Travel & Leisure, an elite travel and entertainment magazine, rated Jerusalem and Tel Aviv among the top ten places in the Middle East to visit despite the war.
It isn’t unusual for these cities to crack the top ten of Travel & Leisure, but the fact that tourism has been badly hit by the Gaza war and the conflict with Hezbollah, the high ranking is remarkable.
Those taking the survey were asked to rate Middle Eastern cities according to sites, culture, food, friendliness, shopping, and value for money.
Among Middle Eastern cities, Jerusalem ranked third and Tel Aviv placed 8th.
Marrakesh, Morocco, received the top ranking, and Cape Town, South Africa, received the second.
Following Jerusalem’s third-place ranking, Dubai was fourth, Kigali, Rwanda was fifth, and the following two rankings were for cities in Morocco: Fez and Essaouira, respectively.
Tel Aviv placed 8th, and 9th and 10th place were awarded to Egyptian cities Luxor and Cairo.
