Safranbolu is an Ottoman village declared world heritage by UNESCO. You cannot leave Turkey without visiting it. And that's why tourists from various parts of the world go there. Well, it is not for less! All the houses of the town have their charm, which is more beautiful than the previous one. Architecturally they can…
History
For many, this article will be a refresher. But, if you've not been to Thailand (or even if you have) there is always something new to explore. With astonishingly great food, a tropical climate, fascinating culture, majestic mountains and great beaches, Thailand is a magnet for travellers around the world, and quite rightly…
Vancouver, Canada, is not a particularly old city. You might see some buildings from the late 1800's, but mostly it's 1970's family homes and high-rise apartments. We were driving down the street the other day in Vancouver, and passed this hotel / motel that we hadn't seen before, the 2400 Motel. We…
Here's an unusual, but at the end of the day explainable question. Why, if they're part of the EU (European Union) the Czechs don't use the Euro? It's the official currency of 19 of the 27 member states of the European Union and and over 340 million Europeans. The rest of the EU…
We imagine that some of you are real adventurers. You've seen the Eiffel Tower more times than you'd care to count (as spectacular as it is.) But, your quest for travel and new experiences always keeps you thirsty for a place that, perhaps, not many people have heard of. And, with that,…
Big dreams can have big repercussions. Even when you're smart. To make a long story short, Henry Ford was a hard charger with big plans. In the march to better processes and bigger profits, Ford wanted both. But, in the late 1920's, Ford realised that one rather large problem was delaying…
There is never a bad time to celebrate The Beatles. Can you think of many bands who connected so completely and creatively as The Fab Four? And this legend was only reinforced with Peter Jackson's Get Back series on Disney (which made your Admin burst into tears (of joy) several times.) Having…
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…
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…