For many years, I resisted travelling to the Middle East: too much sand, too hot, no shopping, not modern, and more recently, not safe. Even after Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, which famously featured Petra’s splendid Treasury facade, I…

Fortresses dating back to the Crusades, the ancient Roman city of Jerash, the ancient city of Petra, Wadi Rum, the Dead Sea, Mount Nebo, the Baptism Site, its many nature reserves and biodiversity. So much more.