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Travel

Magic Moments, April 2018

A Photographer Captures Contrasts and Characters in Barcelona’s Streets

Josep Fabrega Agea, a retired teacher and psychosociologist, points his lens at the city’s dark corners and poetic places

A cook works on khorovats skewers at Taron Restaurant in Yerevan.

Armenia

Get to Know Khorovats, Armenia’s Favorite Grilling Pastime

Prototype for a Nonfunctional Satellite (Design 4; Build 4), 2013, a mixed media installation at a hangar in Nevada by Trevor Paglen.

This Artist Dwells in the Clandestine World of Classified Secrets and Surveillance

MacArthur Award recipient Trevor Paglen is launching his own satellite into space this fall—as a work of art

Kozima waterfront.

This Tiny Picturesque Island Is Standing in for Greece in ‘Mamma Mia 2’

Sometimes the understudy exceeds expectations

Lion Forest Garden.

This City in China Has the Most Unesco-Recognized Gardens in the World

Suzhou has more than 60 gardens dating back to 600 AD, and nine have collective World Heritage status

Nelson Mandela's capture site.

These Sites Connected to Nelson Mandela’s Life Are Haunting and Inspiring

Honor the anti-apartheid activist’s legacy by following his footsteps for his 100th birthday

This Spectacular Canadian Wildlife Reserve Is So Remote, You Can Only Get There Five Weeks a Year

Among serious adventure seekers, word is spreading about Torngat Mountains National Park—an Inuit-run reserve in Labrador, Northeastern Canada

The rediscovered 1857 “Laws of Base Ball,” dubbed the sport’s Magna Carta, (above, with a 1911 image of the Brooklyn Baseball Club) makes its first appearance in a major exhibition at the Library of Congress.

This Crackerjack Lineup of Baseball Memorabilia Drives Home the Game’s American Essence

A new Library of Congress exhibition includes such treasures as the original 1857 “Magna Carta of Baseball”

Tony Tasset, "Judy's Hand Pavilion," 2018. Installation view at Toby's Plaza, Case Western Reserve University. Commissioned by FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art in collaboration with Toby Lewis and the John and Mildred Putnam Collection at Case Western Reserve University. July 14-September 30, 2018.

Works by Over 100 Contemporary Artists Take Over Cleveland

The citywide FRONT International festival is the largest event of its kind in North America

Armenia

Raising a Glass to Armenia’s Elaborate Toasting Tradition

In the backyard of the world’s oldest-known winery, a cherished national tradition evolved

Armenian shadow puppetry is a technique whose origins can be traced to the 1300s. The puppet theater group known as Ayrogi has set out to keep this imaginative art form alive.

Armenia

Illuminating the Shadowy Art of Armenian Puppet Theater

Tricksters and beasts dance across the imagination in these silhouetted puppet shows

Over the course of the 2018 Folklife Festival, experienced artisans worked hand in hand with crochet novices to decorate a humble tree of life.

Armenia

Armenia’s “Tree of Life” Tradition Took Root Thousands of Years Ago, and Has Only Grown Since

The tree adorned in this year’s Smithsonian Folklife Festival will continue to blossom overseas

Kasimu Harris, "War on the Benighted #1," 2015. Digital photography.

American South

Seven Artists Explore New Orleans’ Forgotten Histories

A new exhibit timed to the city’s tricentennial explores The Big Easy’s diverse and sometimes troubled past

The History and Psychology of Roller Coasters

Researchers take you on a wild ride through endorphins, brain chemistry and stress science to explain the allure of theme park thrill

These Volcanic, Italian Islands Have Been Beloved by Travelers Since Homeric Times

The Aeolian Islands have been drawing visitors, fictional and real, for centuries

A restaurant in Bishopville, S.C. markets the town’s association to the Lizard Man.

A Search for Mysteries and Monsters in Small Town America

How monster festivals became American pilgrimage sites

Sahkanush and Haykanush Stepanyan became experts at rugmaking while still teenagers.

Armenia

The Age-Old Tradition of Armenian Carpet Making Refuses to Be Swept Under the Rug

A new generation is emerging to craft the ancient rugs

The Tatev Monastery sits perched on a cliff above Vorotan Gorge, Armenia's largest gorge.

Armenia

How a Record-Breaking Aerial Tramway Helped Save a Centuries-Old Armenian Monastery

The world’s longest reversible cableway now carries an unprecedented number of visitors to this historic site

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