Focus on Archaeology » A week in Salvador da Bahia

I’m not sure how surprised the monks who lived here 400 years ago would be to hear the soft sounds of bossa nova echoing in the cloisters where they once lived and prayed. No doubt, chanting and church music would have been more familiar to them, but I suspect that bossa nova would not have [...]

Enthralled by an early morning boat ride on the Ganges

A dawn boat ride on the Ganges is the highlight of any trip to Varanasi, also known as Banaras or Benares. Situated in India’s state of Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi is a sacred center of Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism. However, for over 2,000 years it has been the religious capital of Hinduism, more revered and sacred than all the other places of pilgrimage put together.