Ship in the desert
“Suez. Photograph. Quick!” We’d hired a minibus to take us back from St Katherine’s monastery to Cairo, a trip of about five hours which, on the public bus, takes between […]
NOTEBOOK
Canter past Patagonian icefields. Sail the tranquil waters of Lake Como in Italy. Sip coffee in a Palestinian village. Listen to the ancient voices of Australia’s Arnhem Land. Climb the mountain paths of northern Albania. Let’s go!
Peaking in Moses’ footsteps
St Katherine’s monastery is well and truly on the backpacker trail. From sunny Dahab or five-star Sharm el Sheik, you can take a tour up to the mountain, leaving around […]
St Katherine and the Burning Bush
People, I’m going to go all philosophical here. And I’m going to talk about religion. So rein in your dogmas… The reason why I’m broaching the most unpopular dinner party […]
Arabian nights
Short of a trick to get the party going? Hassan el Hilali, Egyptian actor, singer and man who does weddings, parties, anything with a variety show of dwarves and strongman […]
Dahab rehab
Ok, I have to give the credit for this headline to finance newsbreaker Pete. Thanks Pete. Dahab is indeed Rehab. The silence, the lapping water, the camels. The obession grows, […]
Red Sea Utopia
At sunset sitting at a cafe on the shores of the Red Sea, the water laps at the sea wall on which the cafe is built. We sit at long […]
King of Eternal Time
Son of the sun, king of eternal time, said the stentorian voice in the darkness. Clouds of light chased across the night sky to grow stronger until they illuminated the […]
Tonic for the soul
I finally just found a shop that sells tonic. I forgive Cairo the black snot, the toilets like running sores and even the all-night industrial tailor whose workshop is above […]
Sands of Time
For four days, the Kasr Ibrim (and yours truly, ensconced in a Royal Suite) coasted over the still waters of Lake Nasser, the world’s largest artificial lake. Compared with the […]