Encounters with the Middle East collects 30 rich, engaging travel stories that capture uplifting scenes from everyday life and deliver sensitive, bittersweet renderings of people and landscapes often shaken by conflict. This book, with black and white photographs throughout, features original takes on commonplace "things to do" for the traveler in the Middle East -- from marveling at the brilliance of the bazaars to drifting down the Nile in afelucca. It also provides intimate portrayals of people and traditions too often absent from books on the region.