The Pyramids of Meroë (Sudan)

Along the banks of the Nile River, in eastern Sudan, lies a collection of nearly 200 ancient pyramids in the desert. Built between 2,700 and 2,300 years ago, many of them are tombs of the kings and queens of the ancient Meroitic Kingdom. The pyramids have narrow bases and steep angles on the sides and contain elements from the cultures of Pharaonic Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

Colourful Interiors of Old Town Ghadames (Ghadames/ Libya)

These fantastic interiors are part of the Old Town in Ghadames - a protected heritage site in Libya. The white-washed walls of the city give it the nickname 'Pearl of the desert".
The mud houses usually have no windows, only small ventilation openings to maintain a cool temperature inside during summer and a warm habitat in the cold winter nights. The interiors are painted with intricate Berber designs, using red paint on white walls, and decorated with hanging ornaments. The traditional Berber designs used include triangles, diamonds, the sun, the moon, the palm, the eye, the hand, and the Tuareg cross.

Painted Mud Huts of Tiébélé (Tiébélé/ Burkina Faso)

These beautifully decorated mud huts are the work of the Kassena people, an old ethnic group in the West African country of Burkina Faso, which is very poor in terms of money but but rich in culture.
Just before the rainy season the village women decorate the walls with images of everyday life, symbols of religious inspiration or just pretty patterns. The layers of paint and natural home-made varnish serve as a protection from the oncoming rain and help the structures last longer.

The Bar inside a Baobab Tree (Modjadjiskloof/ South Africa)

The Sunland Baobab is an enormous tree on the Sunland Farm in South Africa's Limpopo Province. The tree is famous for having a bar and a wine cellar inside it's naturally hollowed trunk. The bar was created in 1993 and can fit up to 15 people at a time.
The age of the tree itself has been carbon dated to being over 1000 years old.

Anakato Nubian Guest House (near Aswan/ Egypt)

"Built as a traditional Nubian house, this colourful guest house offers a tree-framed terrace over the Nile River. The rooms of the Anakato are simply furnished. They are decorated in traditional style, with bright contrasting colours."

Sarova Saltlick Game Lodge (Taita Hills/ Kenya)

This bush lodge in the Taita Hills Sanctuary is built on stilts above watering holes connected by walkways, making for close encounters of the wildlife below.

Desert Breath (El Gouna/ Egypt)

This mysterious pattern in the Sahara desert is a land art project created in 1997 by the D.A.ST. Arteam called "Desert Breath".

It stretches over 100,000 m2 and 8,000 m3 of sand had to be moved to create the cones. The centre is a 30-metre diameter vessel filled with water.

"The project is rooted in the team’s mutual desire to work in the desert. For D.A.ST. the desert was a place where one experiences infinity. They were addressing the desert as a state of mind, a landscape of the mind. The point of departure was the conical form, the natural formation of the sand as a material."

Over time it is slowly disintegrating, but still looks very impressive today. See it on google maps here: Click

Liza Bruce's Moroccan Villa (Ourika Valley/ Morocco)

When Liza Bruce & husband Nicholas Alvis Vega bought this place it had been abandoned since the 1970s. But thanks to Nicholas' architectural skills and Morocco's skilled artisans they were able to transform it into what Liza calls her ‘pleasure palace’, featuring a roof terrace, gardens, swimming pool and a traditional hammam steam bath.

Tamimi Giraffe Manor (near Nairobi/ Kenya)

Located 20km from Nairobi city this luxury boutique hotel has maintained its 1930ies charm & is famous for its resident herd of Rothschild Giraffe.
"Giraffe Manor offers you an unparalleled experience of the giraffes, with them vying for your attention at the breakfast table, the front door and even your bedroom window."

It is also home to many other animals such as warthogs, bushbuck, dik dik, more than 180 species of birds while offering striking views of the Ngong hills.

Shoe house (Mpumalanga/ South Africa)

The ‘shoe house’ is the work of artist and hotelier Ron Van Zyl, who built it for his wife Yvonne in 1990. The shoe houses a little museum of sorts, showcasing Van Zyl’s wood carvings. The shoe is part of a complex that includes an eight-chalet guest house, camp site, restaurant, pool and bar.

Aeroplane (Bergville/ South Africa)

Matmâta (Tunisia)

If you're a Star Wars fan you should visit Matmata, Tunisia. Much of Tatooine was set, and filmed, in the historic troglodyte home structures. Lars Homestead, home to Luke Skywalker, his Aunt Beru Lars and Uncle Owen Lars for the Star Wars movies, was in fact the Hotel Sidi Driss, which offers traditional troglodyte accommodations.

Earth Lodge (Johannesburg/ South Africa)

Baron Empain Palace (Cairo/ Egypt)

Dogon village (near Bandiagara/ Mali)

The Dogon people are best known for their mythology,
their mask dances, wooden sculpture and their architecture.