16 articles tagged with archaeology
As someone who's spent considerable time in New Mexico investigating various matters (some I can discuss, others I cannot), I've developed a particular fondness for Roswell that extends well beyond its extraterrestrial reputation. While most visitors make a beeline for...
The morning call to prayer echoes across Casablanca as I sip mint tea on a rooftop terrace, watching the city awaken. Most travelers see Casa as merely a gateway to Morocco's more famous destinations—Marrakech, Fes, Chefchaouen. They spend a day...
There's something magical about standing where Socrates once philosophized or gazing up at columns that have withstood 2,500 years of history. Athens isn't just a destination—it's a time machine. Having coordinated three different cultural festivals in Greece over the years,...
Standing alone in the vast Karakum Desert, watching the setting sun cast long shadows across the crumbling walls of what was once the world's largest city, I felt that familiar tingle of discovery that first captured me in Kenya years...
Standing at the confluence of the Amazon River and the Atlantic Ocean, Belém offers a fascinating gateway into one of Earth's most complex ecosystems. As someone who's spent decades studying how ancient peoples adapted to challenging environments, I found the...
When my son Liam and I stepped off the plane in Rome last spring, I could practically feel the animation cells of history flipping through time right beneath our feet. Sure, the Colosseum was high on our list (what 12-year-old...
As I stand on the stern of a gleaming catamaran, watching Suva's harbor fade into the distance, I'm reminded why Fiji's 333 islands have captivated me since my first visit fifteen years ago. The archipelago's true magic lies beyond the...
Standing at the edge of Izmir's azure coastline last spring, I couldn't help but feel like I was perched at the crossroads of human civilization. This western Turkish city—once known as Smyrna—has witnessed the ebb and flow of empires for...
I still remember the first time I visited Cairo as a wide-eyed anthropology student, armed with nothing but a dog-eared guidebook and an insatiable curiosity about Egyptian civilization. While the pyramids of Giza rightfully command attention, Cairo harbors a constellation...
When I tell fellow travelers I'm heading to Peru, they immediately assume I'm bound for Machu Picchu or Cusco. But after my third visit to this magnificent country, I've discovered that Peru's northern regions hold treasures just as valuable but...
Standing before the ochre-colored cave paintings of Laas Geel, my fingers tracing the air inches from 5,000-year-old depictions of cattle and human figures, I couldn't help but reflect on my own journey of cultural rediscovery. Somaliland—the self-declared independent region in...
When I first contemplated taking my twin nieces to Athens, I'll admit I had visions of meltdowns amid marble ruins and eye-rolls at yet another ancient temple. As someone who typically scales cliff sides in search of obscure tea ceremonies...
The turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea stretched before me as my plane descended into Cancun International Airport, a sight that always brings me back to that pivotal childhood trip when I first fell in love with Mesoamerican archaeology. While...
Standing amid the honey-colored columns of Palmyra as the setting sun bathes them in golden light remains one of the most profound moments in my fifteen years of cultural exploration. This ancient caravan city, rising from Syria's desert landscape like...
There's something profoundly humbling about standing before art created by human hands thousands of years ago. As the afternoon sun casts long shadows across the quartzite faces of Botswana's Tsodilo Hills, I find myself tracing the outline of a giraffe...