Angsana Riads Collection Morocco

£3,432: Riad Aida, Medina. Includes exclusive hire of the riad (which sleeps 13) with breakfast and mint tea throughout the day; flights are not included. "Angsana Riads Collection boasts six distinctive traditional Moroccan riads, each with its own character and unique features. The unique and private setting of each is perfect for hosting groups for special occasions. The price also includes a 10 per cent discount," says Angsana's ( Read more... )
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It's hard, however, to escape a rather visceral connection to slaughter in Fez's beautiful medina. It is traditional that every family should have a sheep for the festival, kept at home and then butchered. There are sheep in carts, sheep being dragged by their horns, sheep on people's backs, a sheep that emerges from the boot of a Mercedes. This is Morocco's most religious city, and they commemorate Abraham's willingness to kill his son with gusto.

Excited kids skip down ( Read more... )
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Water is the most precious resource of this sprawling complex two hours north-west of Johannesburg and 80km from the nearest reliable source, from which zillions of cubic litres have been piped under the bushveld, circulating endlessly to dramatic effect. There are giant fountains, cascading rivers, babbling brooks, lakes and waterfalls, twisting pathways through dense "rainforest", lush golf courses and more swimming pools than you can count. It's as if the designers were trying ( Read more... )
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Until recently, Nairobi's luxury hotel scene was stuck in this rut, the likes of the Norfolk and Stanley being good at what they do (offering five-star service in opulent surroundings) but rarely offering excitement. Now, Tribe has provided Nairobi with an injection of contemporary cool. Despite a name that appears to hark back to the past ? Tribe's motto is in fact "one tribe, the human race" ? the hotel is utterly modern, fusing slick Manhattan loft interiors with an earthy ( Read more... )
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Royal ( Read more... )
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The clothes are genuine labels, not knock-offs imported from China, and we are buying mitumba, now seen in all the open markets throughout Kenya and beyond. They are second-hand clothes imported from better-off countries, and I've paid a little less than 80p for my Guess top.

Mitumba is a Kiswahili word meaning bale or bundle, and the second-hand clothes are called mitumba because they arrive and are sold to retailers in tightly packed bales. They are brought to East ( Read more... )
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Instead, I nod and grin. I can't imagine how much more scenic things can get. We're flying out of Mozambique's palm-fringed Vilanculos airport by helicopter, over the turquoise, green and azure waters of the Indian Ocean, marbled with white sandbanks and water so bright, so clear and, in turns, so dizzyingly deep blue it's more dream-like abstract painting than landscape. Nine miles ahead of us is our final destination: Azura, a newly opened beach retreat on the coral-ringed ( Read more... )
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As I walk, some 200 women are already scattered along this seemingly never-ending coastline busily harvesting seaweed, as women here have done for centuries. They sit in circles, fully clothed in shallow waters the tide has left behind, gently untangling and gathering their crop in this natural production line.

Wearing bright, wrap-around kangas to protect the modesty of their Muslim culture, they giggle, wave, gossip, smile shyly or simply sit in silence. Some wade ( Read more... )
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A motorboat chugged past. The crew glanced at us, but didn't slacken their pace. Starting to feel a little foolish, we kept on waving. Then, off across the water, a crescent-shaped sail dipped and a boat made a swift turn, and began gliding towards us. We'd snared our felucca.

The captain and his mate were hearty and boisterous in their gallabiya robes. They made a noisy and elaborate theatre of negotiating a price with us, with lots of waving of hands in wild disgust that our offer was ( Read more... )
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The city is now joined to the capital Rabat, Casablanca, and the rest of the country by motorway and in five years the population has grown from 550,000 to a million. There is even talk of a new high-speed rail link to Marrakech. This city, just across the water from Europe, has undergone changes that reflect its strategic importance.

In its heyday, Tangiers was home to a raffish, literary and eccentric rich set including the writers Tennessee Williams and Paul Bowles, ( Read more... )
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Between June and September temperatures soar to 30°C and above, testing even the most resilient sun lovers. Sightseeing can become a tricky task ? the nearby Mount Sinai?s 3,750 ?Steps of Penitence? are laden with meaning in these temperatures. But as Sharm el Sheikh gets into winter mode, holiday-makers can look forward to a cooler desert experience.

Today, Sharm el Sheikh is a far cry from the sleepy backpacker village of 20 years ago. Those hoping to find evidence ( Read more... )
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At 4pm local time on 11 June next year, South Africa will face as-yet-unknown opposition here, in front of nearly 100,000 fans. The match will mark the start of the first World Cup Finals to be staged in Africa. Exactly a month later, the greatest sporting event of 2010 will be settled, also at Soccer City.

Even nine months ahead, the passion across South Africa is tangible. And England fans find themselves in the unusual position of being ahead of the pack in fixing ( Read more... )
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A. With the chance to combine the sole surviving Wonder of the Ancient World the Pyramid of Giza and the beautiful beaches of the Red Sea coast in one trip, Egypt makes an awe-inspiring holiday destination for children and adults alike.

Easter is a good time to visit. It's after the peak tourist season of late November to February, yet avoids the scorching heat of the Egyptian summer which can be intolerable even for the keenest budding Egyptologists. And while parents should be wary ( Read more... )
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A luxury camp in a private 250,000-acre concession on the edge of the Masai Mara, Cottars seems to be drawn straight from the pages of a Hemingway novel. Six traditional white tents contain four-poster beds, along with billowing drapes, hurricane lamps, antiques and North African rugs. Dinner, meanwhile, is a candle-lit silver-service affair.

Cottars 1920s Safari Camp, Masai Mara, Kenya (bookings through Exsus Travel: 020-7292 5050; cottars.com). Doubles start at US$880 (£629) full board, ( Read more... )
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The allure of South Africa has many dimensions, from wild animals to wineries. Yet wherever you are in this vast and fascinating land, the shoreline keeps calling. The 1,500-plus miles of coast - stretching from the Namibian frontier in the north-west to the border of Mozambique in the north-east - includes some dramatic cliffs and rocky shores. But there are also plenty of beaches to choose from. Western Cape province is on the Atlantic shore, so the water is colder, and this part ( Read more... )
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As party pooping goes it was nuanced, diplomatic stuff. But the president's timing provokes a niggling question ? what exactly is the $50m (£31m), 160-bed Bilila Lodge Kempinski, with its well stocked bars, infinity pools, sun decks, fine-wine cellar, conference centre, snooker room and health spa doing here?

The national park is one of nature's greatest showcases. "Serengeti" is derived from a Maasai phrase meaning "endless plain". It covers 5,700 square miles, roughly ( Read more... )
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And if you have heard of Sol Kerzner, you would be even more amazed. Can this cool, tasteful establishment, all dark wood and restrained, organic colours, really belong to the brash South African leisure and gambling tycoon who created a fantasy version of Africa with his Sun City and Lost City resorts? There it was fake palaces, planted jungles, slot machines and a whiff of sleaze; here, as if to mock your expectations, the doorman's jacket has leopard-print lapels, but that ( Read more... )
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I meet Ben on the evening that the Royal Livingstone train is to travel into the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park. We chat as young South African women in cocktail dresses trip past us on the red carpet.

Ben still has a home in Zimbabwe. He's in Zambia on a two-year contract. I suggest that it's a good time to be out of that troubled country. Ben smiles grimly. Later he'll tell me of the 140 new steam engines that the Mugabe government scrapped when it went over to diesel ( Read more... )
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