While I'm proud of everything I've written here on IbnIbnBattuta.com, in my opinion the entries below capture the most poignant lessons, powerful memories (both good and bad), and vivid characters from my travels around the world. Most importantly to me as a writer, I feel these entries also showcase some of my best storytelling.
First, some "must reads" that will interest any visitor to the site:
- "Celebrating the Haik, and Debating an Algerian Icon" (Algeria, March 2014)
- "House Hunters International, Algiers: Episode 1: 'It's Worth It for the View'" (Algeria, November 2013)
- "Sylvestre's Stories" (Rwanda, June 2011)
- "Hating Hijabs or Badgering Blondes: What's the Difference?" (USA, July 2010)
- "Water, Water Everywhere, No Time to Stop and Think" (Morocco, October 2008)
- "Instead, They Sing" (Mozambique, August 2006)
- "The Women of Adilisha" (Tanzania, July 2006)
New Destinations: follow me to a place you've never dreamed of traveling...
- "Around Algiers: Navigating the Invisible City" (Algeria, April 2014)
- "The Real World: Baghdad (Life Behind the Blast Walls)" (Iraq, May 2010)
- "Swimming with the Quirimbas Current" (Mozambique, August 2006)
- "Hama Weekend, Part 2: Hospitable Friends" (Syria, August 2005)
- "To Ma'aloula and Deir Mar Musa, in Search of Spiritual Roots" (Syria, June 2005)
- "With Help from the Rollei, Making Friends in Lamu" (Kenya, November 2013)
- "Travels With Rollei" (May 2013)
- "Rolleicord 101: Re-Learning Photography in the 21st Century" (March 2013)
- "National Geographic Photo Contest: Help Me Pick a Winner!" (August 2010)
- "Best Photos from Morocco: Introduction" (Morocco, January 2010)
- "Observing the Holy Month, from a Safe Distance" (Morocco, September 2009)
- "Joyful Welcomes, Tearful Worship: A Day of Prayer with Damascus' Muslims" (Syria, August 2005)
- "Quince: A Culinary Love Story" (Morocco, December 2008)
- "Lalibela: Sacred Spaces from Another World" (Ethiopia, February 2010)
- "A Castle, a Column, a Kurd: A Visit to Aleppo" (Syria, July 2005)
- "The Final Countdown: Surfing Mehdiya in Winter" (Morocco, December 2009)
- "Moroccan Hoop Dreams" (Morocco, January 2009)
- "One Nub Down, 9.8 to Go, and Life Goes On" (Algeria, June 2014)
- "Mulling It Over, or: I Lost My Passport in Kombolcha" (Ethiopia, February 2010)
- "Lessons Learned from Backpacking, and More Yet to Learn" (January 2010)
- "Lessons Learned from a Banana" (Mozambique, August 2006)
- "A Glimpse of the New Rwanda" (Rwanda, November 2010)
- "Ghosts from the Past, Prayers for the Future" (Sierra Leone, September 2007)
- "There but for the Grace of God: A Lesson in Congolese Chemistry" (DR Congo, July 2004)
- "My Day at the Pool in Kigali" (Rwanda, July 2004)
- "January 2011 Explained: The Arab Street Gets Its Moment" (January 2011)
- "Barack Obama and the End of the American Disappointment" (Morocco, November 2008)
- "Gorilla Country: There Are No Creationists in Virunga" (Rwanda, June 2011)
- "Reflections from the Serengeti & Ngorongoro Crater" (Tanzania, July 2006)
Updated June 2014