Faces of Egypt

October 22, 2008 ·  

Wise, wrinkled, weathered faces, and innocent, young faces. Faces of stone. Faces of flesh. Faces of deep compassion.

My perception of Egypt comes mostly from the Hollywood images of Pharaohs and fellaheen, images of kings and commoners that are much too simplistic. After all, it was Egypt that bequeathed the fundamental civilizing influence of knowledge, passed down by the Greeks and Romans that lifted Europe from the depths of its Dark Age. As our world emerges from the confusion of that era and enters... [Read more]

Dune Bashing in Dubai

August 24, 2008 ·  

Dune Bashing in Dubai – adventure for the spirited

It looked, for a moment, like a mirage gone mad. There on the rolling sand dunes were scores of misshapen four-wheelers racing up and down, kicking up clouds of sand as they went. The first thought that leapt to my mind was that a pack of daredevil circus stuntmen had been let loose in the desert. Nope. This wasn’t a mirage. I was 30 minutes out of Dubai and there, with their throttles revved up, were the dune-bashers pelting across the desert in their dune... [Read more]

Habibi

June 22, 2008 ·  

“You married or single?” Ali asks me bluntly. I am in Iraq wearing a flak jacket and Kevlar helmet – I do not feel feminine at all. I am not surprised when I am greeted as “sir” in all my gear so his question takes me off guard.

“What?” I ask. I have just introduced myself to this man.

“Are you married? With husband? Or single.” He asks pointing at the gold Claddagh ring I wear on my left hand.

“Oh, I’m single,” I reply and immediately add, “I have a boyfriend,” which... [Read more]