On 10 June 1944, the village of Oradour-sur-Glane in Haute-Vienne in Nazi-occupied France was destroyed when 642 of its inhabitants, including non-combatant women and children, were massacred by a German Waffen-SS company. A new village was built nearby after the war, but President Charles de Gaulle ordered the original maintained as a permanent memorial and museum. But, there is so much more of France to explore. Our Destination…
History
Is there anything better than a creamy cheese, some crusty bread and a glass of wine? We think not!
Apocalyptic comfort from ancient Iran. At its height, around 620 CE, the Sasanian empire ruled over a territory stretching from Jerusalem in the west to Samarkand in the east. The royal court at the ancient city of Ctesiphon, near present-day Baghdad, was the political heart of this vast realm, and its official religion was the…
You may think you know Rome. But what Did Ancient Rome Really Look Like? Watch this Ancient Rome reconstruction featuring realistic 3D animation to find out.
Technology is king! Long live technology!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XxA4CX_Ip8&feature=youtu.be
Booking.com
In 1978, the science-fiction author Michael Moorcock wrote the celebrated essay ‘Epic Pooh’ that lambasted J R R Tolkien and his ilk for constructing fantasy universes in which – whatever the ‘there and back again’ meanderings of the plot – nothing ever really changes. Moorcock felt that his own ‘new worlds’ science fiction of the…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZxgBQA7cuYIn 1678, a Chaldean priest from Baghdad reached the Imperial Villa of Potosí, the world’s richest silver-mining camp and at the time the world’s highest city at more than 4,000 metres (13,100 feet) above sea level. A regional capital in the heart of the Bolivian Andes, Potosí remains – more than three and a half…
This Babylonian Map of the World is a clay tablet containing a labeled depiction of the known world, with a partially surviving description, dated to roughly the 6th century B.C. The map is circular with two outer defined circles. The plan is centered on the Euphrates, flowing from the north to the south of the…
There’s nothing quite like stepping out onto the summit of Masada, the sun beating down on you and the Dead Sea stretching out before you.
This stunning ancient fortress is one of the most visited sites in Israel for a reason, and everyone should aim to visit at least once if planning a visit…
This timber house built in the 1400s was dismantled and kept in a Buckinghamshire barn - a medieval flat-pack home that's for sale at £100,000... Mention a 'flat-pack' home for sale and you might imagine a latest offering from Ikea, or perhaps something destined for the centre of Tokyo. You're less likely to imagine a…
We explore some of Wikipedia’s oddities in our 6,079,214-week series, Wiki Wormhole. This week’s entry: Co-Princes of Andorra What it’s about: One two, princes kneel before you, that’s what I said now. Princes, princes who co-rule Andorra, just go ahead now. (And you thought we were kidding last week about trying to get that song…
I stumbled upon Daphne on the rooftop of a dusky riad in Marrakech. This six-foot Canadienne with man-sized feet was the only other guest there, and she was naked. Or mostly naked, which is startling for me at the best of times, but particularly in Morocco – a conservative north-African Muslim country. “Oh, er, hello!”…
During the heyday of train travel in the late nineteenth to early-twentieth centuries, rail stations in major cities were places where wealthy travelers showed off their status and prestige. Le Train Bleu, a restaurant situated in Paris’ Gare de Lyon, is a historic reminder of that bygone era. Rail is the way to go in Europe.…
Do you devour every documentary on the ancient world you can find? Or are you simply fascinated by the Ancient Romans and ready to learn more? This is the best way to begin! One of the most rewarding aspects of learning about Ancient Rome is recognizing the immense influence it has on our daily lives.…
You can't find much more excitement from day to day than being in the government, especially the welcoming Canadian Parliament. Here's a chance for a dry run. What do you have to lose?
Please rotate on mobile devices
With stay-at-home orders in effect across the United Kingdom, bulk buyers and consumers alike have been purchasing much more flour than normal, according to the National Association of British & Irish Millers (NABIM). To help meet this spike in demand, a 1,000-year-old English flour mill has resumed commercial production for the first time in decades, reports Jason Lewis…
Did you know that Japan’s shrines and temples welcome regular tourists to stay for a night or more? Experience authentic Zen meditation, the traditional, vegetarian cuisine called shojin ryori, and explore a fascinating world so different from anything you know. Staying at a shrine or temple is an experience that even a lot of Japanese people don’t get to have that easily, a…
This long distance footpath is unique because it follows a World Heritage Site. Hadrian built the Wall to separate the Roman Empire from the barbarians. It is a complex structure with curtain wall, milecastles, turrets, ditches and forts. Walking the Path is logistically easier if the east-west route is followed. The Path that mainly follows…
Colombia’s most famous writer, the inimitable Gabriel García Márquez, once said in a press interview that he could never have written his books if he had not been a journalist – because all of his material was extracted from reality. Wandering between the pastel-coloured colonial structures of Cartagena’s labyrinthine cobbled streets, one could be forgiven…
You’ll almost certainly be familiar with the Channel Island’s main settlements, Jersey and Guernsey, part of the UK. They’re famous for their handsome cattle and the unctuous, buttercup coloured milk they produce. But there are three others – Sark, Herm, and Alderney. While the first two are trickier for tourists, Alderney is a precious, hidden…
....Okayama is a must-see sightseeing area tourists often miss. Okayama is lies on the Shinkansen route connecting the two iconic tourist centers of Osaka and Hiroshima that are popular among many tourists to Japan. Its accessibility is yet another part of its appeal. For travelers wanting to explore historic spots, experience cultural activities, soak up…