Jordan is well worth a visit to see Jerash, Petra, Wadi Rum and other sites. You can also eat hummus 3 meals a day, which is a definite bonus. I went a few years ago with my family and it felt a lot more friendly, relaxed and safe than you might expect, given its location.
Also noteworthy in Algeria:
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timgad" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timgad</a><p>(I think I read somewhere that Algeria has the most Roman ruins outside of Italy, although I could be mistaken)
It's not even noon and I've already thought about ancient Rome today!
Seriously, when I am in Italy, I think of ancient Rome most of the time. The country is just chock-full of Roman structures and you won't be walking for a long time before bumping into one.
I’m currently reading “Carthage must be destroyed”. If you want to look at the event from a not-solely Roman perspective I recommend this
Carthago delenda est! That's how us noob Latin language students learn the gerundive, with "delenda" being a verbal adjective, meaning "to be deleted (destroyed)". As a bonus it's also useful as a paradigm for remembering how the passive periphrastic conjugation works. It helps that it also implies violence and destruction, making it easier to remember.
I wonder how many other "Pompeii of ___" exist. I also know of the "Pompeii of Central America" (Joya de Cerén in El Salvador).