Ziad Haddara: “My Personal Mission Is to Bring the Middle East Closer to the Rest of the World”

Ziad Haddara (in Syria)

 

BEIRUT, LEBANON – Since my last two entries on visiting the Middle East in the midst of the “Arab Spring,” I have been posed many questions about my trip. So today, I want to introduce you all to Ziad Haddara, founder of My Middle East, the online travel consultancy company Husband and I used to plan our amazing honeymoon in Egypt and Syria. While normally not one to use a middleman to arrange my travels, being neck-deep in planning a large-scale, weekend-long wedding and at the same time wrapping up my final month in grad school, I needed help and that’s where Ziad and his team so gallantly stepped in.

“It’s not your average tourist-bussed traveller or overly cautious type who comes to us,” says Ziad.  ”It’s the sort of people who typically would be very comfortable designing their own trips but either don’t have time to plan it or want someone from the region to enhance their experience by giving them that local flavor. We approach this business like you are going to a new country and you have a friend in town.”

Born and raised in Lebanon during the 15-year civil war, Ziad now calls Egypt home after relocating to Cairo in 2006 for a position with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Despite switching from development work to the tourism business, Ziad’s belief in incorporating social responsibility and community building into his profession remains intact. I chatted with Ziad via Skype from his company’s headquarter in Beirut and ask him about his vision for My Middle East, thoughts on tourism in the region, and analysis of current events in the Arab world.

Revolutionary Road: With No Other American Tourist in Sight!

CAIRO, EGYPT – This past week, we returned from our honeymoon in the Middle East. Our journey back home was an emotional one – Husband and I did not want to leave!  It was, in many respects, the perfect moment to be in Egypt. As an International Affairs graduate specializing in post-conflict security, I was able to witness first-hand a new democracy in the making. As a tourist – though not my favorite descriptor when paired with “American” for its connotation of a boorish and arrogant traveller abroad – I so am not! – it meant the ability to visit the prerequisite sites with no crowd and little hassle.

Tourism in the Middle East and North Africa has been hard hit from the revolts shaking the region. Our announcement to travel to the Arab world at a time when pro-democracy uprisings were spreading and being met with violent crackdowns, elicited fear (for our safety), shock (at our seemingly reckless decision to go) and awe (at the impression of our fearlessness) from friends and family in America. We felt, however, no danger our entire time in Egypt, as well as Syria – the subject of my next post.

During our 12-day stay in Egypt, we encountered a handful of mostly Europeans in Giza, Aswan, Luxor, and Abu Simbel, yet at no point did we meet another American.