(Part 1 of 3 on Egypt) I had the opportunity to visit Egypt in September ’09 on a journey replicating the 12-day “Egypt Grand” tour offered by my host, Value World Tours (an advertiser in ITN), in concert with the Egyptian Tourist Authority and EgyptAir.

A split stay in exotic, ancient Cairo prior to and following a seven-day Nile cruise provided the opportunity for visits to the cornucopia of historic attractions for which this huge city of nearly 23 million is so...

by Yvonne Michie Horn

I’d come to the city of Oaxaca, southern Mexico’s cultural treasure, for a two-week immersion in Spanish. During that time, I wandered around the Old City in my off-school hours, jumping at every opportunity to practice my emerging language skills. As I walked cobbled streets, I kept running into the name of Francisco Toledo, Oaxaca’s reigning contemporary artist.

“Toledo is a seed,” my teacher told me. “Toledo has insisted that our total culture be...

by Julie Skurdenis

This is a story about Cartagena’s Old Town, perhaps the most beautiful colonial-era city in South America. It’s located in northern Colombia on the Caribbean. Not surprisingly, it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This is also a story that could be told in one word: walk. Or perhaps in a few words: walk, walk and then walk some more. Cartagena, whose full name is Cartagena de Indias, is without doubt a city that should be experienced on foot, not just its main...