TAKE OFF TO bmi’s 17 EXCITING NEW DESTINATIONS WITH OUR
ESSENTIAL TO-DO LIST

YEREVAN, ARMENIA

1 Get your skates on:
Join the Yerevan locals
for one of their favourite winter pastimes –
ice-skating at Opera Square Park (Freedom Park).

2 Discover a forgotten genius:
Filmmaker,
artist, local hero and maker of dolls, Sergei
Parajanov, was Armenia’s answer to Federico
Fellini. Visit the museum dedicated to his life
(go towww.parajanov.com for more details).

3 Climb a huge set of outdoor stairs:

(553 steps, to be exact.) ‘The Cascade’, built into
a hillside, is another focal point for outdoor life
with gardens, fountains and a sculpture gallery.
The views are spectacular – and there’s an
escalator (hidden) if you can’t face the climb.

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN

4 Spit mud:
(Or, rather, watch a volcano do
it.) There are around 300 mud volcanoes across
Azerbaijan – which emit an almost continuous
stream of cold mud, water and gas. The most
popular is the Firuz Crater on the Baku-Ganja road.

5 Take a stroll or boat ride:
The Bulvar
promenade, stretching 3km, is the place to walk
along while taking in the stunning views of the
city and the Caspian Sea. Go on a boat ride or
relax at an outdoor café or tea house.

6 Feel the heat:
Yanar Dag (‘The Fire Mountain’)
is a 10-metre wide continuous wall of fire that’s
best viewed at dusk. Sited on a hillside near Baku,
it’s caused by a concentration of natural gas.

CAIRO, EGYPT

7 Celebrate a legend:
Visit the museum
dedicated to the celebrated 20th-century singer,
Umm Kulthum, the ‘Star of the East’, on Manial
Island on the Nile (a short taxi ride from Cairo).

8 Dine on a beautified garbage dump:
An
oasis of green in the dusty city, the 30-hectare
Al-Azhar Park, which opened in 2004, was built on
a former garbage dump. Take in some refreshment
(and the panoramic views) at the palatial Citadel
View Alain Le Notre (www.alazharpark.com).

9 Get the hump:
Camels and their merchants
trek from far and wide (often as far as Sudan) to
take part in the frenzy that is the Bilesh Camel
Market (just north of Cairo), held every Friday.

10 Sing out:
Hard to imagine a more dramatic
backdrop than the Giza Pyramids. Look out for
one of the Cairo Opera House lavish events
staged here (www.cairooperahouse.org).

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

11 Visit the old folks:
Locals know her as
‘Dinkenesh’, meaning ‘the wonderful, the
beautiful, the precious one’, but the rest of the
world calls her ‘Lucy’. At 3.5 million years old,
she is the world’s oldest hominid (early human).
Originally discovered in Ethiopia, a replica is on
show at the Ethiopian National Museum.

12 Have a haggle:
Pick up local produce, coffee
in particular, at Addis Merkato, believed to be the
largest outdoor market in Africa – if not the world.

13 Drink up:
Sample the local brew, tela, which
is similar to beer, or, for those with a sweet tooth,
tej, the local wine, which is brewed from honey.

TBILISI, GEORGIA

14 Go underground:
Built in 1185 as protection
against the Mongols, the monastery of Vardzia
is a sprawling complex of tunnels, stairways
and rooms hacked out of the Erusheli Mountain
(south of the city) – it’s considered one of the
world’s most remarkable man-made structures.

15 Watch the ball:
Share the local passion for
the beautiful game and see FC Dinamo Tbilisi play
at the Boris Paichadze Stadium, Georgia’s largest.

TEHRAN, IRAN

16 Walk tall:
Stroll along Valiasr Street, the
Middle East’s longest street at almost 20km,
which runs north-south through the city.

17 Hang out:
At Café 78, Aban Street, one
of the hippest places in the city. Sip coffee
here and admire the local art on show in the
basement gallery.

18 Get a bus:
London-style sightseeing buses
– albeit single-decker ones – are a great way to
tour the city and uncover its cultural heritage.

19 Be dazzled:
All that glitters – from a precious
globe decorated with rubies and emeralds and
a crown with 1,800 pearls sewn onto it to the
famous Peacock Throne – is at the National
Jewels Museum, Ferdowsi Street, as part of the
Iranian National Royal Jewels display.

AMMAN, JORDAN

20 Wonder no more:
It’s official – Petra, also
the setting for Agatha Christie’s Appointment
with Death and Steven Spielberg’s Indiana Jones
and the Last Crusade, is one of the New Seven
Wonders of the World. There are regular trips
from Amman to the ‘rose red city’.

21 Have the drive of your life:
Visit the Royal
Automobile Museum. Built by the award-winning
Jordanian architect Ja’afar Touqan, this houses
the late King Hussein’s impressive vintage car
collection (www.royalautomobilemuseum.jo
).

22 Invest wisely:
Support the local community
and nature conservation by buying handicrafts
from the Wild Jordan Centre (www.rscn.org.
jo/craftsnaturecollections.asp).

ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN

23 Blast off:
Take a small step for mankind and
visit the Baikonur Cosmodrome, the site from
where Yuri Gagarin’s rocket, Vostok I, made the
first flight into space (www.atlasaerospace.net
).

24 Glide high:
Float across the ice at Medeo
Outdoor Speed Skating Rink, the world’s highest
skating rink at 1,700m.

25 Enjoy the ride:
The 10-minute cable car ride
to the beautiful Koktyube Park offers top views of
the city and the Zailiysky Alatau mountains.

26 Scrub up:
Take an Eastern or Russian bath at
the world-famous Arasan Baths, 78 Tulebaeva St.

BISHKEK, KYRGYZSTAN

27 Listen in:
The Manas, the national epic poem
of the Kyrgyz people, is apparently the world’s
longest poem. You can hear parts of it at Kyrgyz
festivities, where it is often accompanied by a
three-stringed instrument called a komuz.

28 Wade in:
Lake Issyk-Kul, or the ‘warm lake’,
is the second largest saline lake in the world
(Lake Titicaca in South America is the largest),yet despite being surrounded by snow-capped
mountain peaks, it never freezes.

29 Tickle your taste buds:
Kymys or kumis,
fermented mare’s milk, is a central part of Krygyz
culture. It’s also said to have healing powers.

BEIRUT, LEBANON

30 Strike out to sea:
Take to the water to
discover one of the city’s most striking landmarks
Pigeon Rocks just off the coast. To get there rent
a boat from the Sporting Club, Achtarout St.

31 Raise a glass:
You can sample the local
vintage by taking a wine tour through Lebanon’s
famous wine country, Bekaa Valley.

32 Get on down:
Locals dance under the stars
at the city’s top nightclub, the B018 club at
Karantina, next to Forum de Beyrouth.

EKATERINBERG, RUSSIA

33 Shop, shop, shop:
Russian leather is
renowned throughout Europe. There are bargains
to be had on the Urals Arbat – named after the
famous Arbat Street in Moscow – the town’s
pedestrian shopping street.

34 Carve it up:
Ledovoi Gorodok is entirely
made up of ice. Come here at new year to make
the most of the sculptures, rides and attractions.

35 Hang tough:
The extraordinary gangsters’
graveyard is littered with life-size mafia memorials
carved out of hugely expensive imported marble.

DAKAR, SENEGAL

36 Listen live:
Dakar is one of the best places
in Africa to catch live music. Listen out for local
legend Youssou N’Dour.

37 Visit Gorée Island:
The former centre of the
western African slave trade has a preserved Dutch
slave house, built in 1776, plus spectacular views
across the Atlantic and beach-dining to offer, too.

38 Learn more:
Delve into local history and
culture at the IFAN Museum of West African
Culture on Soweto Square.

FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE

39 Find a home from home:
Discover a piece
of England in Africa at the Harrods Houses.
These plantation-style houses, located on Hill
Station, were imported from the famous London
department store.

40 Do good:
Support the We are the Future
centre. Backed by UN agencies and the World
Bank (among others), it aims to provide children
with basic skills as well as with hope for the future
(www.glocalforum.org)

KHARTOUM, SUDAN

41 Watch waters meet:
The ‘mougran’
(merging point) of the Blue and White Niles is a
remarkable spectacle. For the best view, try the
White Nile Bridge.

42 Enter the labyrinth:
The alleyways of the
Omdurman Handicrafts Market, in the western
part of the Omdurman Market, are lined with
small shops selling all kinds of delights –perfect
for souvenirs. Open from 8am to sunset, daily.

ALEPPO, SYRIA

43 Work up a lather:
Improve your complexion
with olive oil soap. Inspired by ancient traditions
and made from natural ingredients, Aleppo’s olive
oil soap is among the finest in the Middle East.
You can see it being made at the Zanabili soap
factory, just outside the grand bazaar.

44 Get arty:
Discover how artisans make their
goods at the Handicraft Souk in the centre of
Aleppo and take home a bargain (closed Fridays).

DAMASCUS, SYRIA

45 Uncover a dark secret:
The Ghraoui family
has been making chocolates and confectionery
since the 1920s in their factory in Damascus,
and were even honoured with the Best Foreign
Chocolatier Award at the Paris Salon du Chocolat
in 2005 (www.ghraouichocolate.com).

46 Leave the ladies behind:
The Hammam
Nureddin (between Umayad Mosque and the
Street called Straight) is one of the oldest and
grandest hammams (Turkish baths) in the country.
Open from 9am to midnight, daily. Men only.

47 Get kitted out:
Shop for the latest designer
fashions at the high-end Villa Moda chain in
the middle of the spice market in the old city.

ANKARA, TURKEY

48 Wrap up warm:
Don’t leave Ankara without
buying a world-famous Angora wool jumper (or a
goat if you’d rather weave your own).

49 Marry the old with the new:
You can bathe
in style at the Karacabay Hammam, which dates
back to 1444 but also offers wi-fiaccess and
plasma screen TVs.

50 Reassess:
This is the true home of the
ubiquitous (and much-maligned) donër kebab.
For the real deal, make sure the donër is
rectangular and that cuts are flat and whole.