4-Days in the Middle East: Where to Go?

I wanted to gather some informed opinions from this group. I will be spending 3 1/2 weeks in Israel and Jordan this summer. Everything is planned out except for my final 4 days by myself. What should I do with this extra time, and why? I'm 25 and pretty adventurous.

I am considering Egypt, but with only 4 days it seems like I would have to rush through and go back to Egypt again. What are some other ideas? I don't mind the cost of a flight; time is my limiting factor here.

Thanks for your ideas!

I'd recommend 4 days of wandering Damascus, which is simply my favourite city anywhere, but unfortunately with politics being what they are, your stay in Israel will preclude that. You're really restricted to just Jordan, Israel and Egypt. You could fly up to Turkey, but all international flights go to Istanbul. Istanbul's fantastic, and well worth 4 days, but not really the most adventurous destination.

I think it depends a lot on what you've been doing the past 3.5 weeks.

On the active end, camels in Wadi Rum are pretty awesome, though I did 2 days and the second one was just too painful. Doing it over again I'd still spend 2 days in the desert, but one either hiking or by jeep.

I assume you'll have already thoroughly explored Petra?

Just for chilling out and doing some hiking, the Dana Nature Reserve - also in Jordan - was fantastic.

I don't really recommend Egypt either for an adventurous holiday (the government greatly restricts travel, and it's difficult to do anything more interesting than snapping your own shots that look just like the postcard). Nor is it good for a short trip since the distances are vast. If you do go, you might consider a trip to a desert oasis. Spending a night n the desert was the highlight of my time in Egypt.

I really enjoyed my 4 days in Sana'a, Yemen, but you also can't go there with an Israeli stamp in your passport, I assume.

Well, I think an obvious choice is Petra, but it sounds like that might already be part of your plan.

How about heading to the Sinai peninsula in Egypt for some snorkeling/diving? You could stay in Dahab or Sharm el Sheikh. I thought the snorkeling there was amazing.

We traveled from Sinai to Aqaba, Jordan then to Israel... so I don't think it would be too tough to do it in reverse.

Spending some time camping out in the desert is lovely, we hired a jeep and camped at Wadi Rum for two days at the end of last yeah which was beautiful. There's also beautiful camping through Eastern Syria - very off the beaten track but nothing beats it.

If you're looking at Egypt, spending four days just in Cairo would be excellent, theres always plenty to do there even if its not really that adventurous. Or over on Sinai, climbing Mt Sinai to watch the sunrise is always amazing, or diving/snorkelling through Sharm or Dahab. Four days is enough to do a PADI Open Water certificate if you've not got one. I did mine in Dahab early last year and even if you're only learning you still see some incredible things.