Throughout the ages theyve survived intense battles, powerful natural disasters, adverse weather and incompetent archaeologists. Fascinating, beautiful, but surprisingly fragile, ancient sites are now under a new kind of attack mass tourism. Gone are the days of the Victorian explorer discovering magnificent ancient sites half buried by sand or jungle. Cheap airfares together with a plethora of guide and travel books, not to mention the Internet, encourage us to follow in the footsteps of historical figures and see ancient sites for ourselves or, in some cases, take advantage of the sunny weather and cheap booze – with a bit of…
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Plato has a lot to answer for when he wrote about Atlantis. Its been the inspiration behind TV series and Hollywood films; some even made for reasonable entertainment (think Captain Nemo and Man from Atlantis), and some, well sank (think Kevin Costner in Waterworld). Even James Bond, in The Spy who Loved Me, had an Atlantis element. He saved the earth from arch-villain Karl Stromberg, a powerful shipping magnate whose scheme for world domination was to blow up the land leaving the chosen few living safely beneath the ocean. Atlantis has it all; an ancient thriving city with ambiguous plans…
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The ancient Spice Route (probably named as a result of the ancient Incense and Perfume routes) was an epic journey which initially began in Arabia, but eventually evolved to link Moluccas (the Indonesian Spice Islands) with Arabia and from there into Europe. The route generally is believed to take in Malacca, Sri Lanka, and Kerala in India. At Kerela, it split into two, with one route to Europe going via Baghdad and the other Accra. Arabia had the monopoly on the spice route for over 2000 years, and its said that both the Roman invasion of Persia in 24 BC…
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By ancient Olympic Games standards, the recent Australian Special Olympics IX National Games, an event held for athletes with an intellectual disability, were relatively small. As the Communications Manager for the games, my job was manic, but fortunately I had a team of volunteers to help coordinate the multitude of print and broadcast media on event as well as updating the Special Olympics Australia website, facebook and twitter at regular intervals throughout the day. Between frantic phone calls, tweets and manically hitting of the send email option, I did ponder for a moment how promoting and communicating results to the…
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The man with the toothless smile and sharp eyes beckons you over to see his papyrus, meanwhile another calls you to his perfume shop. Sales pitches vary: Special price for pretty lady or if youre male, You want something for your wife, not your wife? OK, for your mistress then? Apart from the hassle of the hustlers and the danger of having an over-priced piece of papyrus on your wall when you get home, what other risks do you face in Cairo? Is it safe to travel there at all? Cairo does have a certain charm, but a first visit…
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Maybe its because Antony and Cleopatra did much of their romancing there, or perhaps its the azure sea, sandy beaches, traditional villages and lazy pace of life which make the Lycian coast in south west Turkey the ideal place for a romantic holiday – an experience that you can win in our Ancient World in London competition. But the history of the Lycian Way is peppered as much with war as it is with romance, and its tumultous history helps make Lycia a fascinating area of Turkey to visit. The mountainous, rugged territory behind the idyllic coastal scenery isolated Lycia…
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At first glance, Boudica, Agrippinna, Cleopatra and Olympias (Alexander the Great’s mother) dont seem to have much in common other than being strong women accountable for a few deaths along the way. However, recently they have been joined together by a unique series of photographs entitled The Regal Twelve. Depicting 12 diverse women from across the ages, the series of stunning, provocative, images celebrates the famous, infamous and the obscure. Award-winning Australian fine art photographer and digital artist Alexia Sinclair embarked on the project when she was studying for her Masters and was awarded a travelling arts scholarship and two…
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Safari operators in Africa realised several years ago that there were people who wanted to see the wildlife, but not shake dirt out of a sleeping bag and take a shovel to dig a loo at the end of the day. Now London-based Ancient World Tours, who specialise in ancient sites, is amongst a growing number of companies capitalising on this growing market, and offering camping holidays with a twist of glamour: glamping. I spoke to Managing Director Peter Allingham about the changing face of cultural tourism. Although the name sounds like something a dodgy pop star would do, glamping(glamour…
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Although Viagra was launched onto the market in 1998 as the new wonder drug for virility, what the makers didnt realise is that its actually been around naturally and has been used since the time of the pyramids. In ancient Egypt, the blue lily was linked to fertility and sexuality and now, thanks to the recent chemical analysis by the Egyptian section of Manchester Museum, it appears there is a scientific reason for this link – the chemical make-up of this plant contains phosphodiesters, the active ingredients of Viagra. The blue lily wasnt the only libido-booster used by the ancient…
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Having been a tour leader for an adventure travel company, I was interested to read the recently published World Monuments Fund (WMF) guidelines for sustainable tourism, all of which have been inadvertently followed for years by conscientious tourists and tour companies. Getting the Messages Across But what is blindingly obvious to some, it is definitely news to others. I do distinctly remember seeing in Karnak a large group with a very attractive young lady whose attire was more suited to a swimwear catwalk rather than viewing an ancient monument in Egypt. Whilst I watched with some bemusement at her rippling…