Mohamad Musa’s Camel School – Mt. Sinai
Inside and outside of Egypt the common misconception is that it is a land of pyramids and camels. There is so much more in Egypt that I am reticent to do a story about camels because it will undoubtedly reinforce the incorrect steryotype. But, I feel like I have done enough other stories about the [...]
Tourism on Mt. Sinai
Adventure, spirituality, and economic incentives funnel thousands of tourists to the interior of the Sinai Peninsula where they often make a pre-morning treck up the side of Mt. Sinai, or Jebal Mosa as it’s called locally. I’m still not satisfied with this set of photos, consider them place holders until someone sends me up the [...]
Portrait of a Travel Executive
This summer I worked with Backpacker’s Concierge to help with their rebranding of travel services in Egypt and Jordan. Their new services and photos have been gaining press so the CEO needed a new portrait with a feel of the middle east and Egypt. We took an afternoon and jetted around Cairo. Here are a [...]
Tanta Mawlid, The Festival of Seyyid Badawi
The festival of Seyyid Badawi (Ahmad al-Badawi) is one of the largest annual gatherings in Egypt, drawing pilgrims from throughout the Middle East and doubling the size of the town, located in the Nile delta. The week-long celebration encompasses the birthday of Sufi Saint Seyyid Badawi, the celebration of the harvest, and a carnival atmosphere. [...]
Zar performed at Makan
Almost every wednesday a group of singers and performers gather for a Zar at a small club called in Cairo. The group was formed as an attempt to save the dying ritual. Zār or Zaar (زار) is a pagan religious custom, apparently originating in central Ethiopia during the eighteenth century, later spreading throughout East and [...]
Aswan Egypt, Life on the backstreets
In my continuing series of photos for Backpacker’s Concierge I took two trips down to Aswan. The first shoot was called off because a sandstorm turned everything white and ruined the idealic blue sky. The second trip went off without a hitch and I photographed in all of the major sites such as Karnak Temple [...]
Tourism in Dahab, Egypt
I had a morning to shoot more travel/tourism photos in Dahab, Egypt before driving out to Mt. Sinai. If I go back to Dahab on my own I’ll have to spend an afternoon just hanging out at the windsurfing lagoon where people zoom back and forth right beside the beach. It all pretty colors and [...]
A day in Amman, Jordan
I’m in the middle of a set of travel photography for Backpacker’s Concierge. These are a few photos that I liked from the first day in Amman. I’ve never been to Jordan before so the wirl-wind tour of the country in 6 days left me with too many interesting stories and not enough sleep to [...]
Best Hostel in Asyut Egypt, The YMCA
There isn’t much information about hotels and hostles in Assiut Egypt so when I found that the local YMCA rented out clean rooms for the night it was a pleasant surprise.
It’s name is Nadi Elwai (نادي الوي) which translates into “The Y Club”. Assiut is a small town and the club is near the train station so you can get a taxi for two pounds.
