The Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove is an ancient forest dedicated to Osun, the Yoruba goddess of fertility.
Africa
North, South, East & West
Traveling Niger to the old trading town of Zinder on the southern edge of the Sahara / Sahel as I turn 25.
Across a blistering Saharan summer, I traveled across the Adrar Plateau of northern Mauritania.
Djenne is famous for its surreal mud mosque that dominates this ancient trading town, once an important stop on the Trans-Saharan route and today's Monday Market is also a must-see.
Amid the northern mountains of Ethiopia the historic capital of castles at Gondar was once known as the "African Camelot".
On the edge of the Sahara in Algeria, five ancient fortified villages in the M'zab Valley preserve a unique Islamic culture lasting more than 1000 years.
Traveling across Eritrea in 1995 it seemed like a land of peace and hope. People were enthusiastic about the new beginning after their war of liberation.
Fake police travel scam in Nairobi, Kenya. But were they fake police or corrupt cops? Read this crazy story and decide for yourself.
Dominating the plain of Saqqara is King Djoser's step pyramid. It's a place you can ponder the ancient past in silence and get away from excessive tourism.
To escape slave-grabbing raids by the neighboring Benin kingdom in the 17th century, the people of Tamberma Valley built these fortified houses.
A series of montage photo-art that I began while traveling in Ethiopia during 2013, but never finished.
The arduous journeys of traveling or rather, paid hitchhiking by truck across Northern Kenya from Ethiopia - Moyale to Marsabit in Kenya. My second time!
Traveling to the open-pit diamond mines of northern Sierra Leone, once land of civil war, brutal warlords, and "Blood Diamonds".
Following the gorgeous Swahili Coast of Kenya, visiting beaches and islands, ancient Islamic ruins and Portuguese forts. Plus encounters with naughty monkeys.
Hathor is a goddess of many things within the ancient Egyptian story. To visit this amazingly preserved temple at Dendara, alone, is wondrous.
I'm no diver and not much of a swimmer - but if you're like me, have courage and follow this advice for sately snorkeling the Blue Hole in Dahab, Egypt.
One of the best places to explore "The Grand Canyon of Guinea" is from the village of Doucki, with guide, Hassan Bah.
Ulisa Bay on Lakoma Island in Lake Malawi is a great rest stop - especially if you're traveling the long Cairo to Cape Town overland trip.
Travels in Eritrea - 1995. Wandering around the barren surrounds of Matara, meeting astonished and friendly locals and checking out ancient Axumite ruins.
Meet Daouda Diabate - a Baye Fall singer/songwriter from Senegal, who lives in an old military bunker on Goree Island offshore of Dakar.
Traveling to the amazing wind-sculpted formations for an overnight stay in the White Desert of Egypt is best done from Bawiti (Bahariya oasis), rather than in Cairo.
Sometimes travel is not always that great. Musings at the end of a trip, broke and confused, amid the woes of an awful hostel dorm.
Monumental stone ruins are rare in southern Africa. Yet in the highlands of Zimbabwe, these awe-inspiring ruins rival the Inca sites of Peru.
If you're looking for a ragged, end-of-the-earth place - go to Berbera. This old Red Sea port has dusty streets, crumbling architecture & wrecked ships.
Luxor can be painful beyond the ancient beauty - scammers, hawkers, gigolos and inflated prices. But it doesn't have to ruin your trip - try these tips!
Traveling by boat from Likoma Island on Lake Malawi to the Cobue border crossing and east across Mozambique by truck, van and train to Nampula.
The self-proclaimed Republic of Somaliland is safe to travel. And while there's not much in the way of tourist sights, Hargeisa is the gateway to Somaliland.
Visit markets, see tribes, hike the weird-humped Taka Mountains and explore the ruined Khatmiyah Mosque.
Sudan travel advice for taking the ship from Aswan in Egypt, across Lake Nasser to Wadi Halfa, then traveling to sights on route to Dongola. In Summer. HOT.
Discovered in 2005 and yet 5000 years old, Las Geel is one of the world's greatest prehistoric art sites.
Taking the ferry 2 days across Ethiopia's Lake Tana, from Gorgora to Bahir Dir is a great backpacking side-trip.
Video of traveling Sierra Leone in a bus crawling amid a crowded, early-morning market spilling onto the roads of Freetown.
Travel advice & pics for backpackers hiking Mount Sinai in Egypt. Consider climbing during the day, allowing 3 hours - with plenty of rest and photo ops.
Victoria Falls - the largest waterfall in the world - is impressive, even in the dry season. In fact, the views are better as the falls aren't obscured by mist.
VIDEO: Two girls enjoying a street shower during a monsoonal storm in Gabu in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa.
In 1994, I hitchhiked to the remote rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, where in Medieval times they were called “The Jerusalem of Ethiopia”.
Women with lip plates and killer warriors - yeah these Mursi tribe traditions still exist in Ethiopia. But today, the Mursi also pose for tourist dollars.
Watch the exciting Friday ceremony of the Sufis gathered at the Hamid El-Nil Mosque in Omdurman, in Sudan.
Sudan's pyramids are older than Egypt's and there are more of them! But the pyramids at Meroe are much smaller. Still, you'll probably be alone & in awe.
Traveling to Sirigu Village known for geometric designs and folk art painted on the houses by the artistic women of northern Ghana.
Morocco: Below my guesthouse in the street, this - seemingly crazy - old woman erupts at workers on a building site. But what's provoked her?