The Sinai Peninsula has a bad reputation. The Asian part of Egypt has been the site of terror attacks against tourists in 2004, 2005 and 2006. The 2011 Egyptian Revolution—and the overthrow of authoritarian President Hosni Mubarak—and the 2013 coup d’état against elected President Mohamed Morsi, led by Abdel FattahRead More »

The Jordan Rift Valley stretches between Jordan and Israel and the Palestine territories. The flat-bottomed valley—where the Dead Sea lies—has steep sides. It is a hot busy corridor leading south to the Aqaba Gulf and the Red Sea. We could have continued over flat-ish grounds in Wadi Araba and arriveRead More »

Nobody likes to fly on a bicycle trip, we certainly don’t. The process is stressful, finding boxes and Chinese carry bags to gather our load in 4 manageable check-in pieces is only the beginning of it. After the bikes are broken down—pedals removed, handle bars rotated 90 degrees, tires deflated—andRead More »

“Do you know about the history of Cyprus?” I had just detailed our route from Norway to Nicosia—including our arrival on Cyprus via ferry from Turkey to North Cyprus—to the welcoming owner of the café we had spent the day writing at, and I could sense the air slowly gettingRead More »