by Matthew Allison | Nov 21, 2010 | Africa
November 2010: For years, I was obsessed with visiting Libya—a country ruled by the eccentric and notorious dictator, Mad Dog Muammar Qaddafi. For decades, he had controlled this oil-rich expanse of the Sahara Desert in North Africa, becoming an arch-nemesis of Ronald...
by Matthew Allison | Nov 10, 2010 | Asia, Middle East
Exploring Lebanon Through the Eyes of Locals November 2010: As part of a longer two-week journey that included Libya—where I explored Roman ruins under Muammar Gaddafi’s rule—and Sudan, where I camped among the Nubian pyramids, I spent three unforgettable days in...
by Matthew Allison | Nov 7, 2010 | Europe
A Lightning Layover in Rome and Vatican City November 2010: Making Every Minute Count Planning a Mini Adventure During an 8-hour layover en route to Libya, I carefully mapped out a quick escape to visit two must-see landmarks: the Colosseum and the Sistine Chapel....
by Matthew Allison | Sep 7, 2010 | Asia
Turkmenistan: A Journey into One of the World’s Most Isolated Countries In September 2010, I set out to visit one of the most unusual and secretive nations on Earth—Turkmenistan. Often called the North Korea of Central Asia, Turkmenistan remains politically and...
by Matthew Allison | Jun 11, 2010 | South America & Antarctica
June 2010: Visiting indigenous cultures has always been one of my top travel goals, and there is no better country in South America for this than Bolivia. Approximately 70 percent of Bolivia’s population is indigenous, primarily descendants of the Inca...