30 Reasons to Travel: Photographs and Reflections from Southeast Asia is a book I self-published in 2008. It features some of my very early work as a photographer. One can order it either directly from the publisher or, for a signed copy mailed to U.S. addresses, by sending me a message. Signed copies, including postage, are $30.
Messages from Tahrir: Signs from Egypt’s Revolution includes several of my photographs, including the cover image. (2011)
Chicken Soup for the Tea Lover’s Soul includes my story “A Teahouse Drenched in Sunlight”, set in Diyarbakir, Turkey. (2012)
“Rocks, Fear, and a Giant Roar in the Land of the Pyramids” is my first-hand account of the 2011 demonstrations in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. It appears on pages 36-40. (Spring 2011)
The Best Travel Writing 2011: True Stories from Around the World includes my story “In the Fields of My Lai”, which recounts a visit to the scene of the 1968 My Lai Massacre in Vietnam. (2011)
“A Cup of Coffee and a Soft Chair” recounts an emotionally-charged evening sitting at an Istanbul Starbucks on the eve of my return home, having just finished a 14-month overland journey from Beijing. (October 14, 2010)
In “Into the Heart of India’s Punjab” I wander Amritsar, India, a holy city where I discover that one has a better chance of seeing Pamela Anderson nude than finding pepperonis on a pizza. (February 2009)
The Best Travel Writing 2008: True Stories from Around the World, includes my story “Red Lights and a Rose”, which is set in one of Bangkok’s red light districts and considers the question What is Paradise? It was awarded Grand Prize, Best Travel Story of Year in the Second Annual Solas Awards. The complete story can be read at this link. (2008)
“Surprise company on a ‘solo’ trip” is a short story set in Vietnam in which, with the help of a young English woman named Emma, I affirmed that my life was, in fact, happening. (November
“Another Tet Offensive” recounts a visit to Nha Trang, Vietnam, where in the midst of Chinese New Year celebrations I work up the courage to ask out a waitress. (October 16, 2008)
“‘We Need Justice,’ Says Father Yousef Sa’adah, a Melkite Priest in Nablus” recounts a visit to a beleaguered Palestinian priest in the West Bank city of Nablus. (January-February 2008)
“On this trip to Egypt, the beggars were the ones who gave” is a short story about two Egyptian boys I met outside a Hardee’s fast food restaurant in Cairo’s Tahrir Square at one o’clock in the morning. (August 3, 2007)
“Jericho Governor Sami Musallam” is an interview with the Palestinian governor of the West Bank city of Jericho. (August 2007)
“Two young girls and a book made the trip memorable” is a short story about two young Egyptian girls I met in Luxor while on my way to read a few more pages of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s book The Brothers Karamazov. (May 25, 2007)
“The ‘timelessness’ of Old Saigon” is a short story about my love for Saigon and includes a reflection on the passage of time. (March 30, 2007)
Encounters with the Middle East: True Stories of People and Culture that Help You Understand the Region includes my story “Half-truths and Olive Trees”, about a group of people rebuilding a demolished Palestinian home on the outskirts of Jerusalem. (2007)
“The Return of the Suriani“, the cover story for the March 2006 issue of Touchstone magazine, is about my visit to a Christian minority in southeastern Turkey. The story was awarded first place in the category “Feature Article: Ecumenical Magazine” at the 2006 Associated Church Press awards. (March 2006)
The Best Travel Writing 2006: True Stories from Around the World includes my story “Clutching My Soul in Paradise”, set in Papua New Guinea. (2006)