There can be few situations more fearful than breaking down in darkness on the highway leading to Casablanca. I have rarely felt quite so vulnerable or alone.

Buy a house in a foreign country and, it seems, that anything which can go wrong usually does.

It is almost impossible to overemphasize the importance with which ancestry is held in the Middle East and North Africa.

The taste for glory can make ordinary men behave in extraordinary ways.

The forest did not tolerate frailty of body or mind. Show your weakness, and it would consume you without hesitation.

Settling into a new country is like getting used to a new pair of shoes. At first they pinch a little, but you like the way they look, so you carry on. The longer you have them, the more comfortable they become. Until one day without realizing it you reach a glorious plateau. Wearing those shoes is like wearing no shoes at all. The more scuffed they get, the more you love them and the more you can't imagine life without them.

With an enthusiastic team you can achieve almost anything.