Many people ask me, ‘Why do you want to go to the desert again? You have been there many times!”

There is no one answer that can convey the draw the desert has on me. Yes, it is  harsh, it is extreme. There is no water for bathing, food and drink minimal,  the track is rough, the timing not quite right, it is Thanksgiving…and here I am going to the desert…again!

So why? If the situation in the Middle East remained as it was pre-2011, this trip would not have such urgency. But I believe, such chances to experience the deep Sahara are slipping away, if not an impossibility for desert enthusiasts.

But it is really this: To live in the moment with no distractions.  It is the peace, the solitude, the grandeur and vastness.  It is the freedom, the wind, stars, sky, rocks, sun, heat, cold in all their purity.   For one more time…to be a dune.

                                              Celebrating the Egyptian Desert