Alexander Stuart

I was emailing a British friend, Mark Willenbrock , in Morocco and he emailed back, "I am in the Sahara." I remarked that it was amazing that he could email from the Sahara on his Blackberry (especially when I can't get iPhone reception in parts of Topanga Canyon) and that I hoped he would enjoy some hot mint tea while he was there - some years ago, when I visited the Sahara, I was invited into a rather grand tent by a local Berber tribesman and served delicious hot tea in a glass on a silver tray. Moments later, this photograph arrived, also from Mark's Blackberry. It struck me how extraordinarily connected our world is - I was sitting in Los Angeles at about 5:30am and he was taking tea in the Sahara. ( Tea in the Sahara is also the title of Book One of Paul Bowles' magnificent novel, The Sheltering Sky .) ( Photograph by Mark Willenbrock. )