A Traveler Comes Full Circle

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Suddenly I was back there: back on the hill overlooking the breathtaking vista, back watching the prettiest sunset I'd ever seen, back in the city that I loved more than any other. In a few short days I'd planned to return to Granada, in what would be my final stop before flying home. But with an unexpected crash, an irrational fear had just clenched around my heart. Would I actually make it? I opened my eyes and took in the chaotic scene around me. Was that smoke rising from the hood of the taxi? The driver had stepped out and was angrily shouting towards the car in front of us. We were stranded in the middle of a fast-moving highway. My eyes widened. This was a dangerous situation indeed.

Shades of Medieval Mastery

The colors of Moroccan life are often dazzlingly vibrant. Women dress in brightly-dyed clothing, textiles glow in intense hues, and pottery is painted in all colors of the rainbow. But the dry scenery that currently passed by outside my train window was decidedly more muted. Ever since departing from Rabat two hours prior, it seemed as if the sun's scorching heat had washed all the Earth's features in the same shade of dust. Soon, however, the landscape grew dramatic. The ragged foothills of the highest mountains in Northern Africa enveloped us. Our fabled destination then came into view. The imperial city of Meknes awaited.

How I Learned French for Free in Morocco

Once I decided to travel to Morocco, another idea began to form. I knew that French was commonly spoken in the North African country. And something intrigued me about the language shared by romantic and villainous cartoon characters alike. So, I asked myself, why not try to pick up French while I was in a francophone country? Alas, there was only one problem. Besides s'il vous plaît and merci beaucoup, of French I knew absolutely rien de rien. Another issue then presented itself. I wasn't willing to pay rien de rien to learn either. Thus the seeds for an audacious experiment were planted.

Morocco's Answer to Woodstock

Every summer for four days in June, tens of thousands of music lovers descend upon a small fishing city on the Atlantic coast of Morocco.They come from all over the globe to witness the magic of the Gnaoua World Music Festival, held inside the fortified walls of historic Essaouira. Like most people outside of Morocco, I had gone through my life completely unaware of the event. But when another traveler began regaling me with a vivid description of the festivities, it didn't take me long to make up my mind. I knew I had to go experience it for myself.

Treasures of the Nile

Speechless. That's the sensation that overcame me upon my first sight of the Great Pyramids of Giza. Ever since learning about ancient Egyptian civilization in elementary school, some small part of me had skeptically regarded it all as fanciful myth. Perhaps because the grand works of the Pharaohs stirred a part of my imagination normally reserved for interplanetary spaceships, eye-patched pirates on the high seas, and other things I'd read about in books but would never likely experience in real life. But here I was, staring at the last remnant of the world's seven wonders. And the indisputable reality of what I saw left me at a loss for words.

Ghosts of Syrian Wars Past

I drove away from the Druze village of Majdal Shams and turned on to a lonely highway headed south. A military convoy sped past in the opposite direction. The Israeli army had been a constant presence since my arrival in the country two weeks ago, even more so since I'd crossed into this disputed region. Something suddenly caught my eye up ahead. I pulled over the car and stepped out into the fierce winds of the Golan Heights. In front of me was the detached turret of an old tank, laying right alongside the road. The massive gun was aimed at a ruined city located a little over a mile away. I realized with a startle that not long ago I had been walking amongst those very ruins, in the target of this menacing weapon and across a contentious border. As if in confirmation, I caught sight of the red and black-striped flag of Syria, waving defiantly in the distance.