For a travel enthusiast like me, coming across the opportunity to visit a historical place was priceless. Ankober, a mountainous place at 2000+ meters elevation in my country – Ethiopia, was an amazing experience to start with. The goal was to reach out to the lifestyle outside my city, Addis Ababa – the capital of…
I spent the last 5 years traveling nonstop overland to all 54 African countries. My wife, who is from Cameroon, joined me on 31 of them. Perhaps the most common question we get is, “Which is your favorite African country?” We answer, “On the African mainland, it’s Namibia. On the entire continent, it’s Mauritius.” Francis…
A place is made of its people. There must have been a time when there weren’t strong political boundaries. There were no visa applications, immigration or security check. One could move like a nomad, halt wherever he wanted, eat whatever he wanted and sing the local song. What would have been the answer, if someone…
Once upon a time… …there lived a Spanish king who ruled the South American country of Peru from afar. In those days the will of the King was upheld by his representative in the country, the Viceroy. Peru’s Viceroy ruled the Lima with gold stripped from the earth of the lush country, and as a…
Scotland, a country with wild landscapes, majestic mountains, unspoilt white sand beaches and undeniable beauty around every bend. Scotland has these places in abundance; however there is one area that captured my imagination like no other, Assynt. Assynt is a sparsely populated area in the North West Highlands packed with allure. The mountains are otherworldly,…
All I could see were black rocks surrounding a blue opening and I was confident that I would get through with ease. ‘Breathe in and out’, I remember the instructor signalling to me and off I swam. I had jumped at the idea of diving through an underwater cave. Apparently, most people struggle because they…
The water trembles at the wriggle of my toes, sending a gentle ripple trundling outwards from the edge of my foot until it touches the invisible corners of the infinity pool and makes its escape by spilling over the edge. A slosh, as the water hits the hidden overflow channel and I look up from…
To become one with the world and co-exist with its other inhabitants, we must learn to understand it, protect it and not take it for granted. My interests in becoming an environmental photojournalist, biologist and explorer wasn’t an ambition born overnight. I grew up in the village of Cihangir, Northern Cyprus and during every school…