Set within a basin of pink granite mountains, Tafraoute offers a landscape that feels both open and sheltered. The town lies in the Anti-Atlas range, where rounded rock formations rise above palm groves and small farms. As the sun moves across the sky, the rocks shift from soft rose to deep orange, creating a changing backdrop that defines the area. The setting gives Tafraoute a sense of quiet distance, even though it serves as a central hub for nearby villages.
Latvia invites visitors to explore a land where medieval streets meet vast forests and a lively coastline. Riga, the country’s capital, is home to one of the largest and best-preserved collections of Art Nouveau architecture in Europe. Walking through the Old Town, visitors can admire intricate facades and cobblestone streets that lead to landmarks like the House of Blackheads and St. Peter’s Church, whose tower offers panoramic views of the city.
Xi’an, located in central China’s Shaanxi Province, served as the starting point of the ancient Silk Road and was the capital of 13 imperial dynasties. Its long history is most famously represented by the Terracotta Army, an underground army of life-sized warriors discovered in 1974. Each figure has distinct facial features, hairstyles, and armor, designed to protect Emperor Qin Shi Huang in the afterlife.
Nuku Hiva is the largest of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, a place where scale and isolation shape both history and daily life. Long before European contact, the island supported complex Marquesan societies known for stone architecture, tattoo traditions, and ceremonial sites, many of which remain scattered across its valleys.
Newark, New Jersey is often overshadowed by its proximity to New York City but still has a strong identity rooted in history, art, and global culture. As one of the oldest cities in the United States, founded in 1666, Newark’s rich past is visible in landmarks like the Old First Presbyterian Church and Military Park, where George Washington once camped. The city’s architecture reflects its legacy, from the Beaux-Arts Newark Museum building to the art deco facade of the historic Hahne & Co. depar
Bled, a small town in northwestern Slovenia, has gained international attention thanks to its lake, which features a lone island topped with a baroque church. Visitors often take traditional wooden boats called pletna to reach the island, where it's customary to ring the church bell and make a wish. According to local legend, the bell was originally cast in memory of a young widow’s lost husband, and today, its chime echoes across the lake as a symbol of devotion and hope.
Photo Credit: Photo by Hisham Zayadneh on Unsplash
Photo Credit: Photo by Eyad SR7AN on Unsplash
Jerash is reached by a short drive (29 miles, 47km) north of Amman and is an ancient Graeco-Roman city, once known as Gerasa. It has been dubbed the 'Pompeii of the East', because of its extraordinary state of preservation. Jerash is a vast city, which flourished in the centuries immediately preceding and following the Christian era.
At the approach to the city, the visitor is greeted by the imposing triple-arched gateway, built to honour the Emperor Hadrian when he arrived there in 129A.D.
Jerash formed part of the Decapolis, a league of ten cities built by the Romans and dating from the first century B.C. Today, visitors may wander among the original temples, theatres, plazas, public baths and colonnaded streets complete with sculptures and fountains, all enclosed within the still-remaining city walls.
The great oval forum, once the centre of social activity within the city, is impressively well-preserved and is approached by means of the Street of Columns. The city's 14 churches with their beautiful mosaic decoration all date from the Byzantine era.
The annual Jerash Festival of Culture and Arts is held for two weeks
every summer and is an important cultural event, featuring performing artists from all over the world. This event has international
recognition and is a source of great pride to the culturally-minded
people of Jordan. There is also a daily sound and light show in English French, German and Arabic.