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The oasis has afforded you a night of respite from the heat of the Arabian desert. You awake in the predawn glow, feeling the cool stones of the well press against your back.

Before you can hear it, the breath of flapping wings ruffles by you in a dazzling rush of brilliant gold and scarlet feathers. A fabulous bird the size of an eagle lights on the well brim. It flutters into the water and bathes itself. Its song is so sweet you are mesmerized. Even the sun god, Re, pulling the new day behind him in his sky-borne chariot, stops to listen.

In all your journeys you never dared believe you would see such a wondrous sight, the Phoenix, bird of myth and legend. But here it is, the only one of its kind. Despite its size, the Phoenix crushes nothing it touches and is quite gentle. It feeds only on dewdrops and is wise with the accumulation of its 500 years.

But today you will see more than you imagined. The Phoenix knows its time is coming to an end. You watch as it fashions a nest made of fragrant myrrh and cinnamon at the top of a palm tree. Aghast, you see the Phoenix on its nest, burst into flames! But look, a miracle! From the ashes a new and radiant Phoenix rises! The young Phoenix now moulds a hollow egg made of myrrh and carefully deposits the ashes of the ancient Phoenix inside. Gently carrying its precious offering, the Phoenix flies to the temple of the Egyptian sun god and places the egg on the altar.

The young Phoenix, symbol of self-renewal and immortality, will also live to the ripe age of 500 before it repeats the scene you have just witnessed. Only one Phoenix lives at a time, sweetly greeting each new day in the same way as its predecessor and gathering wisdom to match its feathered brilliance.

Your travels however, do not end here. The Phoenix, while the only one of its kind, is not alone in the world of mythical birds. You’ve heard the legends of other lands and your wanderlust pulls you to a magical garden in the kingdom known as Russia.

It is midnight and velvety dark in the garden. You wait under the tree of golden apples favored by the Firebird for they are the source of its youth, beauty and immortality. Arriving like a comet out of the sky, the magnificent Firebird illuminates the night as brightly and warmly as a hundred torches. Its eyes glitter like crystals. When it sings, pearls fall from its beak. The song of the Firebird is said to heal the sick and give sight to the blind. A feather gently floats to the ground in front of you. You pick up the silvery gold plume. Shining like the sun, it lights your path from the garden onto the road east. Arriving in China, you find the mysterious bird born of the sun known as Feng-Huang. With radiant feathers of black, white, red, green and yellow, it too sings an enchanted song. In some areas of China it appears with a large bill, a snake’s neck, a tortoise back and a fish tail! In others, it shows itself with the head and comb of a pheasant and the tail feathers of a peacock. The Feng-Huang either carries two scrolls in its bill or a square box containing sacred books. Only the empress is allowed to wear its symbol of virtue, grace and power. You turn your attention in a southerly direction and continue your trek.

In India and Nepal, the Garuda drives the chariot of the sun god, Surya, on its daily path. You can’t believe your eyes! The bird’s shimmering emerald body is human with an eagle’s beak, golden wings and four arms. Two arms are folded in prayer, one holds an umbrella and the fourth carries the elixir of immortality. It is dawn and the Garuda motions to you to climb aboard the chariot and accompany him on his day’s journey. You fly across the ocean towards your next destination.

When the enchanted chariot delivers you to the American Prairie, the Native Americans share their reverence for the Thunderbird with you. The beating of its wings creates thunder and you are there the very moment this majestic and powerful bird shoots lightning from its beak! You will stay awhile to hear the magical stories of the Thunderbird.

This, then, is where our paths separate. If you choose to continue your travels in search of the magical birds of myth and legend, you are sure to make wondrous discoveries. There are so many lands yet to visit….