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.

Surprise, Surprise! We Have Our Damascene Moment.

DAMASCUS, SYRIA – Much has been said of Syria in the headlines lately that I have delayed putting up this post, holding my breath for an awesome Egypt-like turning point to happen here. (Sure, President Bashar al-Assad is replacing his cabinet, but protests continue.) Shortly after January 25th, there was talk that the country would face its own people-powered democratic revolt, with a Facebook page calling for exactly that: Syria’s “Day of Rage.” But that “Day of Rage,” however, failed to materialize – though the government was prompted to legalize the use of Facebook, which I discovered, many of its young citizens had already been using via proxy servers.

When Husband and I visited Syria on the second week of March, the world’s eyes were not yet directed at the seeds of unrest taking place within, but at the devastating earthquake/tsunami/nuclear crisis in Japan and the escalating unrest and civil war in Libya. Which, speaking of large scale uprisings, a revolt like that would never happen in Syria, I was told by those in Damascus and Aleppo. While everyone acknowledged the need for greater political freedoms and social reform, they pointed to reasons why a revolution wouldn’t work here: from the relatively large – and comfortable – middle class population in the country to the respect and admiration Syrians have for their president. (Keep in mind Readers, this was just our experience in town. The locals we spoke to were nearly all involved in one aspect or another of the tourism industry – which like in Egypt is temporarily suffering – and their interest may be in having a “stable” country and not one shaken by a revolution. Others are fearful of arrest, have been intimidated by the police state, and are on the whole not comfortable speaking openly about politics, especially to a foreigner. We often take such things for granted in America…)