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.
CULTURE
Markets - Villages - Tribes - Festivals - Art - Music - Ceremonies
Traveling the capital of Ashgabat, with all the security and surreal architecture, I understand why Turkmenistan is dubbed - “The North Korea of Central Asia”
Kang village climbs the mountain in a stack of earth walls, balconies and roofs and this settlement, in northeast Iran, has been inhabited for over 3000 years.
1994: In the mountains of northern Vietnam I stay with a traditional Hmong family who live an ancient lifestyle barely touched by the modern world.
Hiking in northern Laos to stay in an Akha Hill-Tribe village near the Chinese border.
Exploring the desert mountains of Gansu and meeting Yugur nomads while van camping a few days at a waterhole used by their flocks of sheep. In this wilderness, I celebrated my 54th birthday.
Looking at the women of Minab Market reveals the ancient trading routes that once connected southern Iran with the Arabian Peninsula, Pakistan, and beyond.
To escape slave-grabbing raids by the neighboring Benin kingdom in the 17th century, the people of Tamberma Valley built these fortified houses.
Traveling to the open-pit diamond mines of northern Sierra Leone, once land of civil war, brutal warlords, and "Blood Diamonds".
The colorful, Maya San Francisco de Asis Festival in Guatemala is held over a period of days in early October.
One of the best places to explore "The Grand Canyon of Guinea" is from the village of Doucki, with guide, Hassan Bah.
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.
Standing on a crag, the 11th century stone-tower-houses of Al Hajjarah and the surrounding mountains, evoke the Arabian Nights.
Visiting the Kurdish village of Palangan, its houses stacked on top of each each other while stepping up the mountainside.
I was walking the streets of Taizz in Yemen, when suddenly this folk musician stops and offers to play a tune for me as crowds gather around.
On my birthday, I go to the village of Santiago Atitlan to pay homage to Maximon - a Maya god that smokes + drinks.
Discovered in 2005 and yet 5000 years old, Las Geel is one of the world's greatest prehistoric art sites.
Xinye is a time trip - reaching back 100s of years, this ancient Chinese village remains intact from the Ming and Qing eras.
Visiting a fishing village of the Muslim Cham people on the Mekong River, amid the high fishing season in Cambodia.
Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Cobre is Cuba’s most-sacred site, a place of miracles attributed to the "Black Virgin".
Video of traditional Mongolian folk music - with throat singing - recorded in a tent in Karakorum, Mongolia, once the capital of Genghis Khan's empire.
In quiet Koh Kong on coastal Cambodia, there's this homeless - probably crazy - guy sitting on the pavement alone, and so I buy him a meal.
The rock-hewn churches of Lalibela remain one the world's least-recognized man-made wonders, yet in Medieval times they were known as “The Jerusalem of Ethiopia”.
Glowing psychedelic skulls grin at me. The dead are alive. Today is the Day of the Dead. What the Maya call Hanal Pixan is also known as The Day of the Dead in Mexico.
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.
The Marsh Arabs of Iraq are a unique Middle Eastern culture that have thrived in the marshlands of southern Iraq for millennia. I visited them in 1989.
Watch the exciting Friday ceremony of the Sufis gathered at the Hamid El-Nil Mosque in Omdurman, in Sudan.
I hitchhiked amid the Maramures Region of Romania to the idyllic peasant village of Botiza. Homestays are available and the tranquil countryside is great for walks. .
Traveling to Sirigu Village known for geometric designs and folk art painted on the houses by the artistic women of northern Ghana.
Video of a Mexican Mayan shaman performing a traditional ritual with words, drums and incense to cleanse, bless, and protect me. In Spanish, he wishes good health, luck with family, and my travels.