Tag Archives: environmental portraits

The Sultanate of Oman is a land of forts and castles. Sitting at the southeastern end of the Arabian Peninsula, this Middle Eastern country has always been a centre of regional trade. As early as 120 AD, a branch of Nabataean Arabs arrived in the vast desert interior. By the 1600s, the Omani Sultanate was […]

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The Inca Trail is a 45 km (26 miles) trek from Piscacucho, a locality 82 km (51 miles) from Cusco, to Machu Picchu. The path follows a small part of the larger UNESCO-listed Qhapaq Ñan, the Inca-built network of roads and tracks through the Andes Mountains. The classic walk is usually done over four days, […]

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The terraced fields of the Kathmandu Valley were bright green and yellow with blooming mustard plants the last time I visited (see: People of the Rice Bowl).  I couldn’t help but wonder what it was all being used for! I’ve always thought of mustard as a condiment, designed to add piquancy to an Austrian/Slovenian Kransky […]

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As any visitor to these pages knows, I love markets! Under the care of a guide, I and another solo-female traveller were on our way to visit some of the adobe fortresses for which the Sultanate of Oman is famous. I knew that that would result in history-overload – so, I was especially pleased that […]

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India is a real experience in sensory overload. That is true of all the places I’ve visited in the country, but especially true in Varanasi. Varanasi – previously known as Benares, Banaras, and Kashi – is considered the spiritual capital of India. It is one of the world’s oldest continually inhabited cities, and has been […]

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