Truth of Travel in the Middle East, April 2026

The news is full of the dangers in the Middle East. There are endless questions by anxious travellers asking if it is safe to travel in Egypt.

Yes. It is safe.

Dubai and the Emirates are constantly in the headlines for being targeted and attacked by Iran.

No, they are not.

How do I know?

I have been living here, and in the middle of it, with friends all over who have actually seen, or live in, these places, I see an endless stream of misinformation, fake news, and AI. Here is the reality of how things are – in the places I know about.

I would not travel to Tehran, Beirut or Tel Aviv just now – I had literally just arranged a two week visit with a friend in Palestine living in Hebron when Netanyahu and Trump changed my plans. (Actually, I now know Hebron in the south would have been fine. But I had been planning to fly from Tel Aviv – that is definitely ill-advised at the minute).

I am doing the same trip I have already done twice before: once before October 7, once after October 7, 2023. I was in Dahab (South-East Sinai Peninsular in Egypt) for the first round of missiles from Iran – there was exactly nothing to see. My two months in Dahab at that time was as disaster-free as the first time.

My challenges consisted of managing to eat all of the delicious dishes that are part of a cheap Egyptian feed, finding excuses to order stuffed pigeon and vine leaves yet again,

We are still waiting for the food to arrive… This is just preliminaries. Yes, more than just me, but still for only four people. The BBQ chicken halves and quarters are still on the way. Each person has a salad, dish of tahini, pasta soup, Levant rice, and Mouloqia (green herb sauce), with bread and pickles for everyone.

having to stop snorkelling after ‘only’ half an hour because in mid-winter the water was just a tiny bit cool for longer, (I have now swum in Dahab from December through to April – I’ll hazard a guess that November will also be fine)

Snorkellers, swimmers, even dogs, and sometimes a goat called Omar!

learning the rules then hunting down taola victims (Egyptian backgammon), and deciding between karkardey (hibiscus tea, hot or cold) and sah’lab with its sultanas, coconut and almond topping.

On this occasion another favourite, a fresh lemon and mint juice.

On all visits.

My third visit to Dahab ended on 31st March, 2026, almost exactly a month after the US-Israeli attack on 28th February. I left in the same way as I had before:- A taxi north usually to Nuweiba, but this time to Taba on the Israeli-Palestinian border where the Israelis are backing up to escape across. The ferry is faster and has a much better winter timetable.

The ferry ride across the Gulf of Aqaba (top of the Red Sea) to the other side of the Israeli-Palestinian border gets views across four countries at once – the only place on earth where you can: Egypt, Israel-Palestine, Jordan and Saudi Arabia are all within sight at the same time.

Aqaba is the port on the southern tip of Jordan, a city split in two by the fence between Jordan and Israel-Palestine. The other half of the city is called Eilat. Aqaba is warm and humid, laid back and peaceful. So is Eilat across the border. Our stresses in Aqaba involved my friend changing from the hunt for chess victims to hunting down a new mobile and Taola.

Aqaba cafe for tea, coffee, shisha and taola.

He found a phone, and we found the perfect café – tables covered in red cloths, outside under a huge tree. Aqaba also has the ruins of an old port, and uncovered remains of the old city which was a stopping station for camel caravans and pilgrims on the trail, both for Christian sites as well as to Mecca. Jordan is an overlooked treasure, full of ancient sites.

A respite in Amman, view of the Roman amphitheatre in Downtown from a cafe window

And it is near Petra – film location for the first Indiana Jones movie (1981, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and not entirely fiction – Hitler was actually hunting for Bible relics because he believed they held a power that could further his megalomania),

And Wadi Rum – amazing desert valley which was also the film location for “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962), and where some of the story actually took place (it’s based on a true story).

But Aqaba was peaceful, Eilat was peaceful, and the 4 ½ hour bus trip to Amman was smooth and uneventful.

Looking at Eilat in Palestine-Israel from Aqaba in Jordan. As you can see, completely peaceful.

The same view with context - showing the border fence that runs through the middle of town.

It is then that I hit the misadventures. Amman is directly under the flight path of the missiles between Israel and Iran. But that wasn’t my problem. After the peace of Dahab and Aqaba, Downtown Amman was a frenetic assault on my senses.

A regular sight on my walks with the Saudi hills as a backdrop, hazy on this day.

Dahab is a small village oasis on the sea on the edge of the Sinai desert. For 4 months I had been walking 5 km along the beach to the end of town and back, spending the afternoons tapping away on my computer at a café on the sea, to the gentle sound of waves and schools of fish jumping up from the water, followed by evenings of taola (backgammon) to a back drop of lights glittering across the water, maybe a light show under the water from some night divers, and soundly beating – or being beaten by – my friends by the Egyptian rules they had taught me.

In Downtown Amman, the din of car engines wasn’t even audible. There were cars with their hands fixed on their horns. An ambulance and firetruck went past with their sirens, and a moment later a police car the other way with its siren. Vendors keen for business.

Amman, lights still on display after Ramadan and Eid.

“Hello, my friend.”

I am not your friend! We’ve never met.

“Come in for a Bedouin tea or coffee and something to eat.”

“Merhaba. Welcome.”

Loud music from one café. A competing blast from a passing car. Not least was an army of mini wind-up elephants beating on tiny tin drums – loud enough to hear and add to the cacophony. My senses were in overload, to say the least.

Meanwhile in Amman, I met up with my Bedouin friend for some backgammon in a more peaceful café with other friends. They were both Palestinians whose families had been forced to flee, one growing up in Iraq, the other married in Panama.

Before heading over to visit another friend I bought a small gift from a street stall. She is also a Palestinian refugee, now naturalized and living with her sister and mother. Her sister was born on the run in Syria. They fled when their family property was taken and destroyed.

Amman has more residents from other countries than Jordanians! Most dominant are the Palestinian-Jordanians who have made their way to Amman over time (often from refugee camps after their homes were seized and lives threatened), and others – a huge Filipino community for one. Another of my friends is a famous poet and song writer, having written a song for one of the top singers in Jordan. He lived the first 30 years of his life in a refugee camp.

This is a map from the hostel wall showing how these countries fit together, bonded by the Bedouin tribes. Aqaba in the south is a 4-5 hour bus ride to Amman.

At a stall I bought some green almonds, a favourite Jordanian snack at this time of year.

“Beh Kham da? How much?” I asked.

The stall owner opened his mouth. I just shook my head, and he rolled his eyes – a passing fire engine with siren blaring had swallowed his words.

The suburbs were much quieter. Over a cup of Jordanian coffee, mama said that she liked me and that I must stay with them starting that night, not the hostel in Downtown.

I think about it, but it seems easier to stay put in my hostel with the sweet roomie from Somalia. I had also been planning a trip to the Dead Sea and Madaba, “Thank you, but no.”

But they are insistent.

Downtown just seemed way more convenient to me.  “My bags are there.” No problem – they will give me pyjamas to use.

I needed to buy new sandals and to change some money. “I have things I need to do in Downtown.” – Do that at the airport, and just a minute while they hunt for shoes for me.

I keep trying, “But I’ve already paid for the night”.

And then I remember, triumphing through the pressure, “My medication is all at the hostel”.

And so, the next day, instead of paying for another night at the hostel I found myself heading to the suburbs with my bags to stay with them. Sometimes refusing is more offensive. But in the end, I was glad of their persistence because I had such a chill time with them!  

As we chattered I heard an unfamiliar sounding siren. What’s that?

“Oh, that’s just the warning siren.”

I raised my eyebrows in surprise.

“Really? How often does that happen?”

Through the afternoon I heard it twice more, and then several times after dark.

“What does it mean?”

“To get inside. If you’re going somewhere, keep going. But nobody takes much notice.”

To be honest, that’s a perfectly reasonable reaction. Amman is right under the path of the missiles between Iran and Israel, mostly Tel Aviv. But they are not targeted anywhere else. Not at Amman. Not at Dubai. Not at Abu Dabi.

The next day I was out walking when a siren sounded – nobody batted an eyelid! In hindsight, I may have even heard one in Downtown, but it was lost in the din.

Downtown Amman - paying absolutely no attention to the warning sirens.

Iran has been extremely specific about its targets – Israel or the US bases – nowhere else, not even the countries which had hosted the bases. If one is intercepted, very occasionally there can be debris fallout. This is what happened to the Burj al Arab and Fairmont hotels in Dubai. They were not targeted. They were collateral damage of debris from an intercepted missile.

At the minute the media has more fake news and AI than ever before, so it’s hard to know what is true. But from personal experiences, and people I actually know, here is the truth.

Iran is targeting only the two aggressors who attacked it. In spite of being under the flight path, places like Amman are barely affected. In Jordan life is as usual. And not just in Jordan. Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the Emirates (UAE) is the same.

For some reason Dubai has been targeted – not by missiles and bombs, but by the media. I have friends living in Dubai. They commute to work like always, do their shopping at the local supermarket as usual. Their frustrations are rush-hour traffic making the trip home longer, not the fear of being bombed.

There have been photos of burning buildings “targeted by Iranian missiles”. The buildings are still standing and intact. Dubai locals are endlessly posting corrections to the clickbait news of being targeted, including many of the photos – they are AI generated. (If a fireball is in the picture, it’s a dead giveaway – a bomb causes a black smoke plume. Fireballs are exclusive to the movies.)

Dubai is not being targeted. The Emirates are not at war.

Abu Dhabi airport, with the Gaudi tendency for curves everywhere.

It is even safe to fly. The airport is functioning as normal. I have just flown through the Emirates to get from Amman to Malaysia. Amman airport is open and functioning. My flight stopped in Abu Dhabi for 3 hours. Both flights were timely, in fact over half an hour early to arrive. The airport was calm and quiet.

Abu Dhabi airport, quiet, but otherwise business as usual. 6th April, 2026.

I met a Filipino tourist guide from the ferry terminal in Aqaba at the beautiful Tala Bay Resort making a work trip to Malaysia for a week. An Israeli family with their grandchildren was fleeing the stress for a holiday for a month in Thailand.

The Filipino tourist officer from Tala Bay Resort after our conversation about how frustrating the fake news is and how badly it is affecting things. As you see, business as usual, Abu Dhabi airport, 6th April, 2026.

A Palestinian couple were having their honeymoon in Lankawi in Malaysia – his family had been forced to flee several decades ago when their family’s property was taken and their lives threatened, and ended up in Australia. On the plane I was sitting next to a Palestinian who had been forced to flee a decade ago, and now works in New York.

This is all a long way from Australia, but the reality is everywhere over here. It is not just a little spat between neighbouring countries – there have been eight decades of Palestinians who have been displaced by these killings.

And today’s news? It is mostly fake.

The local airlines are still flying, and timely. The advice I was given was to use Etihad, Emirates, or Gulf Air. All are flying without delays, and having their own fuel supply. And the flights are still cheap, the same price as when I booked in mid-March. And I have now heard of many others who have flown in and out of Dubai and Abu Dabi without issue.

I mean, who hasn’t seen the Jennifer Aniston ad for Emirates and not wanted to try them out.

Don’t take me for a clickbait vlogger trying to get attention. And I am not interested in the dangerous. But I will see through contradictions and misinformation. Don’t cancel your holidays. Don’t punish the locals whose income depends on visitors and tourists.

But now I have a bowl of noodles to eat. I need to see if I agree with my friend’s list of the top 10 spots to eat here. (Blog pending!)