Hagia Sophia

Travel

A Monumental Struggle to Preserve Hagia Sophia

In Istanbul, secularists and fundamentalists clash over restoring the nearly 1,500 year-old structure

Thoroughbred Park statues

Lexington Is Kim Edwards' Old Kentucky Home

Far from her Northern roots, the best-selling novelist discovers a new sense of home amid rolling hills and Thoroughbred farms

Tayrona National Park

Colombia Dispatch 1: Revisiting Colombia

Journalist Kenneth Fletcher returns to Colombia to investigate how the government and its people hope to rise above their problematic past

Medieval wall gate

Munich at 850

The livable, culture-crazy, beer-loving capital of Bavaria is coming to terms with its history

Weybridge, Vermont

Julia Alvarez on Weybridge, Vermont

Other towns get more attentions says the renown novelist, but this is a place where things get done

California Academy of Sciences

California Academy of Sciences: Greening a Higher Ground

San Francisco's new science museum hosts its own rooftop ecosystem

Charles Michener

Charles Michener on "Munich at 850"

Houston skyline

Southern Comfort

Celebrated poet Mark Doty succumbs to Houston's humid charms

Cameos

Adventures of a Portuguese Poet

Wild-hearted Luis Vaz de Camoes’ years abroad are not well-known, but that hasn’t lessened his legend

Macau skyline

Macau Hits the Jackpot

In just four years, this 11-square-mile outpost on the coast of China eclipsed Las Vegas as gambling's world capital

Georgia

Georgia at a Crossroads

Past armed checkpoints into outlaw lands, the author traces the history of the Caucasus republic, the leading recipient of U.S. aid after Israel and scene of a potential new cold war

Jamar Roberts, Amos J. Machanic Jr. and Olivia Bowman

Points of Interest

Notable American Destinations and Happenings

trans-siberian railway

A World on Rails

A journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway offers inspiring sights, from snowscapes to wildlife

edge of Lake Como

Silken Treasure

The Italian city of Como, celebrated for its silk and scenery, has inspired notables from Leonardo da Vinci and Giuseppe Verdi to Winston Churchill and George Clooney

At a major crossroads, Champagne has been at the center of European history during both war and peace for millennia. Named campania by the Romans for its high plains and open hills suitable for planting fields of grains, grapes, and other products, Champagne remains one of the most important and productive agricultural regions in France.

Snapshot: The Champagne Region

An area famous for its bubbly wine offers natural and cultural riches

Blogs

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Games

Heritage Month

Wedding party

Celebrating American Indian Heritage

Sitting Bull's legacy, Native American languages, a national list of events and more

Como, Italy

Preserving Hagia Sophia

Take a 360 degree tour around the Byzantine landmark that has been preserved for nearly 1500 years

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