For 1,000 years, homes dug into a desert cliff have sheltered olive farmers and sheep herders from summer heat and winter cold. But an exodus threatens its future. “We are left alone here.”
Tag: Deserts
The Austere Beauty of Egypt’s Long-Distance Hiking Trails
Two new routes, managed by Bedouins, will help preserve long-overlooked natural wonders and a vanishing way of life.
His Estate Has 3 Swimming Pools and a Stable. He Says He’s Not Rich.
A rare look inside a Qatari home offers a glimpse at how the lucrative gas industry has transformed the formerly poor, barren country.
Afghanistan Tries to Stamp Out Opium Again
The multibillion-dollar trade has survived previous bans. Now, the Taliban are going after solar-powered water pumps to try to dry up poppy crops in the middle of a national economic crisis.
Iraqis Choke Under a Blanket of Dust as Sandstorms Sweep the Country
Orange skies signaled yet another dusty day for millions of Iraqis. It was the seventh such storm in recent months, and experts say more are on the way.
A Photographer’s View of Jordan’s Many Splendors
For 10 days, a photojournalist drove across Jordan from north to south, visiting several of the country’s most treasured sites. Here’s what he saw.
The Eerie, Lunar Nothingness of Namibia’s Skeleton Coast
The stretch of coastline in southwest Africa is a strange and beautiful reminder that, in the end, we are powerless against nature and time.
A Slow-Motion Climate Disaster: The Spread of Barren Land
Brazil’s northeast, long a victim of droughts, is now effectively turning into a desert. The cause? Climate change and the landowners who are most affected.
Plagues Strike Egypt: Sudden Floods, Then Scorpions Called Deathstalkers
Swept from desert burrows, hundreds, if not thousands, of scorpions skittered into villages, stinging at least 503 people.
The 11th Plague: Four-Inch Scorpions Called Deathstalkers Descend on Egypt
Driven from underground by what seemed like a storm of biblical fury, hundreds or maybe thousands of the angry arthropods attacked humans with their storied stingers.