Nature

The setting sun showers Spil Dag National Park in a dusky, rosy red.

The Final Sprint to Istanbul

The townspeople ogled the tourist he’d captured. “From America,” the cop boasted, like he’d shot me at 400 yards with a rifle

Figs like this one, so ripe it's bursting, dangle by the millions along the roadsides near Izmir and Aydin.

The Figs and Mountains of Izmir

Travel horizontally in any direction and you see no change in landscape; Siberia remains Siberia from Finland to Kamchatka

Learn about destinations in Chile, such as Torres del Paine National Park.

Events Oct. 31-Nov. 3: Spooky Storytelling, Explore Chile, Lunder Conservation Center, and Sounds of the Dragon

This week, visit a Halloween story session, learn about Chile, get an up-close look at museum conservation, and enjoy a fusion of classical music

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Weekend Events Oct 28-30: Human Origins Discussion, Air and Scare, and Horse Nation Opening

This weekend, hear from experts on human evolution, go trick-or-treating in a museum, and celebrate the opening of a new American Indian exhibition

What if we could make masks to look like these models in the Natural History Museum's Hall of Human Origins?

The List: Smithsonian-Inspired Halloween Costumes

For all you last-minute costume shoppers, here's this year's list of Smithsonian DIY ideas

The author runs on empty as he pushes his bike over rough terrain in the Murat Mountains.

Rose Hips and Hard Times

Sultan packs me a goody bag with tomatoes, cheese and peppers so hot I can’t even touch them. I suggest paying and she tilts her head back—"not a chance.”

Sunlight bursts through a ceiling of rainclouds above the lonely west shore of Lake Burdur.

Gandhi’s Wisdom Falls Short

Then, from behind me, came a staccato war cry—“Aaaack!”—as my host sent a boot into the dog’s rib cage

Andy Warhol's Shadows, on view in its entirety for the first time

Events Oct. 24-27: goSmithsonian Trek, Andy Warhol, Skin Color Evolution, and an Inventors Symposium

Take part in an interactive scavenger hunt, get an inside look at the Hirshhorn's newest exhibition, learn about human evolution and get tips on inventing

The author stands amidst weirdness in the Cappadocian village of Zelve.

Cappadocia’s Fairy Chimneys and Cave Dwellings

Doorways still lead into cool, cozy chambers where people grilled kebabs, served tea and worshiped until 1952

A potential buyer must carefully inspect the rugs at the Navajo rug auction.

Where to Get a Great Rug, and a Helping of Navajo Culture

Connoisseurs of Native American textiles know to go to the Crownpoint, New Mexico, Navajo Rug Auction

A piece of black marble from a quarry in Vermont as seen under a scanning electron microscope

An Artist Gets a Backstage, Behind-the Scenes Ticket to Tour the Smithsonian

Acclaimed sculptor Elizabeth Turk is studying the properties of marble—her medium—at the Smithsonian Institution

Come hear Yumi Kurosawa play the koto, a traditional Japanese stringed instrument.

Events Oct. 11-13: Stories From the Mine, Baseball Americana and the Music and Arts of Japan

This week, come to a panel discussion with the Chilean miners, a talk about baseball, and join in an evening of Japanese culture

The floating fishing villages in Vietnam's Halong Bay

The World Monuments Fund 2012 Watch List

The latest Watch List from the World Monuments Fund cites 67 invaluable places in need of attention, in some cases protection from tourists

No doubt about it, bears had been in this area.

The Bear and the Bullet

The truck came by slowly and a spotlight swept the river bottom. "My God—they're hunting me!"

Film still from 55 Days at Peking (1963)

The List: Top Eleven Things to Do this Month at the Smithsonian After Work

Date night at the Smithsonian, grab your special someone and head out to these after-hours events

Turkish tea

Tea and Bear Talk in Turkey

"It's too dangerous," said a villager. "There are bears." His boys growled and clawed the air

Visit the Butterfly Pavilion at the Natural History Museum

Events Oct. 3-6: Butterfly Pavilion, Quiltmaking Demonstration, America in Black and White and African Drumming

This week, see exotic insects, learn a new craft, be part of a thought-provoking discussion on race and join a drum circle

Water in the Black Sea’s northern reaches gets as cold as seawater can get—31 degrees Fahrenheit—and as warm as the 80s in summer.

The Wild World of the Black Sea

Visitors come for the place and spill onto the beach and pose exuberantly under umbrellas and wrestle with colorful inflatable toys in the brown waves

The great Selimiye Mosque of Edirne

Where to Go when Greece Says No: Turkey

That evening a man walked into my bush camp with a gun, marched straight at me as I gaped in shock and sprawled out beside me on my tarp

See Sidney Mobell's 18-karat gold Monopoly Board at the Museum of American Finance in New York as part of Smithsonian's Museum Day.

The Jeweled Art of Sidney Mobell

Mobell is one of the world's most unusual artists: a craftsman who turns everyday items into extremely valuable works of jeweled art

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