Mount Athos

by Kelly Amabile on

Last week, Vladimir Putin took a previously cancelled
pilgrimage to a male-only monastic community on
Mount Athos in Greece. He visited the Russian Orthodox monastery of Saint
Panteleimon, pictured here, one of over 20 monasteries that make up Mount Athos, the oldest monastic republic still in
existence.

Located on the Athos peninsula of Chalkidiki, east of Thessaloniki, Mount Athos is home to over 1,500 monks of
Serbian, Bulgarian, Russian and Romanian decent, who are entitled to Greek and European citizenship, regardless of
their country of origin. By order of the protocol of the monastic state, only men are allowed to visit, and even female
animals are kept to a minimum on the Holy Mount. There are specific
instructions on how to request a visit to this center
of eastern orthodox monasticism, which looks like a beautiful place, although I guess I’ll never know…anyone ever
been?

The Macedonian Heritage site gives a
comprehensive history of the holy city, including descriptions of the art and architecture of the twenty distinct
monasteries. There is also a handy link
to Mark Dubin’s trekking guide 
of the region from a 1993 Lonely Planet guide book.

The Clockwinder of Versailles

by Erik Olsen on

With all the news about hurricane Katrina and the devastation and death, and will all the typical travel pieces we
cite here, I thought this was one of those quirky, but totally charming pieces that you don’t often come across. It
seems the perfect antidote to a Monday morning.

The piece takes a look at

the clockwinder of Versailles, one Bernard Draux, a “discreet Frenchman”, who’s job it is to wind the many old and
wonderfully complex clocks of Versailles. The clocks are not complex in the way today’s clocks are complex. There are
no LEDs or diodes or cords to plug in delivering pulsating streams of electrons. No, these are clocks that have served
kings over many centuries, filled with multitudes of tiny metal parts that together click and whir and turn to deliver
the hour of the day, perhaps with a dance on the hour by a pair of animatronic lords…lords a leaping, if you
will.

The piece is less about the gentleman clockwinder than it is about the preservation of tradition, something in this
age of strip malls and mass consumerism that is more important than ever Oh, and by the way, in case you were
wondering, the clockwinder wears a watch…with a battery.

History and Tourism Photography

by Adrienne Wilson on

Here’s a rather dazzling slide show to start your Sunday afternoon. The slide show focuses on the
history of photography and how tourism played its part. Dating as far back as 1839 when
Thomas Cook introduced the first organized rail excursion and Louis Daguerre designed the first commercially viable
photographic process and how such has evolved can also be seen in the traveling exhibit,
‘Site Seeing: Photographic Excursions in Tourism.’  Early images
taken by stereographs and daugerreographs followed by George Eastman’s creation of film photography, Ansel Adams
world famous travel photos and the use of advertising and mass-production have all played an enormous role in
the way potential travelers, daydreamers, and art lovers have come to see the world.  

via Newsweek

New Orleans Music

by Erik Olsen on

With all the stories of tragedy coming out of New Orleans, I thought
this was a very nice little piece that
examines the ravaging effects of the hurricane in the context of the city’s muscal culture. As you probably know, New
Orleans is the birthplace of jazz, and the radio piece here takes a look at that deep and immensely important part of
the city’s heritage.

Hiking the Long Path Outta NYC

by Erik Olsen on

I blab a bit about the stress of city life here in Manhattan and dream often of trips out of the city which these
days are too few and far between.  And when I think about getting out, I usually contemplate trips West, heading
into the open spaces in Colorado, Utah or even California. But there are places around here that can make a weekend
getaway less of an ordeal.

One of the places I’d like to head soon is written up very nicely in
this Backpacker article by Johnathan
Dorn. Dorn takes us along the Long Path, the aptly named 329-mile trail running from the George Washington Bridge (on
the Jersey side) along the Palisades escarpment and deep into the heart of the Shawangunk Mountains (or Gunks),
Catskill Park, and on, before it almost reaches the Adirondacks.

I’ve read about the Long Path before, but it had kind of slipped my mind before I read this article, and was very
pleased to read more about it. Over numerous weekends Dorn and buddy James foot it along more than half the trail’s
total length, and savor the sights and smells of the near-city getaway. I’ve just bookmarked the story for future
reference, because I plan to take on some of the trail myself. Soon. So stay tuned.