Did we get an idea of what we’ll find there and can we picture it? Were we given a sense of the culture or atmosphere of the place? Was there an experience or encounter described that lifted us? If any of these questions are answered in the positive, an essay is held in higher esteem by the ITN staff judges.
Having traveled much of the civilized world on all seven continents, I hungered to journey someplace that would open my eyes to new cultures. The Silk Road, traversing the Caucasus and five of the ’Stans in Central Asia, offered a rich blend of architecture, people, philosophies, history, landscapes and food.
Visitors to the Longmen Grottoes near the city of Luoyang in Henan Province, eastern-central China, now can enter Kanjing Temple, which opened to the public on March 10.
Kanjing Temple, carved into a limestone cliff more than 1,000 years ago, contains 29 life-sized sculptures of Buddhist monks, now protected behind glass. Since 1953, the public has rarely been allowed into the temple for fear of damage to the artifacts.
Pablo Picasso was the most famous and — OK, I’ll say it — greatest artist of the 20th century. Before he was 30, Picasso had revolutionized the art world. And that was just the beginning.
A Spanish expatriate, cocreator of Cubism and devoted womanizer, Picasso left an amazing legacy in his wake. In the course of his long life (he died in 1973 at 91), Picasso moved from Spain to Paris to the south of France. Every locale that he called home has claimed him as a native son, with museums big and small devoted to his masterpieces.
9-day, 8-night pilgrimage tour in ITALY, Aug. 29-Sept. 6, 2016. Ends with attendance at canonization of Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Min. group size, 25. Highlights: From Rome, transfer to Assisi to see basilicas of San Francisco and St. Clare/Mass at nearby San Damiano/in Rome, Colosseum, Mamertine Prison, San Pietro in Vincoli church/in Vatican City, St. Peter’s Cathedral; see works by Michelangelo, Raphael/on Sept. 4, canonization event. $2,399 ppdo. Single supp., $500. Ed-Ventures, Inc. (Rochester, MN; 800/658-7128, www.ed-ventures.com).
At the Western (or Wailing) Wall in Jerusalem, men and women soon will be allowed to worship together in a designated space. In addition, at the wall, women will be allowed to lead prayers and wear religious clothing traditionally meant for men.
The new rules were approved by the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in January. Construction of the special section was expected to take two to three months. (Separation of the sexes is not practiced at other public sites in Israel, though some bus lines are segregated.)
Many travel agents, in planning trips to Eurasia, lump three countries into a single unit. Nestled together in a corner against the Caspian Sea, those countries are Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia. My wife, Margo, and I visited them in July-August 2014.
If you are adventurous and want to immerse yourself in a country’s culture and cuisine, DIY travel may be for you. Having the freedom to spontaneously linger or detour is a huge benefit of this type of adventure.
About 200 kilometers north of Moscow, one of the most recognizable sights along Russia’s Volga River is the belfry of St. Nicholas Church, located in the Uglich Reservoir near the relocated town of Kalyazin. Towering 244 feet above the water, this structure was the subject of our October 2015 mystery photo. The church and monastery were completed in 1696, and the bell tower was added from 1796 to 1800.
