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Home » Trip Reports » Introduction: A Middle East Adventure Many Times Over
Trip Reports

Introduction: A Middle East Adventure Many Times Over

Matthew Klint Posted onDecember 12, 2022November 13, 2023 36 Comments

a man riding a camel in the desert

Welcome to my next trip report, which will recount my journey to three countries in the Middle East as well as to Turkey.

An Epic Middle East Adventure Many Times Over

A dear friend took an extended holiday in the Middle East in the spring. While familial and work obligations kept me from being gone for two months, I was able to go back and forth, enjoying key portions of the trip. The trip began in Dallas, where I flew the Qatar Airways A350-1000 to Doha in Qsuite business class. There, I spent five nights at the Four Seasons Doha, which was an exceptionally positive experience. I then flew home via Copenhagen, Helsinki, and London, enjoying the chance to experience a brand new Qatar Airways 787-9, Finnair A330, and British Airways 787-10, all in business class.

Next, I flew to Jordan…via Tokyo (as one does). JAL First Class from Los Angeles to Tokyo, Qatar Airways 777 Qsuite from Tokyo to Doha, then Qatar Airways A330 to Amman. Jordan was my favorite part of the trip, with time spent at the Red Sea, biblical sites, Petra, and finally Amman.

From Amman, we flew to Cairo, played tourist, and then visited Alexandria, staying at the Four Seasons in both cities. I then flew home via Istanbul, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, London, Bogota, and Houston…oh yeah, I love a good mileage ticket.

Finally, I flew Turkish Airlines back to Istanbul, where I rejoined my friend before we flew home in Lufthansa First class via Frankfurt.

Here’s what you have to look forward to:

  • American Airlines 787-9 Business Class Los Angeles – Dallas
  • Thompson Dallas
  • Four Seasons Dallas
  • American Express Centurion Lounge DFW
  • American Airlines Admirals Club DFW
  • Qatar Airways A350-1000 Business Class Dallas – Doha
  • Four Seasons Doha
  • Park Hyatt Doha
  • Great Coffee In Doha
  • Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Lounge DOH
  • Qatar Airways 787-9 Business Class Doha – Copenhagen
  • Aviator Apartment Business Lounge CPH
  • Finnair A321 Business Class Copenhagen – Helsinki
  • Hotel St. George Helsinki (Marriott Design Hotels)
  • Great Coffee In Helsinki
  • Finnair “New” A330 Business Class Helsinki – London
  • British Airways 787-10 Business Class London – Chicago
  • Oneworld Lounge LAX
  • JAL 777-300ER First Class Los Angeles – Tokyo
  • JAL First Class Lounge Tokyo NRT
  • Qatar Airways 777-300 Business Class Tokyo – Doha
  • Al Safwa Lounge Doha
  • Qatar Airways A330-300 “First” Class Doha – Amman
  • How To Obtain A Visa On Arrival In Jordan
  • Kempinski Dead Sea
  • Visiting Mount Nebo In Jordan
  • Visiting Al-Maghtas, The Jesus Baptism Site In Jordan
  • Navigating The Touts Of Petra, Jordan
  • How Long Should You Stay In Petra, Jordan?
  • Photo Essay: The Ancient City Of Petra, Jordan
  • Mövenpick Petra
  • I Got Waterboarded At A Turkish Bath In Jordan
  • Roadside Dining In Jordan
  • St. Regis Amman
  • Why I Prioritize Flying Royal Jordanian Out Of Amman
  • Royal Jordanian Crown Lounge AMM
  • Royal Jordanian A319 Business Class Amman – Cairo
  • Four Seasons Hotel Cairo At Nile Plaza
  • The Drunk Woman From Alabama At The Four Seasons Bar In Cairo, Egypt
  • Going To Church In The Muslim World: My Experiences In Doha And Cairo
  • Is One Day Enough To See Egyptian Pyramids?
  • Genuine Egyptian Hospitality In Alexandria
  • Four Seasons Alexandria
  • Pearl Lounge Alexandria HBE
  • Turkish Airlines 737 MAX 8 Business Class Alexandria – Istanbul
  • IGA Lounge Istanbul
  • Etihad Airways A350-1000 Business Class Istanbul – Abu Dhabi
  • Al Dhabi Lounge AUH
  • Gulf Air A320 Business Class Abu Dhabi – Bahrain
  • Gulf Air Lounge Bahrain BAH
  • Gulf Air 787-9 Business Class Bahrain – London
  • United Club LHR
  • Avianca 787-8 Business Class London – Bogota
  • Great Coffee In Bogota Airport
  • Avianca Lounge BOG
  • Copa Lounge Bogota BOG
  • United Airlines 737-700 Business Class Bogota – Houston
  • United Polaris Lounge LAX
  • Turkish Airlines 777-300 Business Class Los Angeles – Istanbul
  • Lufthansa A320neo Business Class Istanbul – Frankfurt
  • Hilton Frankfurt Airport
  • Lufthansa 747-8 First Class Frankfurt – Chicago

I’ve got two more recent trip reports that I considered running first, but I’ve been doing that all year long, which is why this particular report is so delayed. Judging by its length, this report will take us well into the new year. I’ve teased several of these flights in the preceding months, but now look forward to offering extended reviews.

For all the clickbait on Live and Let’s Fly, I trust that regular readers will recognize the labor of love (and time, the currency of love) a trip report like this entails. It’s frankly daunting to look at the literal weeks of time, when all is said and done, this trip report will take. Yet in doing so I create not just fresh content, but preserve memories of one of the best trips of my life, which totaled 60,399 miles when all was said and done.

a map of the earth with red lines
GC Map / Karl L. Swartz

Thanks for reading!

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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36 Comments

  1. Jason Reply
    December 12, 2022 at 3:48 pm

    I’ll be interested in your thoughts on the Thompson Dallas. I was there last month for work – by accident. I had a reservation at the Westin across the street but they were overbooked and bumped me to the Thompson. Nice hotel, confusing in some aspects, but not worth the rate ($600) they were trying to charge me for it. Odd layout in the room, but understand it given that the building the hotel is in wasnt initially built as a hotel.

    • Jason Reply
      December 12, 2022 at 3:52 pm

      I’ll also be interested in your Four Seasons Doha. I’m going to Doha in March to see a friend and I’m between the Four Seasons or the St Regis. As of now planning on St Regis as it’s about $200 a night less, but interested in this review.

  2. HantonioMendosa Reply
    December 12, 2022 at 3:56 pm

    Having just returned from the World Cup, I’m curious to learn why anybody would spend five whole days in Doha without a compelling reason. As a fellow football fan who made a side-trip to Dubai eloquently put it: “Having now been both places, holding the World Cup in Qatar instead of the UAE would be like playing the Super Bowl in Reno instead of Vegas.”

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      December 12, 2022 at 5:52 pm

      I didn’t leave the hotel except to go to church on Friday…as far as resorts go, this one was great.

  3. ECR12 Reply
    December 12, 2022 at 4:58 pm

    I look forward to the year 2042, when commercial aviation has been replaced by teleportation and Matthew finishes writing this trip report.

    🙂

  4. Maryland Reply
    December 12, 2022 at 5:18 pm

    Loving the Giza camel photo. I had a similar taken but on an Arabian horse. (camels can be cranky) Stayed at the Mena house in Giza full of history but no Four Seasons!

  5. Gravelly Point Guy Reply
    December 12, 2022 at 5:59 pm

    Who’s that???

  6. Heather Reply
    December 12, 2022 at 6:13 pm

    I am interested about your Jordan trip, it’s on our wish list.

  7. JB Reply
    December 12, 2022 at 6:39 pm

    What a trip, can’t wait for this one!

  8. PM Reply
    December 12, 2022 at 6:56 pm

    Looking forward to reading this! Always have a mix of fascination and confusion over how various people define the ‘Middle East’- to my mind, if a country is on the Mediterranean it cannot be Middle Eastern, as then there wouldn’t be a ‘Near East’.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      December 12, 2022 at 7:22 pm

      Which country do you mean? I do not classify Turkey as Middle East, which is why I listed it separately. Or do you mean Egypt and Jordan?

      • PM Reply
        December 12, 2022 at 11:10 pm

        Egypt and Jordan (and Lebanon, Syria, and Israel I suppose). I have seen others lump Turkey in too!

        • OFJ Reply
          December 13, 2022 at 7:40 am

          That’s because the countries you listed *are considered* part of the Middle East. Egypt is also part of Africa, but that’s another discussion. The term “Near East” is archaic and has been for a while now. Also, Turkey is sometimes listed as either in Europe or the Middle East, but in terms of geography, culture, religion, it’s solidly in the latter.

          • PM
            December 13, 2022 at 2:36 pm

            ‘Are considered’ by whom, and why? In terms of history and culture, Turkey and Lebanon have at least as much, and probably a bit more, in common with Greece and Cyprus (and I haven’t seen anyone claiming that those two are part of the Middle East) than with the likes of Oman or the nomad ancestors of the residents of today’s Saudi Arabia. The same applies to landscape and climate. Syria is the only country which really does straddle both sides.

            Of course, there’s still room to legitimately ponder and debate what exactly is and what’s not ‘Middle’ East, but surely there can’t be much logic to having a Middle without a Near and a Far. To take the idea further, in the USA and a few other places there are quite a few people who use the term ‘Asia’ to refer to the Far East, ignoring that the continent includes pretty much everything east of Edirne/Nizhny Novgorod. When it comes to something like that, I see no reason to cater to the lowest common denominator and their lazy thinking.

  9. Christian Reply
    December 12, 2022 at 7:58 pm

    That’s some crazy routes. I look forward to seeing how Bogota fits into all this.

  10. Jaymes Reply
    December 12, 2022 at 8:18 pm

    Please don’t use animals as entertainment.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      December 12, 2022 at 8:22 pm

      Just for food?

      • Jaymes Reply
        December 12, 2022 at 8:25 pm

        You need food. You don’t need to be entertained by animals that are mistreated.

        • Matthew Klint Reply
          December 12, 2022 at 8:31 pm

          I rode across the sand with it for about 5km – in this case it was more functional than entertainment.

          • Jaymes
            December 12, 2022 at 8:36 pm

            Travel for pleasure is entertainment.

        • Maryland Reply
          December 12, 2022 at 8:43 pm

          The camels & horses live well. They provide an income for locals. Much like models they are adored and cared for. And don’t get me started on the darn Egyptian cats. All over me, all the time & I am allergic. But they are cute. Please PETA actually understand what you’re trashing. Humans & animals have served each other well through time. And if I’ve witnessed any abuse I’d be the first to speak up.

          • Jaymes
            December 12, 2022 at 9:05 pm

            I’m so sorry. Because YOU haven’t seen it, abuse doesn’t happen. In reality there are numerous reports of camels and horses being treated horribly around the pyramids. I can only imagine what happens when the sun goes down and tourists go back to their hotels. And the fact that animals give people an income does not justify participating in a horrible activity.

        • Lukas Reply
          December 12, 2022 at 10:31 pm

          Can you please post reputable links? I’m always trying to be a better traveler and a human being by traveling responsibly on all levels. Thanks.

  11. Maryland Reply
    December 12, 2022 at 9:27 pm

    I stayed there for six weeks. Almost every morning I was out there. In my lifetime I’ve cared for many animals worldwide. So tell me please of your experiences. Please tell me of your observation in Egypt or elsewhere. Simply regurgitation of PETA propaganda is not acceptable. Thank you

  12. Cy Reply
    December 12, 2022 at 9:35 pm

    Matthew weren’t you going to publish a post on the Algerian visa process? Would be most useful

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      December 12, 2022 at 9:43 pm

      https://liveandletsfly.com/algeria-visa/

      • cy Reply
        December 13, 2022 at 12:03 pm

        thanks! not sure how i missed it.

  13. Robert Reply
    December 13, 2022 at 12:35 am

    We’re finalizing plans for a late Feb trip to Saudi to visit expat family, most likely several days in Egypt and then we’re deciding between Israel and Jordan, I’m looking forward to reading your reports

  14. John Ryan Reply
    December 13, 2022 at 11:34 am

    Can’t wait for this review, Matthew. All of the places you are going to look amazing. But, I only see one Hyatt on the list.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      December 14, 2022 at 11:32 am

      Indeed, it has been one of those years. I’ll squeak by with Globalist…barely.

  15. Jerry Reply
    December 13, 2022 at 3:38 pm

    It goes without saying that we’re going to love all these reviews. I’m excited. That’s a lot of Four Seasons stays, though. I hope Ford is getting you travel advisor rates or your import/export business is taking off again.

  16. Nate nate Reply
    December 13, 2022 at 10:19 pm

    How do you book such a ticket? Specifically Cairo->LAX via Istanbul, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, London, Bogota, and Houston.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      December 14, 2022 at 11:33 am

      BOG-IAH-LAX was a UA ticket.

      But HBE-IST-AUH-BAH-LHR-BOG was a single Aeroplan ticket.

  17. T- Reply
    December 14, 2022 at 1:34 pm

    What a trip. I wondered where you’ve been. I look forward to their respective reviews.

  18. nfd Reply
    December 20, 2022 at 11:41 pm

    can you share the redemption and FFPbdetails that you used to purchase these trips
    Also how come youbtravel so much in LH F .. where did you get all these stash of points

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      December 21, 2022 at 12:05 am

      Yes, I will as I review each segment.

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