travel beyond the obvious
Travel guides, information, photographs, and stories to help you explore Africa and the Middle East, including Egypt, Morocco, and South Africa.
A Nile cruise is an easy and relaxing way to see the best of Egypt. River cruise ships sail between Luxor and Aswan on short itineraries that include an impressive collection of tombs and temples. Read More …
Every year I develop one or more fanciful Christmas cards based on my travels. Here’s what those have looked like through the years: Christmas 2017 Christmas 2016 Christmas 2015 (My imagining Read More …
Did you know that today is World Rhinoceros Day? First designated in 2010 by the World Wildlife Foundation in South Africa to draw attention to the world’s five species of rhino (two native to Africa Read More …
Everyone loves penguins, right? So today is a good day to show your love for these amazing creatures! Why today? Every year on April 25 a colony of Adelie penguins at McMurdo Station in Antarctica Read More …
Intricately detailed bronzes from Benin allow visitors at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston to peek into a very different time and place. Housed together in the intimate Benin Kingdom Gallery, these 15th and Read More …
The Riad El Yacout sits outside the medina wall near the gate of Bab Boujeloud. Along the one side the scene is dominated by a large construction site that is becoming a new hotel. This Read More …
Fès has been famous for its fine leatherwork for 1000 years. Even today the medina features locally-made leather items. Most prominent of these may be the gaily-colored babooshes – the pointed toe, open heel shoes Read More …
The ancient medina of Fès is said to be the largest urbanized area in the world that prohibits motor vehicles. (There were a few motorbikes around, so it didn’t seem completely non-motorized.) In some parts Read More …
The El-Attarine Medersa (the Medersa of the Spice Sellers) was founded in 1325 by Sultan Abou Said. A medersa is a place of learning – it is a college that teaches subjects like science, law, Read More …
The Cascades d’Ouzoud is the largest and most dramatic waterfall in Morocco. You may think, as a co-worker of mine did, that this isn’t saying a lot (Morocco isn’t generally associated with waterfalls). But that Read More …