Jeddah or Jiddah, is a Saudi Arabian city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The population of the city currently stands at over 3.4 million. It is an important modern commercial hub in Saudi Arabia. Jeddah is the principal gateway to Mecca, Islam's holiest city, which able-bodied Muslims are required to visit at least once in their lifetime. It is also a gateway to Medina, the second holiest place in Islam. The city has been labeled as "different" by the majority of Saudis in an effort to promote tourism in the city, that had been previously perceived as "most open" city in Saudi Arabia.

Dubai  is the most populous city and is one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the only two emirates to have veto power over critical matters of national importance in the country's legislature. It is rather like an independent city-state and is the most modern and progressive emirate in the UAE, developing at an unbelievable pace in the tourist and trade sectors especially. Recently Dubai won the bid to host EXPO 2020, a Universal scale Registered Exposition approved by the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE), Paris.

Bahrain is a small island country situated near the western shores of the Persian Gulf in the Middle East comprising more than 30 islands. It is the site of the ancient Dilmun civilisation. It has been famed since antiquity for its pearl fisheries, which were considered the best in the world into the 19th century. It's an oasis of social liberalism – or at least Western-friendly moderation – among the Muslim countries of the region. It's popular with travellers for its authentic "Arabness". 

Istanbul, historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople is the largest city in Turkey and 5th largest city proper in the world with a population of 13 million, also making it the largest metropolitan city proper in Europe and the second largest metropolitan area in Europe by population. Istanbul is also a megacity, as well as the cultural, economic, and financial centre of Turkey. The city covers 39 districts of the Istanbul province. It is located on the Bosphorus Strait and encompasses the natural harbour known as the Golden Horn, in the northwest of the country. It extends both on the European Thrace and on the Asian Anatolia sides of the Bosphorus, and is thereby the only metropolis in the world that is situated on two continents. Istanbul is a designated alpha world city.

Colombo is the largest city and former capital of Sri Lanka. It is a busy and vibrant city with a mixture of modern life and colonial buildings and ruins and a city population of 647,100. Due to its large harbour and its strategic position along the East-West sea trade routes, Colombo has a long history and was known to ancient traders 2,000 years ago.  Colombo is a huge, sprawling city, which can be visited any time of year due to its beautiful tropical climate.

Mumbai, a cosmopolitan metropolis, earlier known as Bombay, is the largest city in India and the capital of Maharashtra state. Mumbai was originally a conglomeration of seven islands on the Konkan coastline which over time were joined to form the island city of Bombay. The island was in turn joined with the neighbouring island of Salsette to form Greater Bombay. The city has an estimated metropolitan population of 21 million (2005), making it one of the world's most populous cities. The city is also famous as the heart of the Hindi-language Bollywood film industry.