As a Canadian expat living in Cairo, Egypt, I wanted to give viewers a taste of what I think makes this wonderfully chaotic metropolis so unique. I have included both the notable historic landmarks and the obscure, culturally distinctive elements which give Cairo so much character.

The design of this map of Ancient Egypt, with illustrations placed in compartments around it, is roughly based on the style of Joan Blaeu. He was a 17th century Dutch cartographer. I tried to make my own modern version!

Then and now in my 'nayba wood' (neighbourhood)

Primates and the national parks you can find them in the South of Uganda. Including mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, grey cheeked mangabey, Ugandan red colobus, L'hoest's monkey, eastern black and white colobus, blue monkey, golden monkey, red tailed monkey, olive baboon, vervet monkey, potto, and bush babies. Parks: Kibale Forest National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park. I used elements from a fabric collection I collected for Blend Fabrics.

One year ago today, I was in the middle of savanna, Masai Mara National Reserve, in Kenya. It was amazing to see all these wildlife from giant elephants to lion's prides to a strayed wild beast. There was so much to see, not only big animals, but also small insects and quirky plants! Can you find a tiny glowworm in the map? :)))))

A map of Downtown Johannesburg ,Gauteng South Africa

Map of buildings downtown johannesburg

map of maboneng

An illustration of the old town of Antananarivo. On the top of the hill, there is Rova, a palace complex with buildings that, despite the bad conditions, are stunning.

Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa. It takes 6 days to climb it via the Machame Route, traversing rainforest, heather, moorland, alpine desert and arctic zones.

This is a map of Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, which is near Nanyuki. It is a wildlife preserve / national park home to Africa's greatest animals, and it's one of my favorite places on earth.

Some curious signs from around the Rainbow Nation. South Africans tell it like it is and are never without a sense of humour. Many of these signs I saw with my own eyes, and at first they were shocking. I lived near Cape Town when my oldest child was a baby, and my husband is originally from Johannesburg. Many fond memories.

The magical Island of Madagascar is famous for its bizarre wildlife! Here you can find irresistibly cute lemurs, dozens of species of chameleon including the world's smallest and largest, and strikingly beautiful fossa!!