Algeria is a large country which seems at first divided into two zones, a coastal landscape and vast desert. We found that Algeria offered much more diverse ecologies and terrain than this simple division. In…
We made a special trip to Annaba on the northeast Algerian coast for one reason, to walk the old pathways of Hippo Regius, the home city of Saint Augustine (354 to 430 AD). (To read…
Our month in Algeria brought us to three cities on the Mediterranean in addition to Algiers itself. Annaba held special significance for us as the home of the religious philosopher St. Augustine (Click here to…
We traveled far from the Mediterranean into the Great Western Erg, a vast expanse of Saharan desert in Algeria. Creamy, wind-blown sands dominate the landscape. For millennia, though, the town (Tim) of Mimoun, or Timimoun,…
Almoravid to Zianide via H & M Much attention is given to the remarkable remains of Roman and Byzantine cities within Algeria. In visiting three locales around the country, we became just as enthralled by…
In brief: Two palaces with origins in the 17th century made for a visually entertaining and historically fascinating celebration of Portuguese heritage in Lisbon. One weekend across Portugal in September, citizens and tourists honored the…
In brief: On a beautiful October day, we once again enjoyed the birds, greenery, waterways, and guide, within the scenic wetlands of Samouco and EVOA. On a beautiful fall day out in nature, we once…
The World Heritage hilltop city of Toledo, our last stay during our trip to Spain, was long a capital: for the Visigoths, who succeeded the Romans; for the Umayyad Muslims who overran Spain; for the…
In brief: We located paintings by El Greco across Toledo, from its principal churches to the El Greco Museum. Toledo still hosts many paintings by El Greco, the Cretan artist who lived the second half…
In brief: The native son of Zaragoza, Goya could capture the light of the spirit and the dark of human failings. The works viewable within the city show that range. The artist Francisco José de…