the Ba’ath Party. Iraqis hoped to resolve a long-running territorial dispute with Iran over the Shatt al-Arab waterway, and a full-scale invasion of Iran was launched in 1980. The war degenerated into one of attrition, lasting until 1988, when the two exhausted nations sued for peace. Despite minor territorial gains, the Iraqi economy was crippled and incurred an enormous foreign debt, mainly owed to neighbouring Kuwait. Insistent Kuwaiti demands for repayment, Iraq’s historical claim over Kuwaiti territory, and a dispute over oil reserves provided the main pretext for the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. The US-led response to the invasion, with firm backing from the UN, ensured that Iraq suffered a massive defeat. The Iraqi regime was seriously threatened by armed opposition elements among the Shia of southern Iraq and the Kurds in the north. However, the superior firepower of Iraqi troops and the Western refusal to provide effective backing for the rebels resisted this.

Thereafter, the USA and others used several means to constrain Iraq, such as a complete trade embargo - excepting a strictly controlled regimen of oil sales with which the Iraqi government could buy food and medicine. Arguably, ordinary Iraqis were worst hit by such sanctions. A few years later, the USA would lead the war against Iraq that has generated such fiercely mixed reactions, from relief that Hussein's brutal regime was toppled, to anger at the alleged existence of weapons of mass destruction and Hussein's alleged connections with Al-Qaeda.

With time, it is hoped the shackles of war will be dismantled, and Iraq shall pave itself a future as grand as was its past.

The first five books of the Bible itself are about the origins and cosmology of the ‘people of Israel', the Jews, from around 2000BC.

Fleeing slavery to conquer and settle in Canaan (broadly the same land as modern Israel), Jewish culture evolved around worship at their Temple in Jerusalem, built around 1000BC. Several attempts by foreign powers to eradicate Israel ended in failure, until in AD135, after some 70 years of war with Jewish rebels, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem, expelled the Jews, and renamed Israel as ‘Palestine'.

The subsequent Jewish diaspora continues to the present day. Nineteenth-century pogroms in Eastern Europe sparked the Zionist movement that aimed to re-establish the Jewish nation in Palestine, which had become part of the Ottoman Empire. From 1882 onwards, waves of Jewish immigration began. After WW1, the Ottoman Empire was broken up and the British Mandate took control. In 1947 the League of Nations voted to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab areas, a plan accepted by the Zionists but rejected by the Arab League.

The Jewish leaders inaugurated the State of Israel in May 1948, bringing an immediate full-scale war by the Arab states. Much of the history of the region since that time has been one of this continuing conflict. Following the ‘Six Day War' of 1967, Jerusalem came under Jewish rule for the first time since the Roman expulsion. The West Bank was occupied, and its Arab residents, adopting the name Palestinians and represented by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) became the forefront of the struggle against Israel.

Israel has since made peace with former foes including Egypt and Jordan. A peace process began with the Palestinians in the early 1990s after years of uprising or intifada. The Palestinian National Authority was set up in 1993 to take over the Palestinian areas. However, the election in January 2006 of militant Islamist organisation Hamas, which claimed responsibility for numerous suicide bombings in Israel, made peace less likely. Lebanon's militant Islamist group Hezbollah launched a war on Israel in August 2006.

Despite these problems, Israel remains buoyant and positive, with a ‘can-do' attitude. It is a world-class destination with outstanding cultural, archaeological and religious attractions, spas and beach resorts, as well as a unique ancient-and-modern atmosphere.

The area that became Kuwait was controlled by the main regional powers in the Gulf, principally various dynasties based in Mesopotamia and Persia. The most influential of these were the Safavids, a Persian dynasty which moved into the region around 1500 and established a commercial empire along the eastern seaboard of the Arabian peninsula.

Later on in the 16th century, the northeastern corner of the Arabian peninsula became part of the Turkish Ottoman Empire. It remained so until the latter part of the 19th century when the Al-Sabah family steered the country into a semi-autonomous position. However, fearing that the Turks would try to reassert their control, the Kuwaitis made an agreement with the British allowing for British control of Kuwaiti foreign affairs in exchange for military protection.

This danger passed with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I, although Kuwait remained a British protectorate until 1961, when the country was granted full independence.

Since then, Kuwait has remained a puzzling but intriguing mix of Western liberalism and strict Islam. The capital, Kuwait City, is a bustling metropolis full of the high-rise buildings and luxury hotels that you would expect. Yet the country is also host to elaborate and opulent mosques and palaces, and its religion is an integral part of its affairs.

This juxtaposition perhaps stems from Kuwait's marrying of Islamism with oil-wealth, mostly traded with Western superpowers. Upon independence, Sheikh Abdullah assumed Head of State, adopting the title of Emir. The large revenues from oil production allowed independent Kuwait to build up its economic infrastructure and institute educational and social welfare programmes. In the early 1990s, the Emir established a National Assembly (Majlis), which placed limits on the power of the ruling family. Since then, the National Assembly has clashed several times with the Emir and the Cabinet (which is still dominated by the al-Sabah family) over misuse of state funds and poor management of the all-important oil industry. Underlying these disputes is the growing impression that the ageing and increasingly infirm al-Sabah clan is no longer capable of running the country. However, they continue to dominate Kuwaiti policies.

Surrounded by three major Middle Eastern powers, the main threat to the country came from the renewal of Iraqi territorial claims over Kuwait (along with the overdue repayment of some US$40-60 billion on the part of Iraq), which led to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. The Kuwaitis later recovered their country by virtue of a US-led, UN-backed multinational military force. After a period of euphoria, the Kuwaitis had to address a number of difficult questions; the future security of the country was dealt with by the signing of defence and security pacts with the USA, the UK and Kuwait's Gulf allies. More recently, Kuwait was one of the first countries to join Operation Iraqi Freedom following the US-led war against Iraq, and provided aid and support during Iraq's (ongoing) process of reconstruction.

Lift the veil, however, and you will find that many conceptions of Saudi Arabia are misconceptions. Saudi Arabia has many areas of beautiful oases and dramatic mountain-tops, beaches and rivers. Its cities, although having no nightlife, do have plenty of cafes and restaurants. There are also shops galore, from the souk to the huge department store. Indeed, Saudi Arabia's major cities are generally very modern, with amenities of a high standard. And, as long as you respect and abide by the viewpoints and customs of the country, you will find that you are treated cordially.

What has enabled Saudi Arabia to boast such steel-and-glass cities is oil. In 1933, the first explorations began for oil, vast deposits of which were discovered in the eastern part of the country. The oil search also brought the USA into contact with Saudi Arabia for the first time and they quickly became the country's principal Western ally. Nonetheless, there have been constant sources of friction between the two countries over the years - most notably, Israel. More current was the discovery that the bulk of the 9-11 terrorist hijackers were Saudi nationals and the fact that the recently appointed King Abdullah is generally less pro-American than was his father, takes a harder line on oil pricing.

Such oil might have brought modernising, then, but Saudi Arabia is still steeped in the most extraordinary history. In the year AD 622, Prophet Muhammad launched a successful campaign to recapture Mecca from the Persians, who had made it a province of their empire. Afterwards, the Muslims would continue their expansion across the Arabian peninsula and into Syria, Mesopotamia (Iraq), Persia, and westwards into Egypt and North Africa.

This underlines one of the most important facts to consider about Saudi Arabia: as the birthplace of Muhammad, it contains the holiest cities of Islam. To be critical of any practices adopted in Saudi Arabia is to be neglectful of this fact, since the Saudis take the responsibility for protecting the integrity of this holy land with utmost seriousness, and Islamic laws are strictly enforced by the mutawwa (religious police). To the non-Islamic eye, Saudi Arabia also succeeds in being beautiful and praiseworthy, and in the current climate, this complex country will probably be a significant part of the worldwide map for some time.

This group of small sheikhdoms on the coastline of the Persian Gulf was a backwater of the Islamic civilisation that prospered in the Middle East from the seventh century onwards.

After attacks on British-owned shipping by pirates operating in the Gulf region, they were brought under British suzerainty in the 19th Century. The sheikhdoms – which became known as the Trucial States – carried on largely unmolested and ignored until the 1950s when the British started to relinquish control as part of its post-imperial retrenchment.

The British plan for the Trucial States was to weld its seven distinct regimes into a single administrative bloc. The discovery of oil in 1966, which gave the local economy a sudden and rapid boost, helped to ease the process and soon transformed the emirate

and its way of life. Dubai's first oil exports in 1969 were followed by a period of rapid development that laid the foundations for today's modern society.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven states - Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras al Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al Qaiwain - formed in 1971 after independence from Britain. Although internal politics are prone to instability, because of the uncertain nature of the federation and boundary disputes, the ruling families in the two main emirates, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, have managed to stabilise the federation.

From the timeless tranquillity of the desert to the lively bustle of the souk, Dubai offers a kaleidoscope of attractions for visitors. The emirate embraces a wide variety of scenery in a very small area. In a single day, the tourist can experience everything from rugged mountains and awe-inspiring sand dunes to sandy beaches and lush green parks, from dusty villages and ancient houses with windtowers to luxurious residential districts and from the colourful souks to ultra-modern shopping malls.

Indeed, one of Dubai's greatest visitor attractions is its superb shopping. As an open port with low import duties, Dubai's retail prices are reasonable and the variety of products available is virtually unrivalled. Whatever the visitor's tastes - be it couture from Paris or Milan, hi-tech electronics from Japan, or a piece of silver Bedouin jewellery - he or she will find it at the right price in Dubai.

Sometimes called the 'Manhattan of the Middle East', Abu Dhabi City is essentially a modern and sleek city, filled with skyscrapers. The United Arab Emirates' capital, located on an island connected to the mainland by two bridges, is often accused of being a rather soulless place, but it does have its attractions: the Petroleum Exhibition and the Heritage Village, the beautiful Corniche (beach), the Al Hisn Fort, the old souk (market), the Breakwater Island and Sheikh Zayed's palace. The most picturesque place is undeniably the Batin, the oldest part of the town, where the small harbours receive the daily catch brought by the fishing dhows.

To the Romans, Yemen was Arabia Felix, whose mountains and fertile areas distinguished it from the barren desert of the rest of the Arabian peninsula. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Yemen came into the seventh century under the influence of Islam. It remained within the orbit of various regional powers until, in the 15th century, it became a flashpoint in the struggle between the Egyptians and the Ottoman Empire. During the early 17th and early 19th centuries, the struggle for control was between the Europeans and the Ottomans.

Protection of the Suez sea route was imperative for the British, who occupied the port of Aden in 1839. The Yemeni hinterland was mostly under the loose control of the Ottoman Empire throughout the 19th century, until 1918, when the Imam Yahya took power in what became the Yemen Arab Republic (YAR).

Aden and its surroundings, meanwhile, were firmly established as a British colony. Yahya was assassinated in 1948 and his son Ahmed took over. From 1958 to 1961, the YAR was federated with Egypt and Syria in the United Arab States. Ahmed died in 1962 and an army coup led to civil war.

By this time, in the south, the British colonial forces faced armed opposition from both the leftist National Liberation Front (NLF) and the Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen (FLOSY). In 1967, just before the formation of the Yemen Democratic People's Republic in the south by the victorious NLF forces, a Republican government took control in the north. There was intermittent warfare between the two Yemens throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s and political instability in the north throughout the 1970s.

In 1978, Lieutenant-Colonel Ali Abdullah Saleh became Head of State in the north. In the same year, Ali Nasser Muhammad became Head of State in the south. In 1986, civil war between rival elements within the armed forces broke out. A new government was formed under Haydar Abu Bakr al-Attas. The long-promised merger of the two Yemens took place in 1990 and Ali Abdullah Saleh became leader of the unified country.

Since then Yemen has established itself as a tourist destination, attracting travellers with its striking scenery and spectacular Islamic and pre-Islamic architecture. Yemen boasts hugely varied landscapes, from magnificent mountains to lush fruit-growing valleys to semi-arid plains and wide sandy beaches. The towns and cities hide souks and spice markets, mosques and ancient city walls.

The country is home to numerous significant archeological sites, while adventure travellers can enjoy camping and trekking in the unique Socotra archipelago, which counts over 270 endemic species among its enormous range of wildlife and plantlife.