TIME magazine has revealed its first list of the World's Greatest Places that showcases 100 destinations it says would offer visitors an “extraordinary experience."
To assemble the list, TIME solicited nominations across a variety of categories - such as museums, parks, bars, restaurants, theme parks, cruises and hotels - from its editors and correspondents around the world as well as dozens of industry experts.
Then the magazine evaluated each one based on key factors, including quality, originality, innovation, sustainability and influence.
The result is a list as diverse as the world it reflects, with 100 entries spanning six continents and 48 countries. It includes the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture in Saudi Arabia's Dhahran, also known as Ithra, al-Qarawiyyan Library in Fez in Morocco, the Louvre Abu Dhabi in the UAE and Cairo’s Marriott Mena House hotel.
Ithra was built as a corporate social responsibility initiative by Saudi Aramco to serve as a national and regional catalyst for intellectual development.
The center consists of a 1600-square-meter Great Hall, a museum with four galleries, each focusing on a specific range of cultural expression spanning Saudi identity and heritage, Islamic art and civilization, and the culture of the Arabian peninsula.
