If you've been to Barcelona, then you couldn't have missed the resemblance the city has to the Middle East. Nearly 3,000 km and a sea away from the Middle East, I thought I'd miss home after my first day there.
But, as soon as you step out of the airport, there's something in the city that just gives you a glimpse of home. Whether it's the laundry being hung to dry on the balconies or the touristic attractions, Barcelona could easily become "home away from home" for any person living in the Middle East.
Here are 5 things in Barcelona that are bound to remind you of the Middle East:
1. La Boqueria
In the Ciutat Vella district of Barcelona, La Boqueria is a must see public market for every traveler into the city. Looking into the region, Dubai's Ripe Market ring a bell? In Lebanon, Souk El Tayeb's Farmer's Market is quite similar in that respect as well.
2. Port Vell
Prior to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Barcelona's waterfront harbor, Port Vell, was built as part of an urban renewal program. Since then it has turned into a tourist attraction filled with various bars, restaurants, kiosks, and a mall. This kind of resembles Lebanon's Zaitunay Bay, doesn't it? Of course, minus the fact that Zaitunay Bay is privately owned and super expensive.
3. Hotel W, Barcelona
No, this isn't Burj Al Arab, but looks just like it doesn't it? Completed in 2009, W Barcelona is commonly known as Hotel Vela meaning Sail Hotel because of its shape. Note that Burj Al-Arab was completed in 1999!
4. Views like this
Taking a cable car from the beach, you'll stumble upon views like this. But, really doesn't it look like Lebanon's Raouché?
5. Magic Fountain of Montjuïc
Designed by Catalan architect, Carles Buigas, the magic fountain in Barcelona was constructed for the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition . Music was incorporated with the light show and fountain in the 1980s. Dancing fountain in Dubai ring a bell?