Travel reportage
Roots deeper than oil - a visit to Azerbaijan
The land that has unique natural beauty and wealth of climatic features; the space where European modernity and Asian wisdom merge and where ancient trade routes had crossed; the land that defied the Romans and Alexander the Great, Mongol and Arab invasions; the birthplace of Zoroastrianism where currently Islam, Christianity and Judaism harmoniously co-exist; the land that gave birth to such (...)
Cracow the historical and intellectual capital of Poland
If you are going to visit Poland, there are some places that are obligatory stops, such as the Wieliczka Salt Mine, the death camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the home of Chopin and not the least the city of Cracow.
Cracow was once the national capital of Poland. Its history goes back more than a thousand years. Already in the middle Ages, Cracow was a rich city surrounded by city walls (...)
"Incredible India" : le nouveau visage de l’Inde
L’Inde est à la mode. La plus grande démocratie du monde est un pays en pleine effervescence économique et se veut une vitrine de l’informatique, des nouvelles technologies et du progrès médical. Bombay a pris des allures de Miami orientale et les productions de Bollywood, qui ont su adapter la musique et la danse traditionnelles à toutes les tendances du moment, s’exportent partout de Genève à New (...)
Impressions of Sudan
The first impression you have upon arriving in Khartoum is that all the men are dressed in white djellabas with turbans on their heads, walking in a distinguished manner and carrying black ebony walking sticks-that’s the national costume in Northern Sudan. The women, on the other hand, wear long shirts and skirts, as Sudan is first and foremost a Muslim country, with a minority of Christians (...)
Souvenirs from a Sudanese village
One day, while visiting a Sudanese family, I expressed the wish to do what the local population does, that is, to sleep outdoors under the night sky. One cannot do so in the cities unless one owns a house with a courtyard. My friends therefore took me to their village. The Sudanese people, living and working in the urban areas or living abroad, always refer to their home village, which (...)
« De Massinissa ? M. Kadhafi : impressions de voyage en Libye »
La Tripolitaine (Libye occidentale), capitale OEA (Tripoli) offre des vestiges spectaculaires de la civilisation romaine, qui a commenc? au temps de la deuxi?me guerre punique et a atteint son acm? sous l’empereur « africain », Septime S?v?re (193-211 ap. J. C.), originaire de Leptis Magna. Cette cit? de la petite Syrte servit aussi de refuge au grand aguellid masyle, Massinissa, entre 205 et (...)
The Languedoc-Roussillon: A realm of history
From an aerial or bird’s eye view of the south-east part of France, the Languedoc-Rouissillon lies between the Rhone and the Pyr?n?es. It covers an area of 27,378 square kilometres with a population of over two million inhabitants. The Region has five ‘Departements’, Aude, Gard, H?rault, Loz?re and Pyr?n?es-Orientales. It is a place of contrasts where each department has kept its personality, (...)
Yeats: the life and works of William Butler Yeats
Irish poet and dramatist, William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) was born in Sandycove, Dublin on 13 June 1865, the son of John Butler Yeats, barrister turned portrait painter, and Susan Pollexfen, daughter of a wealthy mills and shipping Sligo family. Yeats’ early years were spent between Dublin, London and Sligo, attending school in Dublin and London before entering the Metropolitan School of Art. (...)
Green Valley in the snow: A White Christmas
The name Green Valley is known in several geographical, historical and literary contexts. Close to home, the Vall?e Verte is a place with rolling hills and peaks in the region of Chablais bordering Switzerland and France situated south of Lake L?man partly in Haute-Savoie in France. Chablais covers around 993 sq. kilometres and has mountain peaks to around 2,500 metres. Medieval, military, (...)
The Black Madonna: Virgin of Candelaria
Candelaria is a small coastal town in Tenerife, one of a group of volcanic islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the North-West coast of Africa forming an autonomous region of Spain. Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands where agriculture has now been largely overtaken by the tourism related industry. Tenerife covers around 2020 sq. kilometres. Santa Cruz, or Holy Cross, is the principal (...)
Ile Maurice : Lagons bleus et fonds marins merveilleux
Il est sept heures du matin. Apr?s un peu plus de dix heures d’un vol confortable et plaisant, nous atterrissons bient?t ? Plaisance, a?roport international de l’Ile Maurice. Aux commandes de l’Airbus A-340 de la compagnie nationale - parti la veille au soir de Gen?ve - le commandant de bord, comme nos belles h?tesses d’ailleurs, semble de bonne humeur. Au gr? du vent il prend l’option (...)
Journey to Morocco: Irish historical and cultural legacy
Between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, situated at Morocco’s north-western tip, Tangier is often referred to as the ‘crossroads of civilization’. Facing the Strait of Gibraltar, Tangier holds a strategic position between Europe and Africa that has been coveted and largely exploited through its long and tortuous history. Once an important Roman town, today it has a modern busy port (...)
Cavalieri Hilton in Rome - not quite your regular Hilton
Supposedly, Hilton hotels all look the same. The standard quality and features that feel reassuring to many international travellers are, for many others, reasons valid enough to avoid Hiltons. Well, today the ditcum "all Hiltons look the same" is a little less true. See for yourself next time you go to Rome.
The Cavalieri Hilton, nested on top of Italy’s capital’s Monte Mario, was already (...)
Ile Maurice : ambiance populaire, paris audacieux et courses passionnantes !
Le r?ve se poursuit et les vacances continuent !
Avec pour entame de notre deuxi?me journ?e dans l’Oc?an Indien un copieux petit-d?jeuner en bord de mer. Puis, l’estomac bien cal?, nous quittons la Pointe d’Esny pour Port-Louis, capitale et port principal de l’?le, en louvoyant sur des routes pleines de senteurs, bord?es tant?t de vastes champs de canne ? sucre, tant?t de plantations de th? (...)
A piece of Switzerland in Uruguay
Have you ever heard of Swiss cheese made in Uruguay? No? Believe it or not, it exits, and is produced in a small town, some 120 kilometers from Montevideo on Route 1, called Colonia Suiza – or the Swiss Colony. It may not taste exactly like the one made in Switzerland, but it is authentic, made by descendents of Swiss pioneers that settled here in the early 1860s.
On our tour of the city (...)
Taiwan, your best destination for medical care
In the past few years, as medical travel has emerged as a major trend worldwide, Taiwan has begun to actively promote medical tourism. In 2007, the Taiwan Task Force on Medical Travel (TFMT, http://medicaltravel.org.tw) was established to advance Taiwan’s affordable high-tech healthcare services.
Taiwan has six major advantages over other countries in the world: high quality, affordability, (...)
Cycling around Europe promoting Ethiopia
For more than a year, Girmay Mesfin, a young Ethiopian, has been travelling around Europe on his bicycle to promote his country. On a cold winter’s day he arrived in Geneva, his last stop in Switzerland. After a couple of days in the City of Calvin, Girmay will be setting off for Italy and Spain before heading back home. He started his campaign in Addis Ababa, took the plane to Paris and (...)
VOYAGE AU C ?UR DE LA SUISSE
Avec une superficie de 7.100 km carr ?s, ce qui repr ?sente un sixi ?me de la Suisse, les Grisons sont non seulement le plus grand canton suisse mais ?galement le plus caract ?ristique. Comportant 600 lacs et 160 vall ?es, ce canton a, en effet, une altitude qui de 260 m. culmine jusqu’ ? 4.049 m. avec le Piz Bernina. Ce grand canton est pourtant celui qui a la plus faible intensit ? de (...)
Revoir Venise
Tout le monde connaît Venise, ses gondoles, sa lagune, ses pigeons ; tout le monde (ou presque) y a été ou rêve d’y aller, en touriste, en amoureux, en esthète, en connaisseur. On y vient armé de guides spécialisés, de bottes de pécheurs pour “l’acqua alta” (cette marée qui transforme la ville en lac), d’un bon chapeau et ... d’un porte-monnaie assez bien garni.
Étonnement : même en hiver et hors saison la (...)
Le Palais idéal du Facteur Cheval
Tout ce que tu vois, passant, Est l’oeuvre d’un paysan. Ferdinand Cheval
A environ deux heures de Genève existe un lieu rare et magique. C’est à Hauterives dans la Drôme. Des tuiles romaines, quelques odeurs de lavande, un air plus doux, on sent que la Provence n’est pas très loin. Mais on n’y vient pas pour ce minuscule (...)
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Ita`s world
In the ‘hollow’ of An Cabhan, or Cavan, the town very successfully hosted the All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil from 16 to 22 August. Warm up events such as Family Day, for people of all ages, were held on Sunday, 15th. After a break of fifty-six years Ireland’s national festival returned to Cavan keeping the town alive from morning to night with a feast of traditional Celtic music, dance, poetry, concerts, exhibitions, charity events and numerous competitions for thousands of performers. In multiple venues within and around the town, music, song and craic poured forth to the thousands of visitors (...)
National Day of Commemoration: Ireland and United NationsFather of the Nation: Nelson Mandela Day
Marconi and Salvan: Dawn of wireless telegraphy
Francis Blanchard: A personal tribute