Trailer for “The Way”

Martin Sheen, plays Tom, an American doctor who comes to St. Jean Pied de Port, France to collect the remains of his adult son, killed in the Pyrenees in a storm while walking The Camino de Santiago, also known as The Way of Saint James.

Driven by his profound sadness and desire to understand

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The Living Bridges of Cherrapunji in Meghalya India

A bridge in Meghalaya constructed by the living roots of Fig Trees.

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The Pyramids at Giza circa 1920′s

A silent black & white film of the pyramids and Sphinx at Giza, Egypt from award-winning amateur filmmaker John V. Hansen’s travel footage, c. 1926-1930. The Pyramids at Giza are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. They are the only site from the “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World” list that are still in existence, and

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A Visit to Cairo’s City of the Dead

Cairo’s infamous “City of the Dead” is a centuries old cemetery that has become home to as many as 5 million Egyptians during the last decades. The buildings in the cemetery are like full-blown houses and the cemetery has long had mosques, school and markets. “The historic belief in Egypt is that the cemeteries are an active part of the community and not exclusively for the dead. Egyptians have not so much thought of cemeteries as a place of the dead, but rather a place where life begins.”

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HD Video: Wedding Celebration, Egyptian Village near Kom Ombo

On our last trip we docked near a small village in upper Egypt and went into the town (this is one of the advantages to sailing on a private dahabeya) where we ran across a wedding celebration. The local woman were dancing in the streets and they just spontaneously invited us to join them. It

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Video: The Afandina

Here’s a 7 minute promo video about our private luxury Nile cruise-ship “The Afandina.” Spirit Quest Tours’ next three trips will feature this incredible experience. Enjoy!

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Zahi Hawass Inside the Mysterious Tunnel in the Tomb of Seti I

I’ve had the great fortune of visiting this remarkable tomb several times. It’s normally closed and off limits, but I’ve been lucky enough to take groups inside it.

Here’s an interesting video about it: Zahi Hawass takes viewers deep into the mysterious tunnel that leads from the burial chamber of King Seti I. No explorer

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Abwoon D’Bashmaya – The Lords Prayer in Aramaic

This has long been one of my favorite sacred texts. Not only the pure sound of the Aramaic language, but the meaning of it as well. I grew up with a very different version in my head (as many of us did, I guess) and the differences between that, and this, are pretty profound. And

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Spirit Quest-ions: where is the one place you want to visit?

Where is the ONE place on the planet you would choose to go before your died? If you could only pick one place to visit – where is that, and why? It’s kind of a “desert island” question. I know – it sucks only being able to choose one.

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HD Video from Spirit Quest: The Alley of the Tent Makers

An unedited clip shot at a friend’s stall in the “Alley of the Tentmakers.”

This is truly authentic Egypt – not a place that tourists visit (though we take all of our groups). This is where you can find the most beautiful, intricate, hand-made quilts & embroidery at truly amazing prices.

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AMAZING period footage from Egypt, 1932.

Here’s an awesome piece of video – it’s period footage from Egypt circa 1932.

For those of you that know Cairo, this footage show a SHOCKINGLY clean city. Since the brits were in charge then the narration has more than just a whiff of colonial prejudice to it. For example…

“Across the street the Dragoman

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An interview with Paul Coelho: Author of “The Alchemist”

There’s a wonderful new interview with Paul Coelho that’s just been published in The Guardian.

Do you really believe in angels?

Yes.

Have you seen one?

No, I never saw an angel, but it is irrelevant whether I saw one or not. I feel their presence around me. Not the classic angel

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Video: A.J. Jacobs on his year of living biblically

About this talk

Speaking at the most recent EG conference, author, philosopher, prankster and journalist A.J. Jacobs talks about the year he spent living biblically — following the rules in the Bible as literally as possible.

About A.J. Jacobs

Immersing himself in alternate lifestyles and long, hilarious experiments (usually with himself the guinea pig), writer

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Video: Robert Thurman on becoming the Buddha

Here’s a wonderful TED talk video from Robert Thurman. I had dinner with Bob (some years ago, now) – he had steak, wine, brandy & cigars. I remember we discussed the point at which an animal or plant’s level of consciousness becomes an impediment to eating it. It was fascinating. I was also at a

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Video: Karen Armstrong’s charter for compassion

About this talk

People want to be religious, says scholar Karen Armstrong; we should act to help make religion a force for harmony. She asks the TED community to help her build a Charter for Compassion — to help restore the Golden Rule as the central global religious do.

About Karen Armstrong

Karen Armstrong is

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HD Video from Spirit Quest: Besakih Temple, Bali Indonesia

Here’s a brief handheld POV clip, shot with a pretty crappy camera, of worshipers streaming into (and out of) Besakih Temple on the slopes of Mt. Agung, in Bali Indonesia.

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Video: The Sword of God

I don’t know much more about this than that it’s from a 30 episode Arabic language TV series. It look pretty good – in a slightly Cecile B. DeMille way.

Anyway, the visuals are nicely intriguing and evocative.

Sword of God – Reel from aurora fearnley on Vimeo.

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Video: Interview with Ann Daniels of the Catlin Arctic Survey

Wow. Now this is an amazing story. Talk about travel with a higher purpose: these three people are traveling more than 600 miles over three months, in the most extreme and dangerous condition you can imagine, in order to measure the polar ice cap. Here are three videos: two interviews with the leaders and overview of the expedition.

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HD Spirit Quest Video: Coptic Liturgy at the Cathedral of Deir Anba Bishoy

HD video from the Cathedral of Deir Anba Bishoy in Wadi Natrun.

A Coptic priest performs a portion of the liturgy during preparations for the communion service.

This was part of the “transubstantiation” as the wine and bread are transformed into the body and blood of Christ. The big “bundle” in the center of the

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John Cleese Taking the Piss out of Tour Guides

Here’s a video podcast of the inimitable Mr. Cleese making fun of standard issue tour guides.

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Now THIS guy is on a Spirit Quest!

I expect that by now many of you have seen the “Where the Hell is Matt” video – but it’s worth spreading the meme further. It’s terrific – Matt both lives in Seattle and worked in, then left, the videogame business. Even terrificer!

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NG VIDEO: Biblioteca Alexandria

Here’s a wonderful video from National Geographic about the New Alexandria Library. I had the great good-fortune to be invited by UNESCO to present a paper at the library’s grand opening back in 2001. It’s an amazing structure that rivals anything found in Europe or America. We always try and add the library (and Alex) to our Spirit Quest Tours Egyptian itineraries.

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NG VIDEO: Destination Egypt

I ran across this very nice introduction to Egypt from National Geographic. These are all sites we visit on a Spirit Quest Tours trip – but we do them PRIVATELY!!! Imagine ;-)

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Video from Spirit Quest Tours: The Spirit of Bali

Here’s a video slide-show of hundreds of beautiful shots from our recent “Sacred Mandala Pilgrimage” to Bali.

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HD Video from Spirit Quest Tours: The Spirit of Egypt

I’ve just discovered a terrific video streaming/sharing technology for HD video called Vimeo. Since we’re shooting and editing in High Definition these days I was extremely happy to find something that it offered much better quality than Google or You Tube (all the way up to streaming HD), and I decided to repost the “Spirit of Egypt” video using it.

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Video: The Spirit of Egypt

Beautiful images from Egypt: the people, the cities, the land, the temples and the Nile.

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Spirit Quest Tours: The Spirit of Moses

Presentation about Spirit Quest Tours upcoming “Spirit of Moses” trip to Egypt and the Sinai – featuring 4 star accommodations, private temple and site visits (including a private visit to the Great Pyramid and Sphinx), a deluxe Nile cruise and much more.

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The Use of Sound in Ancient Rituals

Two recent news stories – from very different parts of the world – help to confirm what we’ve known for a very long time: namely that sound was an integral part of ancient spiritual practices and that resonance was a key technology that was recognized, understood, and used, by the ancients.

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