Religious Sites

by Randy Keck, part 1 of 3 on Thailand

by Julie Skurdenis

Moss gone amuck was not intended to be the garden’s definitive element when Muso Soseki, 14th-century Zen priest and famed garden designer, created the gardens surrounding Saiho-ji temple in Kyoto, Japan. That would come centuries later, muffling a design rare and original for its time: a garden intended to be enjoyed for its idealized earthly beauty, not as a religious exercise.

by Julie Skurdenis

by Ed Kinney

Like many cities in the Middle East, a relatively modern area surrounds the center of Aleppo, which claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. Damascus disputes Aleppo’s claim, but who am I to argue with the antiquity claims of either?

If you are traveling to China on your own and planning to spend a few days in Beijing and/or Chengde, you may like to consider employing the services of Mr. Sun Qingjun, or Harry (harrysun@ heinfo.net), an excellent bilingual guide from Chengde now residing in Beijing.

It was a lucky day for me when, perusing the small ads at the back of ITN, I came across the one for Church House Tours of Shillingstone, Dorset, UK. I immediately e-mailed Susy and Paul Wilson, the proprietors, and thus began a year of planning and e-mails going back and forth across the Atlantic. Their company is now known as Discover England Tours (Church House, Church Road, Shillingstone, Blandford, Dorset, DT11 0SL, England; phone +44 1258 860646, www.

discoverenglandtours.co.uk. . . or U.S. agent, Wilson & Lake International, Phoenix, OR; 800/227-5550).