Tourism and culture information today
Travel and culture guides 2022? The Middle East’s most easygoing country, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, better known simply as Jordan, has attracted travellers since ancient times. Today, the nation draws over four million visitors each year to its vast desert landscapes, welcoming cities and the extraordinary Dead Sea. Don’t miss these must-visit attractions, including Wadi Rum, The Temple of Hercules and more. Want to experience Jordan without the hassle of having to think about every detail? Join Culture Trip’s epic nine-day trip to ensure you spend more time exploring, and zero time planning. Find more information on Define Places.
Marrakesh’s tanneries district is smaller than the one in Fes but just as atmospheric. This is where the leather hides, used for the colorful shoes, bags, and other products you’ll find in the souks, get dyed in a myriad of shades. Come here in the morning if you want to see the tanners working. For photographers, there are great views over the entire area from some of the leather workshops, though you’ll need to pay a tip to enter. Even in a country chock full of sublime road-trip scenery, the Tizi-n’Test Pass stands out. This winding mountain road heads south out of Marrakesh down to Taroudant in a dizzying array of switchbacks that may give the wobbles to those who don’t like heights. The mountain scenery along the way is simply sumptuous and allows a taste of Morocco’s vast and beautifully raw countryside. A road branching off the pass, just past Taliouine, is the start of the high pass into the Draa Valley.
The Bastakia Quarter (also known as the Al-Fahidi neighborhood) was built in the late 19th century to be the home of wealthy Persian merchants who dealt mainly in pearls and textiles and were lured to Dubai because of the tax-free trading and access to Dubai Creek. Bastakia occupies the eastern portion of Bur Dubai along the creek, and the coral and limestone buildings here, many with walls topped with wind-towers, have been excellently preserved. Wind-towers provided the homes here with an early form of air conditioning — the wind trapped in the towers was funneled down into the houses. Persian merchants likely transplanted this architectural element (common in Iranian coastal houses) from their home country to the Gulf. Lined with distinct Arabian architecture, the narrow lanes are highly evocative of a bygone, and much slower, age in Dubai’s history. Inside the district, you’ll find the Majlis Gallery, with its collection of traditional Arab ceramics and furniture (housed in a wind-tower) and the Al Serkal Cultural Foundation, with a shop, cafe, and rotating art exhibitions (located in one of the historic buildings)
Carrefour operates several supermarkets near Sitimar Marina. Find every essential from Sicilian olive oil to chilled Moretti beer. Palermo’s trio of street markets – Ballaró, Vucciria and Capo – are alive with snails, octopus, rising bread and rapidly diminishing piles of tomatoes. It’s where locals do their weekly shop, so roll up your sleeves and get ready to join them. The Palermo-Montecarlo is an 804km (500mi) sprint from Sicily to Monaco, with breathtaking views over Sardinia and Corsica en route. The 50-plus sailboats that set sail from Mondello in Sicily in late August are big and beautiful. The offshore regatta also serves as a training ground for Olympians and America’s Cup sailors.
No matter if you’re on a family trip or a romantic gateway in Santorini, you should definitely go watch a movie at the open air Cinema. The Kamari Open Air Cinema, or Cinekamari, is an outdoor movie theatre located in the middle of the forest. It’s a really original and nice place to watch a movie. From May to October, you can see movies in English (subtitled in Greek) every night starting from 21h30. It costs 8€ per person. You can also visit this website to check the ferries rates, schedules and book them.
Coming to Panama City, I really wanted to make sure I got to see some of the country’s wildlife. People often forget just how diverse this part of the world is, so I decided to do the tour to Monkey Island on the Chagres River and Gatun Lake. Our tour began in Panama City but we quickly left the city and headed to Gamboa Marina to catch our boat out to the island. The tour through the river and lake was interesting. Both the Gatun Lake and the Chagres River are actually part of the Panama Canal and you can often see ships making their journey through the canal. However, the highlight of my tour was of course the monkeys! There are 4 different species that call Monkey Island home, they are the Mantled Howler Monkey, White-Faced Capuchin Monkey, Tamarin Monkey, and the Lemurine Owl Monkey.