Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Travel / Africa & the Middle East

"The seemingly rigid frontiers that have come to define places like Africa and Asia," says the museum's director Gus Casely Hayford, "are in fact remarkably fluid, connected through the intersections of art, commerce and culture."

First Major Swahili Coast Art Show Reveals a Diverse World of Cultural Exchange and Influence

At the Smithsonian’s African Art Museum, international influences commingle to create a farrago of artisanal splendors

A Culinary Renaissance in the Israeli Countryside

Beyond Tel Aviv, towns are adopting enticing new approaches to cuisine that celebrate the history of the region and and the diversity of its people

A group of women in traditional dress stand beside a Thomas Cook boat on the Nile in 1904.

How an Alcohol-Hating English Preacher Founded Global Tourism

Thomas Cook’s tours set the stage for today’s tourism industry

A hand stencil design on the wall of a cave in Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Prehistoric Rock Art to Visit Around the World

Scientists just discovered some of the world’s oldest art in a cave in Indonesia. Want to see more prehistoric masterpieces? Here are eight other options

Khufu Pyramid at Giza.

Google Street View Brings Egypt’s Pyramids To A Computer Near You

From ancient citadels to the Great Sphinx, you can now explore Egypt’s wonders in the digital world

Butcher shop owner Sajad Saleh sells his wares at the Al Tayebat Meat Market.

Amid the Heated Debates, Iraqi Immigrants Struggle to Make a Living in Arizona

Familiar fare—qeema, biryani, dolma—offers comfort to the thousands of refugees starting life over in Phoenix

Imperiled survivors: A herd migrates across Chad, once home to tens of thousands of elephants. After a surge in poaching, only about 1,000 remain.

The Race to Stop Africa’s Elephant Poachers

The recent capture of a notorious poacher has given hope to officials in Chad battling to save the African elephant from extinction

Look familiar? Morocco's Essaouira, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was the filming location for Astapor, "Game of Thrones'" infamous slave-trading city.

From Iceland to Croatia, Go On the Ultimate “Game of Thrones” Tour

Want more “Game of Thrones” than a show every Sunday and books every few years? Consider visiting the filming locations

Photos: Namibia’s Wild Places

Journey through Namibia’s beautiful landscapes with these photos submitted by our readers

Nobody Knows How to Interpret This Doomsday Stonehenge in Georgia

We know where they are and what they say, but everything else is all hotly debated

At remote Abu Camp, visitors can hitch a ride into one of the great water holes of Africa.

The Joys and Dangers of Exploring Africa on the Back of an Elephant

Renowned travel writer Paul Theroux journeys through Botswana’s spectacular, wildlife-rich wetlands

Travelers must be accepting of all tastes and flavors encountered along the way—but it may be difficult to argue that Italian espresso is anything but superior to all other manifestations of coffee.

Coffee Here, and Coffee There: How Different People Serve the World’s Favorite Hot Drink

Coffee is black and bitter—but global travelers find a surprisingly wide range of forms of the world’s favorite hot beverage

Teenagers in the West Bank hit a Volkswagen Beetle with a snowball.

A Snowball Fight in the West Bank

For the first time in their lifetimes, these teenagers got to enjoy the thrill of a fresh layer of snow

None

Protected Mountain Gorilla Population Rises by Ten Percent in Two Years

Conservationists announce good news for mountain gorillas, but the species is not out of the woods just yet

None

Should Americans Travel to the Middle East?

Today the area is often perceived as a murky and dangerous blur on the map. But how unsafe, really, is this area for tourists?

As prim and tidy as hedges at the Queen’s palace, a vineyard in England reminds us that rising temperatures are now allowing for wine production in the world’s higher latitudes.

More Wines from Unexpected Places

Good, locally made wines can now be found in such unlikely locales as equatorial Kenya, the Texas Hill Country, and temperate and rainy Japan

None

Snakes: The Good, the Bad and the Deadly

With venom so potent it can kill a person in 30 minutes, the black mamba is a snake to avoid—while others are worth learning about before you cast judgment

Desolate wilderness surrounds the giant Lake Baikal, the deepest, oldest and most voluminous lake on earth.

Lake Baikal and More of the Weirdest Lakes of the World

Set deep within the Russian subcontinent, Baikal is the deepest, oldest and most voluminous of all lakes

The controversial Dutch Somali feminist Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s autobiography Infidel led to death threats from numerous Muslim organizations.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali on Protecting Women From Militant Islam

Even in democratic nations, mothers and daughters are held back from basic freedoms

Page 3 of 6