HISTORIC / ARCHEOLOGICAL

EGYPT I am at the temple of the Oracle of Amon, fabled throughout the ancient world. Alexander the Great stood here, so for once I'm in good company. This is where he came to seek legitimacy for his rule over Egypt. The Oracle confirmed his divinity, although exactly what was said to him he took to his grave eight years later. full story >>>	TURKEY My friend and I arrived at Bodrum by ferry from the Greek island of Kos. Bodrum is a beautiful bustling tourist centre. The harbour is dominated by the impressive Castle of St. Peter built by the Knights of St. John. Magnificent yachts from all over the world are anchored there full story >>>
ENGLAND I recently took a short cruise on the Edward Elgar along the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. This parallels the lower reaches of the river, which is tidal, so was by-passed by the canal. The canal also did away with ships needing to negotiate a dangerous bend in the river. They would sail through the Sharpness Lock, to be man-hauled along the canal to Gloucester. full story >>>	SYRIA Many relics of the past hide in Damascus’s streets. Turn a corner here and you come across the ancient walls from which St Paul escaped from the Romans. Around another bend, you encounter an ancient Christian church or a roman column. In its time the city, one of the oldest in the world, has been a hub of trade, a Roman military base and a centre of Islam. full story >>>
TURKEY Joining other excited history buffs, my husband, daughter and I leave Kusadasi’s docks and head into Turkey’s arid northwestern hills. As archeology-student guide Tino sets the scene, we roll along through pastoral countryside dotted with fig and apricot trees, Mediterranean pines and olive groves… full story >>>	JAPAN Okinawa is the smallest and southernmost of Japan’s 47 prefectures. It’s part of an island archipelago that stretches from southern Kyushu in Japan to within view of Taiwan. It was also the scene of the last and greatest land battle in the Pacific theater of WWII. Today it claims nine UNESCO World Heritage sites, five of which are ancient castles. full story >>>
ENGLAND We took our visitors to what are probably the best viewpoints on the way home; the old fort at Housesteads, high on a lonely moor and another fort, just outside a farmhouse at Birdoswald. There were nearly 80 miles of Hadrian’s Wall, which stretched from England’s west coast to the east coast. full story >>>	TURKEY Ever since I saw pictures of them in the National Geographic years before, I’ve dreamed of visiting the Lycian tombs at Fethiye, Turkey. But can I reach them? I’m already exhausted from the 40C heat and the long slope I’ve walked up from the town. full story >>>