Samson and Goliath, the huge gantry cranes of Belfast’s Harland and Wolff shipyard, still dominate the city skyline though the incessant din of heavy shipbuilding is now but a memory. The company, which once employed more than 10,000 skilled craftsm
Read more…Dubai, located in the Middle Eastern desert. is not well known for its parks and gardens. So it may come as a surprise that Dubai does in fact have several beautiful parks and gardens located throughout the city, and make a fabulous and inexpensive
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Kashan is an ancient city of some 433,000 in north central Iran, some two hours south of capital Teheran, and its name is tied in the minds of Iranians to its carpets, silks and other textiles - but also golab (rosewater), with its annual rosewater
Great meals accompany great moments - they are usually inseparable. And the resort town of Tulum, on the Riviera Maya of Mexico's Caribbean coast, offers not just gorgeous beaches and the only seaside Mayan ruins in existence (above), but also myria
The last decade of the 19th century and the first of the 20th saw a spate of big cities - mostly in Europe and the USA - launch a new era of urban transit by opening underground rail systems. And we as travellers can be extremely grateful, as the
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The City of Light is one of the world's top destinations for good reason - popular for its art, culture, cuisine, museums, and architecture from medieval to modern. Also known for its romance, Paris offers visitors an amazing holiday - really, with
Not for its ambrosial Ube (purple-yam) jam or the warm, English-speaking Igorots (the traditional peoples inhabiting the surrounding region). Not even for the glorious pine trees that hug the city or the smiling sunflowers that romance the hills, B
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The capital of Georgia has become a formidable tourist destination in recent years. And of course when it comes to visiting, the first thing to think about is your hotel. The three top areas with the best Atlanta hotels are Downtown, Buckhead, and
We all identify Agra with the Taj Mahal. But this city of 1.6 million in Uttar Pradesh state noted for its monumental buildings of 16th and 17th century when it was the capital of the Muslim Mughal (aka Mogul) Empire is far more than that. For examp
The two buildings look across the crowded square at each other. Like Istanbul itself, they both divide and join the citizens and their history. Represented within these two great landmarks is the core of the city’s heritage. If the buildings were pe
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Perhaps the closest thing Latin America has to New York City (and in fact also has the Big Apple beat population-wise by several million - nearly 12 million/21 in metro area), São Paulo is a vibrant - some might say slightly crazy - and skyscraper-
Europe - and the world - tempt with many amazing travel destinations, but Croatia in some ways is in a class by itself. Known for its stunning coastline, mouthwatering cuisine, and intriguing culture, Croatia should be one of the countries for your
The Arab world's most famous capital of glitz in the desert is full of man-made wonders surrounded by dramatic dunes and great beaches. And with all the breathless chatter about towers such as the Burj Al-Arab and Burj Al-Khalifa; the Dubai Mall and
In recent years, Central America has become a major destination for adventure and ecotourism, beaches, and culture, and lately the star of its largest country Nicaragua, has been on the rise - the bad old days of post-earthquake trauma
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As we all know, the capital of Costa Rica is San José. But it was not always thus. A bit over an hour's drive to the west is a city dubbed the "Vieja Metrópoli" (Old Metropolis). The first successful settlement by the invading Spaniards, in 1563, Ca
Especially for travelers to Europe on a budget, there's no better place to hang out than the capital of Portugal, considered one of the continent's most affordable countries. But even apart from that, it's a romantic city with amazing history, cultu
Also spelled Esfahan, this city in central Iran - a five-hour drive or hourlong flight south of Tehran - is the country's top tourist destination for very good reason. Dating back as far as 2700 BCE to the pre-Persian Elamite civilization, Iran's th
