Legend has it that camel jumping began many generations ago with a dare between two Zaraniq tribesmen.

The Sport of Camel Jumping

In the deserts of Yemen, Zaraniq tribesmen compete to leap camels in a single bound

Love it or hate it, the vuvuzela is the voice of South African soccer fans and will be on display at the 2010 World Cup.

Vuvuzela: The Buzz of the World Cup

Deafening to fans, broadcasters and players, the ubiquitous plastic horn is closely tied to South Africa’s soccer tradition

Isolation allowed the Kurds to survive for thousands of years while other cultures faded from history.

Kurdish Heritage Reclaimed

After years of conflict, Turkey’s tradition-rich Kurdish minority is experiencing a joyous cultural reawakening

"The numbers are incredible," says photographer Suzi Eszterhas of the multitudes of migrating wildebeests that cross from Tanzania to Kenya and back each year.

For Wildebeests, Danger Ahead

Africa’s wildebeest migration pits a million thundering animals against a gantlet of perils, even—some experts fear—climate change

Mali's long history as a sub-Saharan trade route underlies its artistic traditions.

Looting Mali’s History

As demand for its antiquities soars, the West African country is losing its most prized artifacts to illegal sellers and smugglers

Working like "little pistons," donkeys keep the medina humming. An estimated 100,000 people in the Fez area depend on the animals for their livelihood.

Morocco’s Extraordinary Donkeys

The author returns to Fez to explore the stubborn animal’s central role in the life of this desert kingdom

Scott Wing points out the red and gray strata visible in the distant hills.

Day 2: Uncovering Earth’s History in the Bighorn Basin

Secretary Clough tours the different Smithsonian excavation sites and discovers some prehistoric fossils while there

Secretary of the Smithsonian, G. Wayne Clough, traveled to Worland, Wyo. to observe Scott Wing and his team mine the fossil lode they found.

Day 1: A Geological Trip Back in Time

Smithsonian Secretary Clough flies to Wyoming to learn about a period of intense global warming that occurred 55 million years ago

Aptly named superb starlings enjoy the bird feeder at Mpala Ranch.

Day 5: Bird Watching and Animal Tracking

Living among the African wildlife, Smithsonian researchers are busy studying the symbiotic relationships between flora and fauna

Migratory animals such as elephants cover long distances over both public and private lands.

Day 2: What Can Researchers Do To Save the Savannah?

Between water shortages, erosion, and human population growth, the ecosystem and the animals of Kenya face serious risks

Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough travels to Nairobi, Kenya to understand the research programs and opportunities at the Mpala Research Centre.

Day 1: Seeing Kenya from the Sky

Despite many travel delays, Smithsonian Secretary Clough arrives in Kenya ready to study the African wildlife at the Mpala Ranch

Four hundred years ago, Isfahan was larger than London and more cosmopolitan than Paris. The city's most famous bridge, Si-o Seh Pol (Bridge of 33 Arches) is nearly 1,000 feet long and 45 feet wide.

Isfahan: Iran’s Hidden Jewel

Once the dazzling capital of ancient Persia,Isfahan fell victim to neglect, but a new generation hopes to restore its lost luster

Now ancient Famagusta, tucked into a modern city of 35,000 people, is largely forgotten, except, perhaps, as the setting for Shakespeare's Othello.

Endangered Site: Famagusta Walled City, Cyprus

Once located in the midst of high-volume shipping lanes, a forgotten city with multiple European influences could be lost forever without an intervention

Mohamed Mahmoud on the roof of his Al-Hamoni family library, of which he is curator, in Chinguetti, Mauritania.

Endangered Site: Chinguetti, Mauritania

The rapidly expanding Sahara Desert threatens a medieval trading center that also carries importance for Sunni Muslims

Hasankeyf is home to thousands of human-made caves, hundreds of medieval monuments and a rich-ecosystem.

Endangered Site: The City of Hasankeyf, Turkey

A new hydroelectric dam threatens the ancient city, home to thousands of human-made caves

At the Church of the Nativity, three rival Christian groups use their caretaking duties to maintain their claims to the basiilica.

Endangered Site: Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem

The basilica believed to mark the birthplace of Jesus Christ has survived invasions, rebellions and earthquakes

Seen from the aircraft that Steinmetz calls his "flying lawn chair," a salt-making site at the village of Teguidda-n-Tessoumt in arid northern Niger appears to be a vast work of abstract art. The clay-lined pools hold briny water that slowly evaporates, yielding salt solids that workers truck to southern Niger and Nigeria, where the minerals are given to livestock. The bluish pools bear a salty crust that reflects the sky.

Africa on the Fly

Dangling from a paraglider with a propeller on his back, photographer George Steinmetz gets a new perspective on Africa

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Inside Cape Town

Tourists are flocking to the city, but a former resident explains how the legacy of apartheid lingers

A huddle grows around the high priests, with one young priest bearing an ikon, or holy picture, while others hold ornate gold and silver crosses.

Keepers of the Lost Ark?

Christians in Ethiopia have long claimed to have the ark of the covenant. Our reporter investigated

"We can no longer work in Iraq," says Haidar Hilou, an award-winning screenwriter.

Welcome to Rawda

Iraqi artists find freedom of expression at this Syrian café

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