SAUDI ARABIA

Though the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded less than a century ago, its cultural and scenic sites seem timeless. Here, you can take in the ancient rock-cut buildings of AlUla (freer from the kind of crowds that are drawn to similar structures in Petra, Jordan), as well as the antique coral-stone buildings and wooden mashrabiyas (roofed balconies) of Jeddah’s Al-Balad neighbourhood, and the meticulously restored vernacular architecture of Riyadh’s At-Turaif District.

Thanks to Saudi’s newly liberalised tourism rules, Medina’s mosques and square are also now open to non-Muslim visitors, and a recent development boom has led a range of world-class architects to build incredible new structures among the Kingdom’s fragrant hookah bars, palm-lined corniches and gleaming shopping malls. Yet, beyond the big cities, there’s also a beautiful emptiness to the country, which enables visitors to stargaze in unpolluted skies, and snorkel and scuba dive in equally clear waters.