Let the megacities of the Gulf set your imagination soaring while humming souqs and intricate mosques play an ideal counterpoint. Dubai’s glittering visions - like the Burj Khalifa scratching the immaculate blue sky - will get your blood pumping before we steady the pace with relaxing sea days and Salalah’s emerald-green oasis. Reach Luxor’s wealth of Ancient Egyptian pyramids and tombs, before setting sights on the Med, and Athens’s heavyweight cultural capital.