June 2009

The Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities announced plans to develop and protect the site of Dahshur. The site has five major pyramids as well as many private tombs and some royal tombs. The project includes cleaning and restoring monuments, providing barriers to control access, creating safe zones around the sites and building tourist facilities. 

A spokesman for the Supreme Council said they hope to open the “Bent Pyramid” to visitors this summer and, within a year, open another pyramid on the site.

Two events in France in 2009 honor artist Pablo Picasso.

• Through Sept. 27 at Musée Granet (place Saint-Jean de Malte, 13100 Aix-en-Provence; phone 00 33 [0] 4 42 52 87 97, www.museegranet-aixprovence.fr), the show “Picasso-Cézanne” features 100-plus sculptures, paintings and etchings which focus on the influence of Cézanne on 20th-century artists, particularly Picasso. Open 9-7 Friday-Wednesday and noon-11 p.m. Thursday. €10 ($13). 

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) spent the last 36 years of his life in London. His home in Mayfair is today the Handel House Museum (25 Brook St., Mayfair, London, W1K 4HB, U.K.; phone +44 [0] 20 7495 1685, www.handelhouse.org), where, in honor of the 250th anniversary of the composer’s death, the exhibit “Handel Reveal’d” is being held through Oct. 25, 2009.

Among exhibits are a life mask, scores in Handel’s own hand, shopping lists and information about his many illustrious patrons. 

The rock fortress archaeological site of Sigiriya in Sri Lanka was closed temporarily in April after wasps attacked tourists three times in one week. Dozens of people who were stung were taken to hospitals. The problem occurred each of the previous two years in May.

In Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor, on every night with good weather there is a light show involving 44 of the city’s waterfront skyscrapers. The 14-minute “A Symphony of Lights” starts at 8 p.m. and uses orchestrated lasers and lights set to music.

Good places to view the show (and where there is narration in English on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) include sightseeing ferries and the “Avenue of the Stars” on the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront. It also can be viewed at the waterfront outside Golden Bauhinia Square in Wan Chai.

The 16th-century Rathouse (City Hall) in Greifswald, northeastern Germany, is a prime example of Nordic Renaissance architecture.

Its deep scarlet color was obtained when ox blood was added to the stucco, not only giving it a distinctive hue but protecting the wood and stucco against weathering.

Travelers to Italy need to be smart to avoid needless lines and expenses while enjoying its ever-popular treasures. Major sights in Rome, Florence, Venice and Milan have these changes for 2009.

To the right are pictured (slightly reduced) Magellan’s “retriever tags.” You place your itinerary in the pouch and, with the furnished strap, attach it to the handle on your luggage.

The scenery is simply delicious!

Geologists debate how the more than 1,200 hills, each 30 to 50 meters high, were formed, but there’s no question that the Chocolate Hills in Bohol province, Philippines, pictured in the April issue, are the area’s most popular attraction.

Julie Skurdenis’ article on Gujarat (March ’09, pg. 62) brought back many pleasant memories of the trip my wife, Audrey, and I took there in 2003, especially of sites like the Modhera Sun Temple and the hike up Mount Shatrunjaya in Palitana.