Desert Bonds: A Father and Son’s Middle East Odyssey

This extraordinary and timely new book is by father and his son team, Dermod and Denis Dwyer.

It is the story of a remarkable 3,500-kilometer road-trip through the Middle East in 2024. Less than six months after the murderous Hamas attack on Israel, and Israel’s controversial retaliatory war against Hamas in Gaza, they travelled in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the West Bank and throughout Israel, right up to the Gazan northern border.

Theirs is a fascinating story, told through many voices and beautifully illustrated with maps and colour photographs throughout. This first edition, 300-page full colour book is beautifully produced and printed in high quality.

Dermod and Denis began their special road trip, setting off from Ireland in April 2024 and heading for The Levant, the region of the Middle East that is the cradle of civilisation but which sadly continues to witness turmoil and appalling bloodshed. They spent 22-days in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the West Bank and Israel, including time at the Erez Crossing into and out of Gaza.

Exploring these ancient lands with the best guides and travel companions imaginable, and through the warm welcome from the people they met, their understanding of the region was both deepened and challenged. Their book offers a vivid on-the-ground portrait of this most complex and fascinating region, including the sights and sounds, the harrowing stories, but most of all the warmth, lived experiences and hopes of the people they encountered.

They danced in Damascus and got lost in Beirut. They explored Baalbek, Palmyra, and Petra, and went to the Holy Fire Easter event in Jerusalem. They witnessed the annual Holocaust memorial ceremony at Yad Vashem, and met Palestinian police officers in Bethlehem. Everywhere they went, they were among the very few international visitors to the region, which had since slipped further into an ever widening conflict in Lebanon once again enveloping Syria.

The trip challenged their pre-travel preconceptions of each of the countries visited, as well as of the regional claims and counterclaims. The multi-dimensional overlay of thousands of years of history soon became apparent to them – through the stories of the nations, tribes, migrants, refugees and dispossessed who each claim different parts of The Levant as their homeland.

Their book, which includes first person contributions from some of the people and guides they met, is illustrated throughout with colour photographs taken by them. This is the story of their journey, interwoven with descriptions of travel, border crossings, historic sights, and lasting impressions. Sadly, many of the places they visited have since been drawn into the horrific regional conflict. Lebanon, Beirut, Baalbek, Syria, Aleppo, Hama and Palmyra all have been devastated in recent days and over the last couple of months.