Amsterdam tourists can marry a local for a day, go on a date while weeding or pluck and eat a city pigeon in a new initiative designed to combat the negative effects of overtourism. Visitor numbers to Amsterdam are predicted to jump to almost 29 milli…
Year: 2019
Did the Romans really reach Scotland?
Hadrian’s Wall, the ancient marvel that snakes through northern England, quite rightly steals the show when it comes to the frontiers of Roman Britain. It’s a spectacular sight, rolling poetically over hillsides and serving up ruins of fortification…
The city of Naein

[By Behzad Bagheri in Isfahan, Iran] Na’in (also known as Naein and Naeen) lies 170 km north of Yazd and 140 km east of Esfahan.It has a desert climate. In an old home An old home in Nain Some sketches from Jameh mosque of Nain Mohammadieh is…
Sudanese Artists Plan to Unveil the World’s Largest Protest Banner

Sudanese artists preparing the 1.9 miles long Sudan Banner (all photos courtesy Sari Awad) Almost two months after toppling Sudan’s three-decade ruler Omar al Bahsir, activists in Khartoum continue their protests as talks between the opposition and t…
Wonderful Photos of Postwar New York City in 1946

1948 Sixth Avenue between 43rd and 44th Streets Todd Webb (1905-200) was discharged from the US Navy in 1945. Before fighting in the war, Todd had worked as a stockbroker, a field in which he’d enjoyed notable success til losing all his money in th…
‘I was asked ‘how does it feel to be back in the city you saved?”
ITN journalist Paul Davies was the only journalist to report from the seige in Dubrovnik during the conflict in 1991. He put his life at risk to smuggle reports out of the city. Paul was even called to give evidence when Slobodan Miloševi? was tried fo…
Koppal: historical, sacred & beautiful

Surrounded by lush green hills on all three sides is the Koppal district of Karnataka. Also known as ‘Jaina Kashi’, meaning the ‘sacred place of Jains’, this place was earlier known as ‘Kopana Nagara’. Koppal, which was under the Hyderaba…
Afghanistan: Floods threaten communities, minaret of Jam | DW | 25.05.2019

The most recent rain storms started on Thursday and have hit large areas of Afghanistan, including the capital, Kabul. Floods have swamped communities where people had already been displaced by winter flooding. At least 24 people have died and 11 have b…
The Lost Romance of the Transylvanian Spa Town

We walked with ghosts through a crumbling spa town in the valley of the Cerna river, where Empresses and Kings of Bohemia once came to “take the waters”. An early morning mist rose from the sulphurs of the riverbed, crawling through the empty street…
Archaeologists May Have Found the Place Where Roman Emperors Were Baptized

Hagia Sophia, a 6th century CE cathedral which now serves as a museum within the city of Istanbul, Turkey (image by Derzsi Elekes Andor via Wikimedia). The latest book from Byzantine archaeologists Ken Dark and Jan Kostenec, Hagia Sophia in Context: An …
This Summer, Public Benefits Recipients Can Visit San Francisco Museums for Free

Installation view of Vija Celmins: To Fix the Image in Memory at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (photo by Elisa Wouk Almino/Hyperallergic) This summer, San Francisco residents who receive public benefits will be eligible for free admission to …
The true cost of Islamic State’s archaeological looting in Syria is becoming clear

The Islamic State surrendered its last scrap of territory, in Baghouz, Syria, this past March. While some argue that celebrations of IS’s demise are premature, there’s no question that the terrorist group left a trail of destruction in its wake. Man…
Essence of Agra

There was a silence in the car, the kind usually reserved for family get-togethers where no one approves of one another. Our driver Rashid though, had launched enthusiastically into the history and geography of the very thing responsible for all that hu…
Iraqis turn to ecotourism to save marshes

Abu Hayder, an Iraqi ecotourism guide, navigates a canoe in the marshes of the southern district of Chibayish in Dhi Qar province. Image Credit: AFP Chibayish, Iraq – Thirty years after Saddam Hussain starved them of water, Iraq’s southern marsh…
Bogor Botanical Gardens make it to tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites
The Bogor Botanical Gardens in Bogor, West Java, known for their vast plant collection and historical value of their buildings and landscape, has been included in the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites following a proposal by the government t…
Budapest: Heaven in Hungary

The capital of Hungary, Budapest, is also the hub and center for transportation, culture, politics, industry, and commerce in the country. The city began as a Celtic settlement that grew to become one city with its own personality, own culture, and own …
The Urbach Tower Is A New Landmark In Germany That Was Built From Self-Shaping Wood

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How to visit Göbeklitepe: The world’s oldest temple
Open to visitors and located just 12 kilometers from stunning ?anl?urfa, visiting Göbeklitepe should definitely be on everyone’s bucket list. The year 2019 has been declared “The Year of Göbeklitepe” and in March President Recep Tayy…
Hadrian’s fall- selfie-obsessed tourists cause wall to collapse | IOL Travel

The remains of the wall were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. Photo AP/Jerry Harmer. It kept out would-be marauders for centuries – but it seems that Hadrian’s Wall is no match for selfie-obsessed tourists. Visitors climbing on the 1…
Rio Really is a Marvelous City. Are we Taking That for Granted? | The Rio Times

By Scott Salmon RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Rio de Janeiro is undeniably one of the world’s most naturally gifted places. Like just a few cities in the new world–Cape Town, Sydney, Vancouver and Wellington–it has an international reputation based o…