Archaeologists Discover Key To An Ancient City’s Wealth

by Sean McLachlan on


A couple of months ago we reported on how archaeologists discovered how the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria thrived in the desert. A complex system of canals and cisterns trapped the sparse but regular rainfall.

Residents of another ancient city, Petra in Jordan, appear to have taken advantage of desert water to support their civilization too. Jordanian and Dutch archaeologists have discovered that an area 15 kilometers east of the city used to be a large oasis. The ancients tapped into it with an extensive network of aqueducts, reservoirs and underground canals cut out of the rock to water their fields.

Petra, capital of the Nabatean Kingdom, was a major trading center in the deserts of what is now Jordan and grew rich off of trading luxury items such as frankincense and myrrh.

The Udhruh Archaeological Project, named after the site, has found evidence that the irrigation system dates back at least 2,000 years. The area was in use for several centuries and the team has also found what may be the best-preserved Roman fort in the world. You can take a virtual tour of that fort here. The tour will show you not only the fort, but also a Byzantine church and a satellite view of the entire site.

[Photo of Petra courtesy Chris Yunker]

Photo Of The Day: Tel Aviv’s Street Art

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Tel Aviv’s street art – in addition to sabich of course – was a highlight of my visit to Israel and the West Bank last spring. I snapped graffiti, spray-painted eggplants, political stencils and stickers.

Clearly I wasn’t the only one to find this element of Tel Aviv’s public culture interesting. Flickr user AlexSven photographed this complicated image in July of this year.

Upload your favorite images to the Gadling Group Pool on Flickr. We choose our favorites from the pool to be Photos of the Day.

Video: Violinist In The Mountains Of Iran

by Sean McLachlan on


I love hearing different music when I travel, and often it’s the music I remember the most. One of my clearest memories of Bulgaria, for example, is an elderly woman on the streets of Sofia singing a folk song. Even though I didn’t know the words, the song stuck with me.

Here’s a video of another chance encounter with traditional music, this time in Iran. Youtube poster bornainspain was hiking in the mountains outside Iran’s capital Tehran and came across this old gentleman playing a catchy tune on a bright red violin. The caption says it’s a very old Persian melody. It sounds familiar, though, and I don’t think I heard it when I went to Iran back in 1994. Can anyone tell me the name of this tune?

Whatever it is, he plays it well and this video points out one of the best things about travel – the chance encounters that make lasting memories. Do you have any fond musical memories from your travels? Tell us about them in the comments section!

Traveling Photo Exhibit Shows A Different Side Of Afghanistan

by Jessica Marati on

Beauty often isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Afghanistan. However, a new traveling photo exhibit from non-profit organization Mountain2Mountain aims to change that.

“Streets of Afghanistan” features life-size images from both Afghan and Western photographers that challenge the perceptions most people hold about this complex country. The intention is not only to showcase a side of Afghanistan not often celebrated, but also to spark conversation, engage viewers and connect communities through art. The exhibit also features video projections, live music, kites and people, resulting in an experience that is both interactive and immersive.

The exhibit was first unveiled at the Denver Art Museum in April 2011, but organizers have long yearned to bring it back to the very place that inspired it: Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul. In order to make that dream a reality, Mountain2Mountain recently launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise the $20,000 that is needed for shipping, logistics and security. To learn more about the exhibit and make a contribution, visit the campaign on Kickstarter.

[Image by Wakil Kohsar, courtesy of Mountain2Mountain]

Final Season of Anthony Bourdain’s ‘No Reservations’ Debuts Labor Day On Travel Channel

by Laurel Miller on

You know the old saying; it’s always best to leave the party when you’re having a great time. So it is with Anthony Bourdain, chef/author/keen observationist of the absurd/master of the pithy sentiment, and dark lord of the filthy, matted belly of the culinary underworld. On Labor Day, the Travel Channel will premiere the ninth and final season of its Emmy Award®-winning series, “No Reservations – The Final Tour.”

On September 3 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, Bourdain will take viewers on a tour of Austin. Later episodes will span the globe, culminating in a Brooklyn-based finale. If you want to get your Tony on, check out the nine-hour “No Reservations” marathon beginning at 12 p.m. ET/PT. Tune in, turn on, pig out.

Below, a compilation of the Travel Channel’s favorite “Bourdainisms.”