Culture and tourism education 2022? If you’re craving some R&R, the Ma’in Hot Springs is a natural spa 264m (866ft) below sea level. Herod the Great is said to have bathed in the area’s thermal mineral hot springs and waterfalls, where travellers have soaked since Roman times. Believed to help skin conditions and joint pain, water rich in potassium, magnesium and calcium cascades down the hillside and reaches temperatures of 60C (140F) for truly extraordinary bathing in the middle of the desert. Read extra info at https://www.defineplaces.com/.
For many visitors, Marrakesh’s labyrinthine medina (old city) district is the town’s star attraction. The narrow alleyways are a kaleidoscope of colors, scents, and sounds and are bound to be the sightseeing highlight of your trip. As well as simply wandering (and getting lost) amid the bustling maze, there are myriad shopping opportunities, where you can put your haggling hat on and barter to your heart’s content. Shoppers shouldn’t miss the Babouche (shoe) Souk, Chouari (carpenter’s) Souk, El-Attarine (perfume and spice) Souk, and the Cherratine (leather) Souk. Just west of the main souk area, at the end of Rue Bab Debbagh, you’ll find Marrakesh’s tanneries, where animal skins are still dyed the old-fashioned way.
Dubai’s excellent museum is housed in the Al-Fahidi Fort, built in 1787 to defend Dubai Creek. The fort’s walls are built out of traditional coral-blocks and held together with lime. The upper floor is supported by wooden poles, and the ceiling is constructed from palm fronds, mud, and plaster. In its history, the fort has served as a residence for the ruling family, a seat of government, garrison, and prison. Restored in 1971 (and again extensively in 1995), it is now the city’s premier museum. The entrance has a fascinating exhibition of old maps of the Emirates and Dubai, showing the mammoth expansion that hit the region after the oil boom. The courtyard is home to several traditional boats and a palm-leaf house with an Emirati wind-tower. The right-hand hall features weaponry, and the left-hand hall showcases Emirati musical instruments. Below the ground floor are display halls with exhibits and dioramas covering various aspects of traditional Emirati life (including pearl fishing and Bedouin desert life), as well as artifacts from the 3,000- to 4,000-year-old graves at Al Qusais archaeological site.
Drop the diet. Sicily sits at the culinary crossroads of the most gluttonous nations on earth. Arabs, Spanish, Normans and Greeks deposited a foodie fusion. Like pasta con le sarde, an Italo-Arabian blend of fennel, almonds, sardines and saffron. Then there’s sfincione, from the Latin word for sponge, which is half pizza, half bun, with an anchovy-cheese-tomato flavour. In Palermo, posh nosh means A’Cumcuma. Here street food and fisherman’s catches are raised into photogenic bites like red shrimps with oyster emulsion. For Sicilian cuisine as it used to be near Portorosa, try Agavos Agriturismo. Stuffed anchovies and chargrilled swordfish rolls served with a sea view.
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.
