Down to earth travel

What are we all about?

We are two female tour leaders who started our careers in the Middle East and consequently had our eyes opened by this troubled and misrepresented but fascinating region, its culture, way of life, the food and the feeling of coming home.

Stepping off a plane in the Middle East to us is like having a huge comfort blanket wrapped round us. Spending so much time here allowed us to appreciate the friendliness, the kindness and the wicked sense of humour that makes you instantly relax.

Over the years we built up a vast network of contacts in Turkey, Syria Jordan and Egypt who subsequently became our good friends, great contacts and enabled us to explore lesser known regions and being able to interact with local men and even the women – often a more tricky obstacle to overcome.

Our contacts are now not just colleagues but great family friends, so much so that it feels like you are coming home.


“Families are like branches on a tree.
We grow in different directions yet our roots remain as one.”

Kara Cheshire

Tour Leader

Kara was previously a tour leader through the Middle East for around 3 years, travelling through Turkey, Syria, Jordan and Egypt.

Following the Arab Spring when tours were no longer running, she moved to Umm Saiyhoun – the bedouin village of Petra and married a local bedouin whom she had met during her tour leading days.

In 2013, her husband sadly passed away in a car accident, but Kara stayed in the village for a few more years. Before taking some more tour leading work across the world including Russia, China, Mongolia, Iran, Georgia and Armenia.

During her time as a tour leader in Jordan, and then after moving to Petra, she soon learned that Jordan has a wealth of adventure opportunities waiting to be discovered.

Jordan sits on the Great Rift Valley providing a huge extent of canyons and valleys leading down to the deserts, which in turn provides a great number of opportunities for exploring and having amazing adventures.

As well as adventure opportunities, Jordan has a wealth of history. Being at the centre of historical trading routes and as a result of numerous conquests there are plenty of archaeological sites and ruins of interest.

Living in Petra has given Kara a unique opportunity to become part of Bedouin village life. The Bedouin of Petra are the people who have the greatest knowledge of all the surrounding area. It has been their playground for many, many years. Hence, the guides we provide for our adventures in this region are the ones with the most expert knowledge. It also provides a chance for you to learn about the Bedouin culture.

Carly Fillis

Tour Leader

After many years of adventure Carly found work as a Tour Leader in the Middle East for a couple of years and Syria became her home, immersing herself in to the community and culture she lived in Aleppo, Syria until March 2012.

Adventure, solitude, nature, and love for the deserts draw her back to the Middle East again and again. Gaining further knowledge and experience she worked as a freelance guide and led horse riding tours in Jordan and Georgia, and hiking and adventure tours in Sudan, Pakistan, Algeria, Oman, aswell as guiding in the ‘No go’ areas of Southern Iraq and finally back into Syria.

Over 10 years experience as a Tour Leader in the Middle East she is Qualified HEFAT (Hostile Environment Awareness Training) and Wilderness First Aid trained, an experienced horse rider and Paraglide licence holder.