We always get thrilled when we hear of another groundbreaking (literally and figuratively) archaeological excavation. Due to technology, they're happening ever more frequently with sometimes stunning quality. Situated in southeastern Turkey, the subterranean city of Matiate has recently been unearthed and is truly gasp-inducing in its size and quality. To give you an…
History
If you're a regular reader, you'll know how much we love old. Old buildings, ancient sites, historical locations. When you think of how many of these incredible places are hundreds of years old, and they still function, live and thrive. And then, give a pause to those that were destroyed or simply…
Mother Earth is still fighting the good fight, despite so many of us giving her a hard time. She keeps warning us, but many of us are still not listening. And if things keep going the way that they are, there won't be any rooms where she will send us when we've misbehaved:…
The force is strong, young one. It’s been 45 years since the first Star Wars blew us all away in theaters, and the impact and memories of that first film (and many of the others) are an embedded part of the psyches of most generations, worldwide. Classics do not pay justice to the film franchise.…
This post is aimed at those who don't take things too seriously. And, we mean that. But hopefully your sense of humour is intact. And, at the end of you reading this, if you find yourself in that part of the world, the activity is real and it is a place where…
The Sixties were a wild time. Free love. The Beatles. International travel and intrigue. Modern art. Groovy personalities. Two of which we feature here: Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Arguably among the top ten stars during that spectacular decade, they made the world their oyster. One of their best…
If you haven't tries churros yet, then run, don't walk, to your local Latin eatery. You will likely not leave your chair for some time, so wear comfortable clothes. Be prepared to relax after eating them, as they are deceptively "narcotic" in their hedonistic scrumptiousness. But what are churros? A churro…
In ancient Rome, thermae (from Greek θερμός thermos, "hot") and balneae (from Greek βαλανεῖον balaneion) were facilities for bathing. Thermae usually refers to the large imperial bath complexes, while balneae were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed in great numbers throughout Rome.[1] Most Roman cities had at least one – if not many – such buildings, which were centres not only for bathing, but socializing and reading as well.…
People often gasp when they visit British Columbia (BC). Visit places like Vancouver, and you will see a shiny new metropolis bursting with energy, diversity, world-awareness and history.
This article is about some of the history.
Fishermen still ply the seas. The amount of timber in BC is sometimes hard to fathom - it just goes on…
Say what you will about Social Media, one thing that it's done (well) is to open our eyes and minds to places that we may not have heard of, or perhaps have heard of but have not seen. Even if you consider yourself well-travelled, you can be sure that you've probably just scratched the…
Even Einstein failed... You might be on holiday, and perhaps things are not going the way you wanted them to. You've been waiting for years to get into the Prado or the Louvre. But, on the day, things just start to go south. Maybe it's raining. Maybe the queues are too…
We love history, here at Matouring, especially when you can touch it. And we're grateful to large companies when they spend the time and the money to maintain their history, even if it entails spending a rather large chunk of money. And, some companies actually take the time to do it properly, where…
If you read our website fairly regularly, you'll know that we're in love with the old fashioned. Historical buildings, timeless locations, options to not just read about the past, but to also be able to see it, touch it and feel like "we were there." In every country, there are countless opportunities to…
Soon, there will be a new kid in town. If all goes well, in 2023 The East African Federation (EAF,) a proposed political union of the seven sovereign states of the East African Community – Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda – will merge as a single…
Sweden, like most of the Nordic countries of Europe, is a marvelous place. Clean, progressive, egaliatarian, world-aware and full of smart people whom we could learn a lot from. But one thing that the Swedes don't do is small talk. No chit-chat. Short and sweet. Unlike most other cultures in the…
We're not too young here at Matouring, so we remember things. Back in the 1970's, the "earth" movement really took hold. Healthy food, lifestyle and clean thoughts were at the top of the list for most "aware" folks back then. Out of that heady period came a genuine interest in making the…
There are thousands of hotels around the world who will give you what you want. But what if you don't know what you want, or want something completely different? We have a suggestion. Offering rooms and suites set in large caves, Le Grotte della Civita is located in the Matera's Sassi area, a…
You may recall that some time back, we created a post on Tollund Man. In 1950, the Tollund man was found in a peat bog west of Silkeborg. The interesting thing about Tollund man is that he was preserved in peat and was in incredibly good condition when found. He was also accompanied by…
We humans, despite our many flaws, do manage to do a thing or two that more or less redeems us. When we read the news nowadays (and by that nowadays means decades) it feels like there are not many good things to cheer about. Wars, strife, inequity, selfishness (and all of the sub-products…
As you travel, you're almost always surprised and delighted when, in the least likely of places, a house or an office or some form of public works stuns you with its beauty or originality. In today's world of cookie-cutter homes and offices, we're thankful when an art lover with money collides with designers who…