Tag Archives: architecture

You are still in the city, but not quite! There is a ringing of birdsong – and the roar of sirens. The rustling of skinks in the leaf-litter contrasts with the clanging of distant machinery. Wind whistles in the branches while a helicopter whirrs overhead. There is something magical about city parks: oases of fresh, […]

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Imagine living in the shadow of an active volcano! Gunung Api – or Fire Mountain – is a peak of about 640-650 m. (2100-2133 ft.) on the little island of Banda Api in the province of Maluku, Indonesia. The almost-circular island has a diameter only 3 kilometres (1.9 mi), and most of it rises steeply […]

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I was sorry to say goodbye to Chefchaouen in northwestern Morocco; it had to be one of my favourite places in the country so far (see: Weekly Wanders Chefchaouen). But, my small group was heading south, driving the roughly 200 km (124 mi) to Fes. We broke the three and a half hour journey at […]

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When you travel, you meet people who travel. I was in Morocco on a small group tour. When I mentioned my planned trip to Raja Ampat and the Spice Islands, one of my travel-companions insisted: “You must read Nathaniel’s Nutmeg: How One Man’s Courage Changed the Course of History.“ Naturally, I complied – although it […]

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Walking through history is so much more interesting than attempting to study it at school! Old stone walls have such stories to tell. Chefchaouen in Morocco’s Rif Mountains was originally founded as a defensive fortress in 1471 – at a time when Portugal was attacking northern cities and towns in the region. The mossy, rammed […]

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