These photos are predominantly of life in desert landscapes, by their nature. Egypt presents difficulty for the novice tour leader in the sheer amount of history that one needs to grasp, although its geography is largely limited to the Nile valley, the Western desert is fascinating, too.

Algeria is a tough place to work, too; conditions can be very spartan in the centre of the Sahara, as many wrecks and bones testify. It is such a humbling and eye-opening experience to see the art in the rock shelters of the Tassili plateau, showing how the landscape has changed in the space of human history. Both places suffer greatly from bad press although any visitor will attest to the kind welcome they actually find from the people around them, despite our blithe disregard for local mores.