In Egypt, the land of awesome ancient wonders, by far my most tremendous experience has been climbing Mount Sinai. The thrill of this outweighed even walking amongst the jaw dropping pyramids of Giza in 2009. My first attempt to climb the mountain where it is believed that Moses received the Ten Commandments was aborted before [...]

9:30 in the morning on my last day in Egypt I walked down Dahab’s main street to climb aboard the van that would take me to the border with Israel, when on my right appeared a very sweet guy named Aziz. Nicknamed Zezo, I’d gotten to know this thin young Egyptian as I’d walked several [...]

I’m a major advocate of traveling as deeply as you can into unknown cultures. However, even I like to like to hang out in more toned down surroundings sometimes like at a luxury resort hotel or on a cruise ship. So far I’ve only taken one cruise, but it was swanky and I loved it. [...]

Living through a little history is something that doesn’t happen often, to me anyway. While in Egypt last month, though, I was able to ask many locals how they felt about the recent revolution, learning that they were unanimously unhappy with their former regime while now optimistic and hopeful about the future. I managed to [...]

I love connecting with other travel bloggers, usually on Twitter, sometimes on Facebook, and on too-rare occasions in person. The Tripbase My 7 Links project on which this post is based is a unique forum which gives me yet another way of connecting with bloggers. Here I’ll be sharing posts I’ve written in the seven [...]

I am a lover of all things culturally authentic and when I travel always purposefully immerse myself as deeply as I can into the midst of where the local action is. However, I’ve also had the privilege of staying in four and five star hotels in my life and, let me tell you, while they [...]

I first started hearing the planes at about 1:00 p.m. Israel time yesterday, so loud that I figured they were fighter jets which so often pass through the skies here. A look out the window, though, showed me not large grey warcraft but a couple of yellow planes so small I thought they must be [...]

I have no doubt that Istanbul is one of the most fascinating cities in the Middle East. I haven’t yet touched this area spanning two continents, but the day is drawing nigh. Happily, I was sent this guest post, which gives me and you some important tips for enjoying this exotic city once we arrive. [...]