In the middle of Peru's parched, dusty Nazca Desert, you'll find one of the world's most fascinating archaeological enigmas: the Nazca Lines. These are ancient geoglyphs located on the Pampas de Jumana between the towns of Nazca and Palpa, a 5½-hour
One of the most famous structures at Turkey's ancient ruins of Ephesus is the Celsus Library. It is often featured on picture postcards and has also been shown on the country’s notes of currency. While on a guided tour, free time is given at this so
The world’s third most populous city is one of those places which are of course home to some of the most iconic historic sights on the planet, and now a heady mix of the old and the new China. Though compared to when I first visited back in 1993 swa
The allures of the tiny Central American country of El Salvador are still not all that well known beyond its borders. Furthermore, local tourism, even though ramping up infrastructure, has been further challenged by perceptions of insecurity, though
A few years ago, the fact that an island was the birthplace of one of the USA's Founding Fathers, Alexander Hamilton, would have elicited very little excitement. But in recent years, since the advent of the hit Broadway musical Hamiliton, Nevis is
Sightseers at a setting near Boston enjoy a leisurely stroll through a magnificent 18th-century garden. A man in Texas plays president as he reads a speech from a teleprompter. Children in California take a pretend horseback ride with Ronald Rea
Back before, during, and after the American Revolution (1776-1983) and the years leading up to it, New York City was as now the largest and one of the most important cities of the nascent United States of America – and in fact even served as the
The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta has been described as the world’s most important concentration of endangered wildlife on the planet. In the past, it was scarred by drug crops and off limits to tourists because of the dangers posed by Colombia’s no
If this was not in fact the highest point in Dublin, it certainly felt like it. After climbing the 198 steps to the top of Glasnevin Cemetery's Daniel O’Connell Tower (below) - Ireland's highest round tower - I was able to gaze over the entire ci
Founded in 1115 and situated in a narrow valley in the south of the Dordogne, the Abbey de Cadouin is classified as a 'monument historique'. For 800 years this Cistercian abbey drew in pilgrims making the journey to view a sacred piece of cloth belie
At this beach on the Gulf of Gokova, in the southeast Aegean Sea, legend says that Cleopatra and Marc Anthony bathed at the beach, leading to it being known as Cleopatra’s Island. On this stunning island, the beach is made u
Welcome to February! Since 1970, it's also been Black History Month in the USA, and since 1995 in Canada, as well (whereas it's observed in October in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Netherlands). And though the reason for the African diaspo
India has been a land of rich history and heritage Some of the prominent religion of the world grew here. Powerful dynasties and clans rules India time to time and left their mark on the heart of the country. Right from Mughals to Rajputs, and Briti
Ephesus was a Greek city founded approximately 3,000 years ago in Asia Minor in what is now western Turkey, near a town called Selçuk. A visit here - often during a Mediterranean cruise port call at Kuşadasi - gives the imaginative global traveler
Iranian architecture reflects the rich history and culture of the country, especially its ornamental tiles and clever engineering masterpieces, yielding for example an amazing 20 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Here are ten that visitors to Iran shoul
Edo is the old name for Tokyo and the Edo period was a thriving time in the "Kanto" region of Eastern Japan. There are several places – in both Tokyo and Tochigi [refectures – where the old Edo atmosphere still lives on -- in architecture, crafts,
A short boat ride out into the Atlantic Ocean from Cape Town, just over five square kilometres (2 sq. miles) in size, sandy Robben Island (robben being Afrikaans for seal) was always remote and largely uninhabited (except at one point for a whalin
One of Persia's oldest cities, and now one of Iran's most beautiful as well as its fifth larges (pop. 1.7 million), Shiraz in the country's southwest (a ten-hour drive from capital Teheran, or an hour-and-twenty-minute flight) is a city of history a
Two historic forts are situated at each end of the Niagara River. Step back in time to the War of 1812 and witness re-enactments of battles past. The Niagara Falls area of Canada's Ontario province is brimming with history, and Fort George and Old Fo