Top Middle East Drone Videos

Enjoy this outstanding drone reel from the Middle East, compliments of contributor Surface Aerials.  The video features an amazing array of footage from across the region, ranging from the endless desert of the Empty Quarter to the skyscrapers of Dubai.  Starting at :33, there's a great action sequence involving a small motorized caravan, and at :52 you'll see the experimental Dubai air taxi vehicle.  Other highlights include the massive Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai (1:24), the skyline of Dubai's "sister city", Abu Dhabi (1:34), and more.  

The Persian Gulf emirate of Dubai is not just a world-class business center: it's also a major tourist destination, with billions of dollars invested in recent years in five-star resort properties and other amenities for leisure travelers around the globe.  Virtually all of which stood empty when the UAE implemented strict social distancing measures to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus in the Spring of 2020. This video was a nominee in the Lockdown category at the 6th Annual NYCDFF.

Johnnyfpv is the undisputed king of the emerging art form known as cinematic first-person view.  In contrast to freestyle FPV or competitive FPV racing, with cinematic FPV the pilot's goal is to maximize the visual impact of the video captured. In this he has succeeded spectacularly; his work has appeared in TV commercials, music videos, and feature movies, and he has one of the largest social media followings of any drone pilot.  This video earned a nomination in the Cinematic FPV category at the NYCDFF.

Top AirVuz contributor Ghadir Shaar, a Finalist for the Drone Video Awards for his video from the United Arab Emirates, created this DVOW winning piece from a different Middle Eastern country: Jordan. Created in collaboration with the Jordan Tourism Board, the video opens with footage from the other-worldly Wadi Rum Desert. Other highlights include the Citadel of Amman at the :47 mark, the shores of the Dead Sea (:55), the great Petra ruins complex in the Arabah Valley (1:30), the amphitheater ruins at Jerash (1:42), and more.  

Created over a 10 month period, this short film by Ghadir Shaar is meant to show off the United Arab Emirates and all the country has to offer. See the UAE's sharp, rugged mountains and endless, sandy deserts, its sprawling city of Dubai with its world-renowned architecture (as well as the world's tallest skyscraper), camels, deserted towns, and stunning sunrises.  This video was AirVuz Drone Video of the Week, December Week 2 and is now a Drone Video Awards' Nature & Landscape nominee.

Top contributor Fabio Knoll was nominated as a finalist for the first annual Drone Video Awards for this magnificent piece from Turkey.  The video opens with some magnificent aerial footage of Istanbul, including the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (aka the Blue Mosque), the Golden Horn, Galata Tower, Rumeli Fortress, the Bosphorus bridges, and other sights from Turkey's largest city.  Most of the latter part of the video was filmed around the famous "fairy tale" chimneys of the Cappadocia area in the central part of the country.    

Top first-person view (FPV) pilot and drone racer JohnnyFPV, who travels the world making FPV freestyle videos, created this magnificent video from Mada'in Saleh, an archaeological site in northwestern Saudi Arabia.  With full permission from the requisite authorities, he gives us a unique view of one of the most iconic desert landscapes from the vantage of a quad-mounted GoPro. This was the winning video in the 2nd Annual Drone Video Awards in the Cinematic FPV category and was FPV Video of the Year.

Take in these marvelous drone views of northern Iran, compliments of top contributor rezarafizadeh.  This DVOW nominated film was shot over Gilan, one of the northernmost of the 31 provinces of this giant Middle Eastern country.  Belying popular conceptions of what Iran "looks like", Gilan's landscapes couldn't be more different from those of the desert regions to its south.  Hugging the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, the province is largely covered by mountainous rainforest, receiving as much as 190 cm (75 inches) of annual rainfall! 

Take an aerial tour of the fascinating Middle Eastern nation of Iraq in this incredible seven+ minute captioned piece by new AirVuz contributor and drone pilot isam_alsarray.   The video features footage from the following 14 locations, listed in order of first appearance: Basra, Maysar, Dhi Qar, Muthanna, Wasit, Najaf, Karbala, Babil, Al Anbar, Salah ad-Din, Nineveh, Erbil, Sulay Maniyah, and Baghdad.  Iraq covers a land area of over 435k square km (around 170k square mi.) and has a population of almost 40 million as of 2020.

The renowned hospitality found in Abu Dhabi draws millions of tourists every year to this city in the UAE. Locals warmly host all guests, just as travellers across the desert were welcomed in centuries past.  In addition to these courtesies, tourists are also offered attractions like the Drive Yas Marina Curcuit and Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.  Top contributor Robin Maeter collaborated with Visit Abu Dhabi and Filmemacher Deutcheland to showcase the city in this impressive drone video for Etihad Airlines.

Contributor Ruslan Paul created this amazing aerial tour of ancient and modern Israel.  Shot primarily with a drone but intermixed with some carefully edited ground camera footage, the video hits many of the top sights in this Middle Eastern country.  Treat yourself to epic views of the Dead Sea, the Masada hilltop fortress, the Monastery of St. George, Mar Saba Monastery, the Crusader city of  Acre, the modern city of Tel Aviv and its neighbor the ancient port city of Yafo, and finally Jerusalem.

Top AirVuz contributor and pilot rezarafizadeh secured his second Drone Video of the Week Finalist spot with this excellent 2020 drone reel from his native Iran.  For viewers who associate this giant Middle Eastern country only with arid desert, this video will come as a big surprise.  The video was filmed in Iran's northern provinces, which run through the mountains ringing the southern Caspian Sea and are seemingly a world apart - these are lands of forested mountains, with near-rainforest climatic conditions.  

Lebanon is a land of stunning Mediterranean coastline, snow-capped mountains, verdant valleys, puncutated by the highly cosmopolitan capital city of Beirut.  Contributor Riseaboveearth works with travel companies and tourism bureaus to create travel content.  To make this video of Lebanon (commissioned by the Lebanese Ministry of Tourism), they spent five months filming Lebanon from above using a drone, capturing the stunning diversity of this incredible Middle Eastern country.

Mosul is a war-torn city of Iraq on the Tigris River. Professional award-winning drone cinematographers Kelly’s Heroes traveled to document Mosul for a Belgian television series. Unfortunately, war is not new to this area: Mosul lies on the ruins of the great Assyrian capital of Nineveh, once the world's largest city.  Its sacking in 612 BC killed untold thousands and was one of the most consequential events of ancient history. This video was a Finalist in the Drones for Good category in the second annual DVA's. 

Check out this stunning nighttime dronelapse of Kuwait City, compliments of contributor mungkey.  Situated near the middle of the country's Persian Gulf coastline, Kuwait City is home to about half the country's population.  The video includes some epic shots of the ball-shaped Kuwait Towers as well as Al Hamra Tower, the 80 floor architectural masterpiece which is the country's tallest skyscraper, standing 414 meters (about 1.35k ft.).  This video was picked as a DVOW winner in July, 2019.  

Johnny and the Beautiful Destinations team traveled to Cappadocia, Turkey to capture this area often filmed by influencers and camera drone pilots, but rarely by FPV. The film features the region's most recognizable visuals: hot air balloons, the 'fairy tale' rock formations, wild horses, and stone-built towns. While there, they experienced high temps, snow, and rain, giving the impression this was filmed over months, not days. This incredible video won in the Landscape category of the 6th Annual NYCDFF.

Contributor s.s.mirrahimi used a DJI Mavic Pro drone to create this stunning aerial tour of an area of northwestern Iran.  Gilan Province, is one of the 31 which make up this giant Middle Eastern nation.  Gilan occupies roughly the western half of the country's coastline on the Caspian Sea, the world's largest inland body of water. Much of the province is covered in forested mountains; with the heaviest rainfall in the country, its climate is considered subtropical. This video was a DVOW nominee in June 2019.

Check out this amazing drone video of the fantastically wealthy Persian Gulf city of Doha, by top contributor Fit Lam Studios. Doha is the main city of Qatar, which has the distinction of being the world's wealthiest country measured by per capita income (as of 2017).  With a metropolitan population of nearly 2.5 million, Doha is the home of almost nine in ten Qataris.  Doha sports an impressive skyline, with nearly two dozen skyscrapers over 150 meters (500 ft.) in height and more under construction as of early 2019.

The Moreeb Dunes in the United Arab Emirates contain some of the highest sand dunes in the world.  The highest stands 300 meters (1k ft) above the desert floor, with a slope of nearly 50 degrees.  Contributor Paul Vlad used the dunes as backdrop for this stunning drone video, featuring aerial footage of a car driving through the endless desert as well as a model standing atop one of the dunes.  The Dunes are in a part of the Arabian Desert commonly known as the Empty Quarter, one of the world's largest contiguous desert areas.  

Top contributor and drone pilot Chris Borg put together this amazing trip reel from the Middle Eastern country of Jordan.  Two of the main areas featured have become famous as filming locations.  The first is the Wadi Rum Desert, located in the southern part of the country, which was used for Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and later the 2015 edition of the Star Wars series.  The other is the ancient city of Petra, which has been featured in numerous movies, most famously Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989).

The United Arab Emirates is comprised of seven semi-independent emirates, the largest and best known of which is Dubai.  The second largest is Abu Dhabi, which sits to the west of Dubai on the Persian Gulf and which accounts for nearly 90% of the total land area of the UAE.  Contributor Humzz used a drone to create this stunning aerial tour of the Abu Dhabi's namesake capital.  The UAE's "second city", Abu Dhabi has experienced less explosive growth compared to Dubai, yet still boasts an impressive array of its own skyscrapers.   

The Tel Aviv-Jaffo urban area on Israel's Mediterranean shore, the second largest city in the country after Jerusalem (and the center of its largest metropolitan area), is a study in contrasts.  Jaffo is an ancient port city with multiple references in the Bible.  Lying a bit to the north of Jaffa, Tel Aviv is a modern city, founded in 1909 by members of the Zionist Movement.  Contributor Ruslan Paul used a DJI Inspire 2 drone to create an amazing aerial tour of the area, with its strikingly different core cities.

In this video, a drone pilot managed to capture the Great March of Return, a six month series of protests in Gaza, a strife-torn corner of the Middle East.  Captured by Israel in the Six Day War of 1967, Gaza was granted partial autonomy in 1994 under the Oslo Accords.  Since a takeover of the Gaza government by Hamas in 2007, it's been the scene of much strife as Israel sealed off the territory in response. This video is a nominee in the 2nd Annual Drone Video Awards' Drones for Good category.

Here is an amazing aerial look at the Iraqi city of Samarra, located a short distance upstream from the capital city Baghdad on the Euphrates River.  The focus of the video is the gold-domed Al-Askari Shrine, the city's most distinctive landmark. Built in the 10th century AD, it's one of the most important Shia shrines in the world.  The shrine was heavily damaged in a bombing that occurred in February 2006, during the height of the sectarian violence which broke out following the fall of Saddam Hussein.

Contributor Whitelilynights created this remarkable drone video of Kessab, an important city in the Middle Eastern nation of Syria.  It's situated in the northwestern corner of the country, near the border with Turkey.  Unlike the arid landscape of most of the country, the area around Kessab is densely forested and is a popular vacation spot for travelers seeking more temperate climates is this mountainous area.  Kessab was an Armenian settlement and its population even today is largely of Armenian ethnicity.   

Check out this beautiful drone video of a city in the mountains of northern Iraq, compliments of contributor itzzz lawand.  Aqrah is one of the larger cities of Iraqi Kurdistan, a semi-automous region which covers much of the northern portion of this Middle Eastern country.  Aqrah is situated in the Nineveh Governorate, one of the 19 provinces into which Iraq is divided.  Iraqi Kurdistan is part of the broader historical/ethnic region of Kurdistan, which also covers portions of Turkey and Iran.

Rub' al Khali or Liwa Desert (also known as the Empty Quarter) is the largest contiguous sand desert in the world.  Part of the Arabian Desert, it covers much of the Arabian Peninsula, including most of the United Arab Emirates.  The UAE portion of the desert became much more well known following its appearance as the dusty world of Jakku in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), the first of the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy.  In this video, you'll get an epic bird's eye view of Planet Jakku, courtesy of content creator and drone pilot Verano47.

In Istanbul, the Golden Horn is a natural peninsula which separates the area known as Old Istanbul from the rest of the greater city.  To best appreciate this historically and geographically significant area (as well as the stunning red roofs, mosque spires, and busy Bosphorus Strait), one simply can watch this beautiful Drone Video of the Week nominee by content creator aedincer.   With modern skyscrapers in the backdrop, these aerial views reflect of the city’s storied history and beautiful architecture.

Contributor Rezarafizadeh used a drone to create this remarkable aerial view of the ancient Iranian city of Masuleh.  It's located in the northwestern corner of the country, in the province of Gilan near the southern shore of the Caspian Sea.  The city was founded during the Antiquity, in the first century AD.  As you'll see in the video, it's literally built into a mountain.  For reasons that will be clear, it's been said in the town that "the yard of the building above is the roof of the building below".

Bachir_Photo_Phactory is one of the top content creators in the AirVuz community; he has been picked as a finalist for multiple awards and contests.  In this incredible piece, you'll get to see the highlights of his work over the course of 2019.  Most of the footage was captured in the United Arab Emirates, beinning with some epic shots of the Empty Quarter - the world's largest contiguous desert.  From there you'll see a series of "action" shots, including some great work with shadows, before heading to the skyscrapers of Dubai.  

Contributor and drone pilot Rezerafizadeh created this stunning aerial view of Masal region of Iran.  It's located in the province of Gilan in the northwestern part of the country, very close to the Caspian Sea and not far from the border with Azerbaijan.  Unlike most of the country, the region is heavily forested.  Prepare to be amazed by the views through the clouds of the stunning rolling hills of the area, called by some (for reasons which will be apparent when you watch) the "Green Roof of Iran".  

Nazareth is the largest city in the interior of northern Israel.  Culturally, it is quite distinct from most other Israeli cities: it's roughly 2/3 Muslim and 1/3 Christian, with only a negligible Jewish population.  The city is mentioned frequently in the New Testament as a place where Jesus lived for a time, and as a result Nazareth receives thousands of Christians who visit on pilgrammages every year.  In this video, you'll be able to check out this ancient town from a bird's eye perspective.

Take an aerial tour of the Middle Eastern nation of Jordan with this excellent piece by mezartash, which was nominated as a Drone Video of the Week finalist in November, 2019.  Some of the locations featured in the video include the ruins of Pella, a city in the country's northwestern corner; the ancient city of Petra in the southern desert, which has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site; the sleek modern towers of the capital city of Ammon; the rock formations of the Wadi Rum Desert; and more.

What happens when the world's best freestyle first-person view (FPV) pilot takes on the planet's tallest building?  Find out in this epic piece by johnnyfpv, who managed to dive the Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest skyscraper.  Completed in 2010, the 154 story behemoth rises nearly a kilometer (over a half a mile) into the sky - it's architectural height is 828 meters, or just over 2.7k feet. This video earned a nomination in the Cityscape category at the 6th Annual New York City Drone Film Festival.

Contributor Fotog.farhan created this beautiful aerial video of the area around Zekreet, in the Middle Eastern nation of Qatar.  Zekreet is located in the northwest part of the country, which lies in the northeastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula.  Like so much in this oil-rich state, Zekreet's modern existence owes itself to proximity to Qatari oilfields and the equipment needed to produce them.  It's also home to the Zekreet Fort, a fortification which is believed to be about 200 years old.    

One of the fascinating things about the United Arab Emirates is the way that the very old and traditional scenes of its hinterlands contrasts with the modernity of it cities.  In this drone video by PaulVlad, you'll get an aerial view of a very traditional scene - a group of camels crossing the UAE desert.  Not so far geographically from the skyscrapers of Dubai, it would be almost impossible to distinguish this scene from one which could have been filmed (albeit not from a drone) two hundred years ago.  

Check out these fantastic drone videos from southern Israel, compliments of AirVuz contributor and pilot jameelkjhair.  Much of the video was filmed over the region of Arabah, which extends from the southern end of the Dead Sea to roughly the town of Eilat, on the Gulf of Aqaba (an inlet of the Red Sea).  At the :35 mark of the video, there's a great shot of the Mar Saba Monastery, a Greek Orthodox complex which is one of the oldest inhabited monasteries. which is roughly halfway between the northern end of the Dead Sea and Jerusalem.  

This is one cinematic, 4K FPV video, flown by pilot nezartash in Saudi Arabia. He’s taking us to three very unique, different and important destinations. First is Madain Saleh, the first UNESCO site in Saudi Arabia, oftentimes compared to Jordan’s Petra. Around 300 kilometers north of Medina, Al Ula was an important trade hub for the ancient Lihyanites and is now scattered with historic ruins. Finally, Neom is a planned cross-border smart city with technology that makes it a major tourist destination. 

Jerusalem, Israel is the only city which is central to three world religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.  Inhabited and fought over for millennia, it has a significance far out of proportion to its size.  The city, set in the hills of eastern Israel, on the edge of the Judean Desert, is also one of the most visually appealing cities on Earth.  In this remarkable drone video, you will get a bird's eye perspective of this ancient city, which is the center of the largest metropolitan area in Israel.  

Wadi Rum is a desert valley lying in the southern portion of the Middle Eastern nation of Jordan.  Known for its spectacular rock formations, it was chosen as the primary shooting location for the legendary 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia starring Peter O'Toole. In later years, Wadi Rum "stood in" for the desert moon of Jedha in the 2015 Star Wars film The Force Awakens and the 2019 installment, the Rise of Luke Skywalker.  Award-winning contributor Fabio Knoll created this marvelous drone's eye view of the great desert.   

Check out this magnificent drone reel from the tiny Middle Eastern country of Lebanon, compliments of brand-new AirVuz contributor and pilot Carlos Haidamous.  At the :30 mark, there's a great shot of the snow-covered mountains that run down the "spine" of the country.  Other highlights include the Our Lady of Lebanon statue in the village of Harissa just north of the capital city Beirut at the 1:35 mark, a VFX-enhanced view of Beirut at 1:45, seasonal views of the country's fertile coastal plains, and much more.  

The most recognizable landmark in the small Persian Gulf country of Kuwait is the Kuwait Towers, a group of three water towers which stand on a small peninsula in the country's namesake capital city.  The main tower is distinguished by its two giant spheres - the lower is a water storage tank, while the upper sphere holds a restaurant and observation deck. Seen here in this DVOW nominated film by The Drone Life PK, the Kuwait Towers were built in the 1970's and were recently re-opened to the public after a multi-year maintenance and renovation project. 

Israel's Eilat Mountains are situated at the very southern tip of this small Middle Eastern country.  Named for the nearby Red Sea town of Eilat, they lie within the Negev Desert, an arid area which covers most of the country's southern regions.  Known for their spectacular rock formation, the Eilat Mountains feature some of the best hiking trails in Israel.  You can check out these beautiful mountains from above in this excellent aerial video by AirVuz contributor and drone pilot Make it Visual.  

Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the oil rich country known as the United Arab Emirates. Sitting off the mainland on an island in the Persian Gulf, the modern skyline and white-marble domes of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque make the city look like Dorthy’s mythical Oz. This incredible piece by T.E.S.T. Srls features the city, doing an excellent job showcasing its culture. We particularly enjoyed the shot at 20 seconds, where the protagonist stands in the white desert sands, staring ahead into the mirage-like city.  

Of all the magnificent sights of Turkey, one of the best is undoubtedly in its far eastern reaches, in the Ağrı Province.  Here lies the Ishak Pasha Palace, an Ottoman era landmark constructed during the 17th and 18th centuries.  Not only is the palace itself an incredible sight, but it lies in the shadow of Mt. Ararat, Turkey's highest mountain at 5.1k meters (around 16.9k ft.).  You can see this spectacular area of Eastern Anatolia in this amazing drone video by top contributor iskanderfilms.  

For a first upload to AirVuz, new contributor omernihad brings us this excellent drone video from the mountains of Iraq.  The video was shot around Safeen Mountain, which is part of the Erbil Governorate, one of the main official regions of Iraqi Kurdistan.  Kurdistan is a mountainous and culturally distinctive region which covers much of the northern part of Iraq, the northwestern corner of Syria, much of southeastern Turkey, and parts of western Iran.  These areas have differing degrees of autonomy within their respective countries.  

With so much of the news flow about the Middle East concentrated on its all-too-common sectarian violence, the incredible beauty of this region is often overlooked. It's a land of vast deserts, ancient cities, and sacred sites associated with its role as the birthplace for three of the world's largest religions.  AirVuz created an compilation of some of the best aerial videos from across the great region.  Lose yourself in these drone views from across the Middle East including Dubai, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, and more!