TWITTER HOTEL OPENS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA JUNKIES

The world's first Twitter-themed hotel

A new beach hotel in Majorca is encouraging guests to interact with staff and each other using Twitter as part of a virtual hotel community.

Guests at Sol Wave tweet with each other by logging onto Twitter via to a special web app available only through the hotel’s WiFi. Once inside, guests share pictures, send private messages, see who’s online and where they’re located inside the hotel, and send virtual kisses. Marco Fantón, Sol Wave House’s social media director, told TIME: “he sees the community as a fun and interactive extension of what guests are already doing on their vacations — showing off their trip using social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.”

Guests can contact the Twitter Concierges to have their fridge restocked, order room service or any other requests using hashtags.

They really drive home the Twitter theme at Sol Wave House with #TwitterPoolParty on Fridays where you can drink a Twitter-inspired cocktail and shot and when guests break the ice there is the Twitter Party Suite. These private party suites host up to four guests and come with bubbly, blue balloons, hashtag licorice, and a mirror that provokes a tweet-worthy moment. Guests can make requests such as filling the minibar with #FillMyFridge and send food and drink orders to others by the pool via a tweet to @SolWaveHouse. For other amenities and all the hotel has to offer be sure to check out their website.

Guide to visiting Jordan

Guide to Jordan

While it may be true that nine tenths of Jordan is semi-arid desert, the rest includes striking landscapes, all with plenty to entice the nature-lovers to explore; several nature reserves set up and protected by the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) add a luxurious splash of jade to the baron amber wilderness, and offer a range of accommodation for keen eco-tourists. From the hustle and bustle of capital city Amman to the historic and beautiful sights of Petra, the cities of Jordan are awash with culture. A fusion of Arabic and traditional Mediterranean thanks to a largely immigrant population, Jordan is well worth a visit, if only to sample the fantastic cuisine

Where To Stay

FEYNAN ECO-LODGE AND DANA GUESTHOUSE

Feynan is a 26-room adobe lodge the colour of the desert around it, with solar-powered showers, candlelight at night and delicious vegetarian dinners, making it a peaceful retreat for wilderness- and nature-lovers.

FOUR SEASONS HOTEL AMMAN

Cool, calm neutrals with judicious splashes of red and mustard add to the serene atmosphere of this luxurious 192-room bolthole in one of the smartest districts in the city. The service is impeccable, as are the fabulous flower arrangements in the lobby.

HOTEL KEMPINSKI ISHTAR

Supposedly inspired by the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, this lavish 318-room resort on the shore of the Dead Sea is awash with pools, fountains and watery delights: a guilty pleasure in a country so short of the wet stuff.

MÖVENPICK RESORT PETRA

Handily located at the gates to Petra, this comfortable hotel has a spectacular neo-Damascene-style atrium with carved wooden balconies, a tinkling fountain and an exotic-looking ground-floor bar, but for peace and ice-cream the fourth-floor tearoom wins hands down.

EVASON MA'IN HOT SPRINGS

Secreted in a lush oasis at the bottom of a deep, rocky canyon, some 20 minutes' drive east of the Dead Sea, this is the Six Senses group's latest addition to its Middle Eastern spa properties. The shimmering sandstone edifice blends in seamlessly with the surrounding sheer rock walls, and its domes and arches give it the design-savvy look of an ultra-modern Arabian palace. Inside, this theme continues with a stylishly simplistic blend of pale pastel colours and low-slung, dark-wood furniture.

Temple of Dendara in Egypt

House of Hathor

The Temple of Dendara was known as the 'Castle of the Sistrum' or 'Pr Hathor' - House of Hathor. Hathor was the goddess of love, joy and beauty. With the exception of its supporting pillars, which had capitals sculpted in the image of Hathor and were defaced by the Christians, the walls, rooms and roof are complete and extraordinarily well preserved. The stone steps of the spiral staircase are time worn but still used to ascend to the roof, where there is a small chapel decorated with Hathor-headed columns - the Christians seemed to have missed these. 

Temple Wall I (oil painting)Temple Wall II (oil painting)What really grabbed my artistic attention among all this magnificence was a small detail. The place sings with the music of birds. Hundreds of them roost in small cracks and hollows in the walls seeming to contemplate their carved likeness in the hieroglyphic reliefs. 

There is one other thing that stirs the imagination, the building bares the name of the famous Cleopatra and her son, whose father was Julius Caesar. 

It is possible that these celebrated, personalities climbed the same stairs and contemplated, on high, the same landscape which stretches for miles below. 

Your Ticket to the 2014 FIFA World Cup

Your Ticket to the 2014 FIFA World Cup

The wait is over for soccer fans! Tickets to the 2014 FIFA World Cup are now on sale. Fans will be able to request tickets based on a random selection draw, from Aug. 20 through Oct. 10, and on a first-come, first-served basis from Nov. 5 through Nov. 28.

Fans are currently able to buy tickets based on the date and the venue of the match, or to follow their favorite team. Twelve cities in Brazil will host the best international soccer teams as they battle it out to become the FIFA World Cup champions. Host cities will include Fortaleza, Salvador, Manaus, Brasilia, Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte and Porto Alegre.

In addition to hosting the World Cup matches, Rio de Janeiro will also host the 2016 Summer Olympics, making it a hot tourist destination over the next few years.

For now, it’s all about the World Cup. For more information on tickets and pricing, visit the FIFA website and or download the official guide to tickets.

A Woman's Guide to Visiting Egypt

Women Traveling Alone Tips in Egypt

While Egypt is a Muslim country, it is much more progressive than other Arab nations. Some women wear a niqab (a veil covering the face), others wear a hijab (a covering of the hair and neck but not the face) and still others do not cover their heads at all. Women are not required by law to follow a dress code, so as a tourist, you can wear whatever you'd like; some people do.

You do not need to cover your head in Egypt, but dress modestly. Wear pants or long skirts. Cairo is hot, so loose fitting pants are going to be more comfortable than a pair of skinny jeans. It is also dusty and dirty, so white clothing will appear soiled far more quickly than clothing of other colors.
Sunglasses are a must, not only because it's bright out but also because they make it easier to avoid making eye contact with men on the street.

While you don't need to wear a headscarf, it's not a bad idea to carry around a lightweight pashmina in case you go into a mosque and want to cover your head. In the more conservative mosques, if you're not completely covered, they will ask you to wear a bathrobe-type garment.

Egyptians are very friendly and outgoing people. You can certainly socialize, but while in the US (or Lebanon for that matter) it's perfectly acceptable to talk to a stranger at a bar, be aware that this is not part of the Egyptian culture. When Egyptians go out at night, they do not interact with others outside their immediate group. So be yourself and enjoy the hospitality, but keep the rules of the locals in the back of your mind.

There is always the potential for unwanted attention from men, but if you use common sense and dress appropriately, you can relax and enjoy Egypt's rich history, abundance of archeological sites, and delicious cuisine.

The seven Original Ancient Wonders of the world

The seven Original Ancient Wonders of the world

The Great Pyramid at Giza
Cairo, Egypt
It is the only surviving member of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Al-Hillah, Iraq
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon  have been built by Nebuchadnezzar II, a ruler of Babylon, around 600 B.C.

Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
Selcuk, Turkey
Completed around 550 B.C. to honor the Greek goddess of hunting and nature.

Statue of Zeus at Olympia
Olympia, Greece
This enormous statue honoring the god Zeus was built at the Temple of Zeus in Olympia around 450 B.C.

Tomb of Maussollos at Halicarnassus
Southwestern Turkey
The tomb built to hold the remains of the Persian king Mausollos and his wife, Artemisia, was designed by the Greek architects Satyrus and Pythius and constructed around 353 B.C. on a hill overlooking the ancient city of Halicarnassus.

Colossus at Rhodes
Rhodes, Greece
The Colossus of Rhodes was actually an enormous, looming 100-foot tall statue of the Greek god Helios, built on the island of Rhodes around 280 B.C.

Lighthouse of Alexandria
Pharos Island, Alexandria, Egypt
Scholars estimate the Lighthouse of Alexandria measured between 383 and 450 feet high and was built in the third century B.C. to act as a landmark for Pharos, a small island off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt.

Amazing kids game in an African tribe

An anthropologist proposed a game to the kids in an African tribe. He put a basket full of fruit near a tree and told the kids that who ever got there first won the sweet fruits. When he told them to run they all took each others hands and ran together, then sat together enjoying their treats. When he asked them why they had run like that as one could have had all the fruits for himself they said: ''UBUNTU, how can one of us be happy if all the other ones are sad?''

'UBUNTU' in the Xhosa culture means: "I am because we are"