Tag Archives: architecture Perfect weather, fabulous food, and historical and natural sites galore: Crete was an absolute joy to visit. I was staying in the hills outside the island’s capital of Heraklion/Iraklio, and had no difficulty filling my days with fascinating day trips (see: Weekly Wanders Crete). Towards the end of my week, I decided to explore closer […]  I spent less than a week in the Sultanate of Oman, an Islamic Arab country on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. In that time, however, I saw countless forts, castles, and towers (see: Oman’s Fortress Castles and Jabreen Castle). Perhaps this is unsurprising, as the country is called “the land of [a] thousand forts.” These […]  I’m not normally a huge fan of museums: there are only so many plaques I can read on dusty displays before I hit overload, or become mind-numbingly bored. But, all of the guide books and everyone I met on Crete recommended the Heraklion Archaeological Museum. It is reputed to be one of the greatest museums […]  Nestled at the foot of the Hajar Mountains are some of the oldest villages in Oman. This is a rugged, desert region with little rainfall. Settlements could only survive where ground water was available. But, where water was found, it was ingeniously managed. Using a type of irrigation system developed 5000 years ago in Persia, […]  India is wildly colourful. This is true everywhere, but the Dravidian people of South India take it to new whole new levels. The ethnolinguistic family of people known as the Dravidians are considered native to the Indian subcontinent, although their pre-Neolithic roots are probably in Western Asia, around the Iranian plateau. The language family is […] |
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