Originally Posted by
pjpoker
Thanks for the replies...
I was leaning towards Tel Aviv, because I also planned to visit Jerusalem.
Now I'm torn between the two.
I'll look into Istanbul some more and see what happens.
I'll be flying nonrev standby, so it may come down to which one has open seats in business class. Too long of a flight for coach...
Tel Aviv is just another modern city for the most part. There is some Bauhaus architecture but you have to remember that Tel Aviv is only about 100 years old. There is a lot of nightlife in many flavors. Jerusalem and Caesaria are only an hour away (different directions). The Dead Sea and Massada are another 45-60 minutes past Jerusalem.
That said, my wife and I spent two nights in Istanbul in '05 and really enjoyed ourselves. It was December and it snowed and it was wonderful. We based some of what we did on this
Trip Report from November '05.
I don't know anything about Cairo or Dubai but if you choose between Israel (Tel Aviv/Jerusalem/etc) or Istanbul you probably can't go wrong.