Northern Africa
As we travel I research information about the culture and history of each country before arrival. It helps to put what I see into context. It also helps during our interactions with the locals that I know something about their history, and convey that I care enough to know and seek to understand. My goal, […]
Spending three months in a country is not enough to fully understand a culture but it is enough to experience a few things we would otherwise never have experienced, like the two most significant Islamic holidays, and a funeral. Eid-al-Adha, a Celebration of Sacrifice This week our neighborhood began to sound and smell like a
Ducking under the curved archway and walking into the alley felt like entering a cave. Cemented walls and stone walkways retain cool night air long into the afternoon. Instead of the dark brown and gray hues of most caves, this one is powder blue and seems to glow a bit in the filtered light. We
Endless miles of red sand dunes etched with patterns from the wind as far as the eye can see. Silent and remote with dark skies where the milky way shines bright each night. That, at least, was my romanticized view of what we would find in the Sahara desert. I was wrong. The Sahara is
We pushed our backpacks into the corner of our small private room in “My House” Hostel and headed back out the door for a short evening walk. Just that morning we left Merzouga after a week in the driest hot desert in the world. Now, only a 4.5-hour bus ride and 30-minute shared taxi ride
