The Near and Middle East volume of the Travel the World by Train series takes one on a captivating journey to the cradle of civilization. We begin in Istanbul, Turkey: the entrance to the Islamic world. On the Marmara Express, Muslim faithful chant prayers on the train. In Efes, on the Aegean Sea, looms the colossal Artemision Temple, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Umayyade Mosque, the oldest in existence, can be seen in Damascus, Syria. Also in Syria is the island of Arwad, once home to the ancient Phoenicians. The Israel trip begins in Jerusalem with views of important sacred sites: the Muslim Golden Dome of the Rock, the Christian Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and the Jewish Wailing Wall. Tel Aviv's beaches and skyscrapers and the bustling Mediterranean port of Haifa highlight the Israeli trip. The train's tracks abruptly end; in more peaceful times they continued to Damascus. Boarding in the capital, Teheran, the Iranian train traverses one of the globe's most arid regions, stopping in the astonishing ancient city of Esfahan. Travelers on India's Royal Orient Express from Delhi luxuriate aboard a gorgeous re-creation of a luxury steam train used by Maharajas. The exotic cross-India trip from Bombay chugs by sacred cave temples in Ellora and rice paddies on the Bay of Bengal before debarking in teeming Calcutta, where passengers bathe in the river outside the station. --Laura Mirsky
