It is almost impossible to overemphasize the importance with which ancestry is held in the Middle East and North Africa.
Buy a house in a foreign country and, it seems, that anything which can go wrong usually does.
The only thing they valued higher than ammunition were Man United footballs.
Searching for a lost city is a particularly European obsession.
Lured by the wilderness, and by the chance of spotting rare desert elephants, a few intrepid tourists make their way to the Skeleton Coast each year. It's just about as remote as any tourist destinati...
There can be few situations more fearful than breaking down in darkness on the highway leading to Casablanca. I have rarely felt quite so vulnerable or alone.
The taste for glory can make ordinary men behave in extraordinary ways.
Stories are a communal currency of humanity.
I had learned years ago never to give original documents to anyone if I could help it.
Calcutta's the only city I know where you are actively encouraged to stop strangers at random for a quick chat.
Back at the Chateau Windsor there was a rat-like scratching at the door of my room. Vinod, the youngest servant, came in with a soda water. He placed it next to the bag of toffees. Then he watched me...
At the last moment, the fish and I exchange a troubled glance. The murrel seems to be demanding an explanation. Alas, I am in no position to start justifying the unusual treatment. What comes next is...
To be selfless, you would give charity anonymously, walj softly on the earth, and look out for others-even total strangers-before you look out for yourself. For the Arab mind, the self is an obstacle,...
There is nothing like a train journey for reflection.
Settling into a new country is like getting used to a new pair of shoes. At first they pinch a little, but you like the way they look, so you carry on. The longer you have them, the more comfortable t...
One senses that, in these conditions, no amount of wet-wiping could bring true hygiene.
Where does one go in a tremendous city like Calcutta to find insider information? I recalled India's golden rule: do the opposite of what would be normal anywhere else.
There is nothing quite as unpleasant as wearing a pair of briefs which have been trailed through a Calcutta courtyard. Nothing, that is, except having one's elbows and knees lacerated by unseen sliver...
Stories are not like the real world; they aren't held back by what we know is false or true. What's important is how a story makes you feel inside.
Once in a very long time you come across a book that is far, far more than the ink, the glue and the paper, a book that seeps into your blood.