Many African countries require U.S. citizens to obtain a visa prior to traveling even if the purpose of the trip is leisure. While sometimes challenging and almost always annoying, it’s important to point out that the visa process for Americans traveling overseas is still a thousand times simpler and more straightforward than what much of […]
Easy-Entry Africa 2018 Read More
If you’re anything like me, you prefer the freedom and ease of traveling solo. When you’re alone, there’s no one else’s agenda to consider but yours. But, no (wo)man is an island, and sometimes, it’s nice to hit the islands, or wherever else strikes your fancy, with a group of like-minded individuals. Here are a
The Best Things About Group Travel Read More
As it flows northward from Aswan to Edfu to Luxor, the Nile River remains quiet and unbothered by little more than the small vessels zipping across the glassy surface. Over the course of the Nile’s various ages, it is the sturdy, wind-powered felucca that remains the most evocative and romantic of the river’s watercraft. The
An Egyptian Boat with an Italian Name Read More
“For, as Mr. Ferguson was saying at that minute in Luxor, it is not the past that matters but the future.” –Agatha Christie, Death on the Nile Ah, but the past informs the future, and with a past extending back four millennia, the lands and peoples and monuments of Nubia and Upper Egypt prove themselves
That Minute in Luxor Read More
Timeless: the only word that can adequately describe the Nile River as it courses smoothly through the ancient lands of Upper Egypt and storied Nubia. The boats that ply the great river like ants across stone are made from reed and wood and metal, their compositions mirroring the technological advances that seem to have only
Timeless on the Nile Read More
Today, I joined the good folks at Up In the Air Life, luxury excursion planners extraordinaire, for a four-day cruise along the Upper Nile River from Luxor to Aswan amid some of Ancient Egypt’s most spectacular sites. Aboard the five-star Sun Boat IV, operated by Sanctuary Retreats, a group of 66 adventurous American travelers mix
Fly Brother + Up In the Air Life Go to Egypt Read More
This week, I’ll be heading east for an eclectic, exciting three-week sojourn to England, South Africa, and Egypt. The trip is ostensibly for work—I’ve got a media event happening in each place—but there’s obviously a bit of fun to be had as well. Here’s the rundown… Transit Brunch in NYC with Oneika the Traveller On
Back when I was in Cairo a few months ago, I had taken a taxi into the Old City to catch a free performance of the Whirling Dervishes (in Turkey, which has higher-profile dervishes, they charge admission). As soon as I got out of the cab near the market, a loquacious peddler named Ahmed approached
From the AV Room: Egyptian Papyrus Art Read More
Cairo, in a word: golden. In many words: dusty, chaotic, crowded, teeming, wondrous, exhilarating, wild, urbane, sophisticated, whimsical, modern, historic, pious, hedonistic, tumultuous, sprawling, polluted, noisy, friendly, witty, serious, civilized, golden. The seat of one of earth’s oldest civilizations has survived into the modern era as the largest city in Africa and the Arab World.
Since Flickr is blocked here in the United Arab Emirates (among other sites such as X-Tube), I’ve decided to post another of my “road movies.” This time, watch as I approach the Pyramids at Giza, literally right across the street from a joint Pizza Hut/KFC, via an elevated expressway from Downtown Cairo. No camels were
From the AV Room: Trekking to the Pyramids Read More
