The highlight of a tour of Peru a decade or so ago was a three-day trip to Machu Picchu, one of the world’s most legendary ruined cities and the supposed summer retreat of the Incas. The lost city was officially rediscovered in 1911 by the archaeologist Hiram Bingham, who was the inspiration for George Lucas’s…
Lapis Lazuli – The Stone of Heaven
It comes from across the seas, this best-known of semi-precious stones, the lapis lazuli (lapis: Latin, stone; lazuli from lazulum, medieval: Arabic origin meaning blue). Deposits of this valuable rock are to be found on every continent except Australia, but the most famous mines are situated at Sar-é Sang in the Kokscha Valley in the…
Hotel riad “Demeures d’Orient” in Marrakech: an enchanting oriental abode
The word is out. Marrakech has a very distinguished hotel tradition; on one hand the numerous luxury hotels, such as the world-renowned La Mamounia, and on the other many small, personal hotels and maisons d’hôtes which can be discovered in the labyrinthine old town (medina). Last year I had the privilege of advising the proprietors…
L’Anse Source d’Argent, La Digue, Seychelles.
Popular belief has it that the “Source d’Argent” bay on the island of La Digue in the Seychelles archipelago in the Indian Ocean, is the most-photographed bay on the entire planet. This of course raises the question: why? Out of the hundreds of thousands, even millions of bays which exist worldwide, this is the one,…
Huang Shan & Shan Shui
What make this mountain range with its 72 peaks so unique, are the rare cliff formations, the peculiar vegetation, the fascinating, harsh weather-sculpted pines, and the clouds of vapour which hover close to the slopes, and turn the whole into an unreal and magical scene. If there is anywhere on earth where nature as artist…
or a Moroccan Riad
Anyone who has ever spent a few days in Marrakech, on the Atlantic coast in Essaouira, or in the university town of Fes, knows what a unique experience such a trip can be. We often hear it described as “paradise”, which in this context is certainly not wrong. The word “paradise” originates from the old…
Moss Garden Mystery
In woodland close to Kyoto, in the eastern grounds of the Rinzai Zen Buddhist Saihō-ji Temple, is situated probably the most significant moss garden in the world. It is also known by the name Kokedera, or moss temple, and was built to replicate the Western Paradise (Pure Land) of the Amida Buddha (Amitābha in Sanskrit)….
Back to Morocco – this time for the lanterns…
Moroccan lanterns are known the world over. They exist in all imaginable shapes, colours and materials. Mostly, however, they are wrought from iron, nickel, brass or copper. Also in our climes they are to be found, in specialist shops and even in department stores. Even the smallest of lanterns, brought home from a trip to…
Jardin Majorelle
The well-known phrase ″must de Cartier″ refers to a highly desirable object from the House of Cartier, a ″must-have″. My ″must de Marrakech″ would be the Jardin Majorelle, which although not for sale, can still be visited. It is a must for every visitor to this fantastic city; a garden to be indulged in, so…
A Brush with the Animal Kingdom
Reynard the Fox: shrewd and devious, even perfidious and violent. At least, this is how he is portrayed in the well-known, Low German, medieval epic “Reynke de vos”. Both a human tragedy and an animal comedy, all of our vices and bad habits are exemplified here in anthropomorphic animals, with such familiar figures as Noble…
