In her short life Isabelle Eberhardt (1877-1904) came to be known as the ultimate enigma and representative of everything that seemed dangerous in nineteenth century society. Born the illegitimate daughter of an aristocratic Russian emigree she was a cross-dresser and sensualist, an experienced drug-taker and a transgressor of boundaries: a European reborn in the desert as an Arab and Muslim, a woman who reinvented herself as a man, wandering the Sahara on horseback. A profoundly lonely individual for all her numerous sexual adventures, she roused controversy and was loved and hated in equal measure. A mysterious attempt was made on her life and even her eventual death was ambiguous: she drowned in the desert at the age of twenty-seven.

Aiming to track down a small oasis town deep in the Sahara, some of whose generous inhabitants came to her rescue on a black day in her adolescence, Annie Hawes leaves her home in the olive groves of Italy and sets off along the south coast of the Mediterranean. Travelling through Morocco and Algeria she eats pigeon pie with a family of cannabis farmers, and learns about the habits of djinns; she encounters citizens whose protest against the tyrannical King Hassan takes the form of attaching colanders to their television aerials - a practice he soon outlaws - and comes across a stone-age method of making olive-oil, still going strong. She allows a ten-year-old to lead her into the fundamentalist strongholds of the suburbs of Algiers - where she makes a good friend.Plunging southwards, regardless, into the desert, she at last shares a lunch of salt-cured Saharan haggis with her old friends, in a green and pleasant palm grove perfumed by flowering henna: once, it seems, the favourite scent of the Prophet Mohammed. She discovers at journey's end that life in a date-farming oasis, haunting though its songs may be, is not so simple and uncomplicated as she has imagined. Annie Hawes has legions of fans. Her writing has the well-built flow of fiction and the self-effacing honesty of a journal.

"This is a brilliant, free-ranging, mind-enhancing, life-cautioning book."—The IndependentIn the summer of 1964 Robert Irwin set off for Algeria in search of Sufi enlightenment. There he entered a world of marvels and ecstasy, converted to Islam, and received an initiation as a faqir. He learnt the rituals of Islam in North Africa and he studied Arabic in London.Political violence, torture, rock music, drugs, Oxbridge intellectuals, first love, and losses are all part of this story from the 1960s.Robert Irwin is one of the best known writers on the history and culture of the Islamic world.

Michelin country maps give an overall picture of your route with practical road and travel information. Simple folding design, reads like a book, durable p cover, multi-language legend, large-scale city maps, Clear, precise cartography. Icons pinpoint important travel information.

This new Bradt guide will be the first to focus on the renascent Algeria and bring out the many features of this beguiling North African country.  The attraction of Algeria lies in its fascinating mix of cultures.  The towns ooze French charm with churches crowning vine-covered hills and cafés lining the streets; however, a short trip will bring you to a mud-brick town or Sahara oasis that echoes a muezzin’s call and where Europe feels a world away.  The guide covers fascinating UNESCO World Heritage sites, Al Qata of Beni Hammad, Djemila, M’zab Vakkey and the Roman sites of Timgad and Tipasa, all free from thronging crowds.The important legacy of the French colonial period, including Sidi Bel Abbes, home of the French Foreign Legion, is detailed for travelers to appreciate modern-day Algeria.  Additionally, all the practical details expected from a Bradt guide are covered.

Discover AlgeriaShiver as the sun rises over Assekrem, the mountains at the 'End of the World.'Rock the Casbah in Algiers, one of the finest coastal sites on the Mediterranean.Explore the best Roman ruins in Africa, and the oldest rock art in the world.Tie your turban like a Yuareg and be swept up in the magic of the world's greatest desert.In This Guide:The only English-language guidebook to the Sahara's most beautiful nation.Special chapter on Traveling in the Sahara, taking you into the depths of the desert.Visit lonelyplanet.com for up-to-the-minute reviews, updates and traveler suggestions.

The most complete survival guide for budget travelers in 34 Asian countries and the Russian republics. A whopping 452 maps, town plans, and transportation routes--all in easy-to-use formats--makes this a definitive guide for a long-haul trip around Asia. Detailed visa information is given on hard-to-enter countries and the latest news on border crossings. 16 color photos.