Much like the Eiffel Tower in Paris or the Parthenon in Athens, Hagia Sophia is a long-enduring symbol of cosmopolitan Istanbul. Built as a Christian basilica 1,500 years ago. it has served for centuries as a landmark for both Orthodox Christians and Muslims. Byzantine Emperor Constantine commissioned the first Hagia Sophia in 360 A.D. when…
The Civil War formally ended on April 9, 1865 when Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate army to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. But news traveled slowly back then and it wasn’t until June 19, more than two months later, that news of the South’s defeat arrived in Galveston, Texas…
When the coronavirus pandemic began in early 2020, it sent airlines scrambling. All airline companies were challenged to implement health policies that would keep travelers and employees safe. Strict mask mandates and demands for social distancing forced airlines to consider new configurations of aircraft cabins to increase passenger comfort while maintaining the same level of…
By Tyler Melito It happens every spring. Thirty Major League Baseball (MLB) teams take the field to start playing more than 4,800 games. It’s a special time of year. Former Yale University president and Baseball Commissioner Bart Giamatti described it best: “Baseball breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins…
The Tunisian suburb of Sidi Bou Said, a welcoming hilltop village about twelve miles north of Tunisia’s capital of Tunis, overlooks the ruins of ancient Carthage. It offers intimate cafés, locally-made handicrafts and stunning views of the Mediterranean. Locals call the hillside Kursi al-Sulh, ‘the seat of reconciliation,” since in former days it was a quiet place where Muslim holy men retreated for repose and meditation. The town’s name is derived from a religious figure, Abu Said al-Baji, who died in 1231 AD and is buried beside the town’s minaret in a mausoleum built during the period of Turkish rule.
By Mark Orwoll The summer of 2021 is full of hope and promise. If vaccinations proceed apace, it will be the season to celebrate our first breath of freedom in more than a year. Freedom from our homebound lives. Freedom from kitchen-table schoolrooms. Freedom from cultural incarceration. And, yes, freedom from Zoom. As Americans begin…
By John Gottberg Anderson My first semi-permanent home in Saigon, better known to many by its official name of Ho Chi Minh City, was in a hem (a narrow urban alley) in the heart of the city’s old banking district. It was only four blocks from the Calmette Bridge over the Ben Nghé canal, a…
Fairies are said to calm the horses living at the Irish Stud, so ethereal sprites are welcome though seldom seen using their fairie doors. By Liz Campbell Why do we travel? To stand awestruck at nature’s vibrant sculpting of rock and sand in the Grand Canyon or Rainbow Mountain? Or delight in human landscapes like…
By Nancy Wigston Argentines know it as Salta la Linda “the beautiful one.” Situated 3,400-ft above sea level in the De Lerma Valley of Northern Argentina, the city of Salta (pop 620,000) reigns in splendid isolation. Chile lies to the west, Bolivia to the north, and Paraguay to the east. But between Salta and Paraguay…
By Barbara Beckley “This is the spot! Here on the tarmac where William Shatner, Christopher Lloyd and Katrina Bowden, (a 20-something girl in a swimsuit) were chatting next to a fancy convertible parked between two Vietnam-era fighter jets,” says Ann Greer, an official with the Palm Springs Air Museum located at 745 North Gene Autry…