Tag Archives: history It was raining. But that didn’t stop the residents of Bergen, Norway’s second-largest city, from coming out into the streets and public spaces to celebrate their cultural heritage. I was very lucky with the Sunday I had by myself exploring the delightful city: a local troupe was performing traditional folk dances under the protective roof […]  The archaeological remains and artefacts that survive to attest to the richness of the almost 30 centuries of civilisation we now call Ancient Egypt (3100-333 BC ) are mind-boggling. That people between 3000 and 5000 years ago conceived of – and built – the pyramids, tombs, mausoleums, and temples, that scatter along the Nile amazes […]  Point Nepean National Park is a special place with a long and visible history. It sits at the very edge of Melbourne, Victoria: the city wraps itself around Port Phillip, and from the southeast tip here at Point Nepean, you can almost throw a stone across the Victory Bight to the southwestern Melbourne suburb of […]  August 1st is Swiss National Day, and thanks to William Tell, Switzerland’s independence will always be associated with apples. Who doesn’t know the story of that legendary Swiss hero? That mountain man, that peasant from Bürglen in the canton of Uri, who resisted the commands of a tyrannical overlord, and was then forced to shoot […]  Bad lighting and dancing shadows lend an eerie air of animation to the figures on the walls all around us. Intricately carved pillars and beautifully restored wall-reliefs contrast with uneven stones and rough scaffolding: it truly is surreal walking after dark through structures built over 2000 years ago. My Nile river boat was rafted up […] |
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