In more than 25 years of working as a freelance journalist, writer and analyst, I have covered stories that range from earthquakes to bank runs and camel wrestling to civil war.

Amongst the titles I have appeared in over the years are Foreign Policy, The International New York Times, The New York Times, Al Jazeera English, Foreign Affairs, Asia Times, Washington Diplomat, World Politics Review, CNBC Asia, The Middle East, Institutional Investor, The Boston Globe, CNN Traveller, The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, The Guardian, The Express, The Irish Times, Development Post and The New Yorker.

Based on several decades of first-hand experience, I have a deep knowledge of the Near and Middle East, having intensively covered Turkey, Cyprus and Greece for many publications over many years, while also possessing an in-depth knowledge of the countries of the Arabian Gulf – particularly Qatar, the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

I also covered the Sri Lankan civil war from 2006-2009 for Al Jazeera English and The Guardian and have returned there several times since 2015 to report on the country’s economic and political development. This has also given me an interest in Indian Ocean affairs, reporting from the Horn of Africa to Myanmar. 

I also wrote Trailblazer’s guidebook to travelling the Mediterranean by ferry, The Mediterranean Handbook, and contributed to the Time Out Istanbul guide and the Rough Guide to Turkey.

Since 2005, I have also been a major contributor to the Oxford Business Group’s country reports, including those on Jordan, Qatar, Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Oman in the Middle East; Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand in Southeast Asia; and Sri Lanka in South Asia.

For examples of recent work, click on the portfolio link at the top of the page.

Contact me on jpgorvett@mac.com

For my latest travel blog entries, try Junkie Rats of Munduk