New National Geographic app puts the world in your hands

by Kraig Becker on

If you’re a fan of maps, then you’re definitely going to want the latest iPad app from Nat Geo. The new app, entitled The World by National Geographic, provides an interactive atlas that lets you explore the planet from your easy chair, while giving you multiple zoom levels, country facts, and wonderful photos from a variety of locations.

When you launch the app for the first time, you’ll be presented with a view of the Earth from space. If you’re anything like me, your first instinct will be to spin that globe, just like you would a physical one that exists in the real world. I was delighted to find that swiping a finger across this virtual representation of the planet did just that, with the animation running very smoothly. The usual array of iOS gestures work as well, and soon you’ll find yourself intuitively pinching to zoom, tapping on points of interest, and so on.

At the start, you’ll be able to easily identify the seven continents, with red lines clearly marking the borders between countries as well. You’ll also notice a number of yellow dots sprinkled across the globe that indicate that more detailed maps are available for that region. Some of those dots will be labeled, while others won’t indicate the area they represent until you tap on them. Double tapping will zoom the view in much closer, presenting a higher resolution version of that region that offers far more detail, including individual towns and villages, roads, rivers, and much more.

Along the bottom of the screen you’ll find alternative ways of navigating the app, including a “Maps” section that shows all of the individual regional maps that are available in the software. You can also search for countries by name or continent, which will show an alphabetical listing of those nations along with a graphical representation of their flag. In this mode, when you tap on the country you wish to find, the globe will automatically spin to that destination, while simultaneously zooming in to a more detailed level. You’ll also be presented with a number of facts about the country as well with such data as population, capital, currency, and much more placed at your finger tips.As you might expect, the “Photos” option presents a number of beautiful images from a number of countries, which are once again listed in alphabetical order. Tapping on an image displays a larger, higher resolution version and includes a caption to let you know exactly what the photo is and where it was taken. While you can spend a couple of hours flipping through the photos, I would have liked to have seen even more. As a fan of National Geographic’s trademark photography, I felt the offerings were sparse at times, with many countries having just one photo or none at all.

I’ve always been someone who has been fascinated with maps and atlases, so I found myself thoroughly enjoying The World, but if you’re not a map fiend, you may find yourself growing bored rather quickly. You’ll also discover that without an Internet connection, some of the higher resolution version of the maps won’t be available to you. That said however, this app isn’t designed to be a navigational aid, but more of a reference. In other words, you won’t be heading out on your travels intending to use this for finding your way around. Instead, you’ll curl up with it on the couch when the need to explore comes over you, but you just don’t feel like heading out the door.

The World is available now in the App Store for $3.99 and is yet another high quality app from National Geographic, who has put out a steady stream of them over the past year or so. Unlike most of their apps however, this one is only available for the iPad and won’t run on the iPhone or iPod Touch.

Biblical city of Nineveh under threat in Iraq

by Sean McLachlan on


One of the greatest cities of the ancient world may soon be lost.

Three thousand years ago, the city of Nineveh in Iraq had a population of 100,000 and was the capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. It was home to magnificent palaces and temples and is mentioned in the Old Testament.

Now it’s crumbling away, reports Popular Archaeology magazine. Located near the city of Mosul on the Tigris River, it was hit hard by looting during the war, and is still inadequately protected and maintained. Mosul’s suburbs are expanding close to the site, weathering is taking its toll, and illegal digging for artifacts continues. Many of these stolen treasures end up on the international antiquities market. The Global Heritage Fund lists Nineveh as one of the world’s most threatened ancient sites.

Of course, Coalition forces and the Iraqi government have a lot more pressing problems than archaeological preservation, but they ignore it at their peril. Preserving Iraq’s past will help secure Iraq’s future. Once the country becomes stable (whenever that happens) places like Nineveh will be a huge tourist draw. In fact, at least one company already offers tours to Iraq that focus on the country’s rich ancient history.

Despite these pioneering tours, it will be a many years before Iraq will be a mainstream tour destination. In the meantime, you can see many fine bas-reliefs from the palaces of Nineveh at the British Museum in London.

[Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons. Note that it was taken in 1990, before suffering two decades of war.]

Queen Hatshepsut and the case of the poison skin cream

by Sean McLachlan on

German archaeologists studying a skin cream once owned by Queen Hatshepsut have found evidence that the female pharaoh may have accidentally poisoned herself.

The tiny bottle, which has an inscription saying it was owned by Hatshepsut, was still partially filled with a substance that the archaeologists subjected to chemical analysis. It included nutmeg and palm oils, commonly used to soothe skin irritations. It also included benzopyrene, which smells nice but is highly carcinogenic. It’s found in burnt substances such as pitch, coal tar, cigarette smoke, and burnt foods such as barbeque and coffee. Keep that in mind this Labor Day Weekend.

In contrast to the idealized statue of Hatshepsut shown here, her mummy revealed that she was obese, had liver cancer, and probably suffered from diabetes.

Hatshepsut’s rule saw two decades of peace and ambitious trade expeditions as far as Puntland, which was probably in the modern unrecognized state of the same name. Her modern-looking temple at Deir el Bahri is one of Egypt´s most stunning attractions. You can reach it by bus, or if you’re feeling adventurous you can take a mountain path from the Valley of the Kings, which leads you to a cliff overlooking the temple before sloping down past the tombs of its builders and to the temple itself. I did this one August, which is not the best time. That was probably as bad for my skin as Hatshepsut’s skin cream.

[Photo courtesy Rob Koopman]

6 surf destinations you’d never think of

by Kyle Ellison on

Sure, we all know the world of surfing revolves around Hawaii’s fabled North Shore. If you’ve ever owned a board, you can probably rattle off some of the other global hot spots: Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, Fiji, California, Costa Rica…the list goes on and on.

Just because the same 20 places have some of the best waves on the planet, however, doesn’t mean that the rest of the globe is forced to go without. Ever since the 1966 release of the timeless surf film Endless Summer, global surf travelers have been pushing the boundaries of scoring waves in increasingly obscure locations.

Lately, it seems as if the act of finding waves in remote locations is potentially more exhilarating than the act of riding the waves themselves. Here on Gadling we’ve reported before about surfers hunting down waves from Lake Erie to Iceland in search of some stoke, and Surfing magazine has hosted contests such as the Google Earth Challenge in a modern effort to scour the globe for unknown pointbreaks and barrels.

So, in the spirit of ever-expanding global surf travel, here is a list of 6 locations you might want to put on your surf radar.

1. Namibia

Ever since Skeleton Bay was popularized by the 2008 Google Earth Challenge, this southwestern African nation has officially been placed on the surf map. Unfortunately for the casual surfer, however, a surf trip to Namibia isn’t exactly your afternoon stroll down to the beach. The water is consistently frigid, coastal access is largely controlled by heavily armed diamond miners, and large colonies of seals attract toothy predators that are unwanted in any surf lineup. For those with the resources to break down the desert barriers however, the rewards can be empty beaches that are home to some of the world’s longest barrels.

2. Bangladesh

More commonly known as one of the world’s most crowded nations, few people know that Bangladesh is also home to the world’s longest beach, Cox’s Bazar, which I’m going to go out on a limb and label the Bangladeshi Riviera. Aside from being the nation’s most popular beach resort, it’s also the home base of the Bangladesh Surf Club, which according to its website currently has over 70 members.

3. Oman

One of the most stable nations in the Middle East, Oman also boasts over 2,000km of coastline directly fronting the Arabian Sea. While the area is prone to blinding sandstorms and inhospitable terrain, it nonetheless is a popular surf getaway for the nearby urban centers of Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the neighboring United Arab Emirates. The desert nation has recently been featured in a number of mainstream surfing magazines, and online surf forums such as
Surfers of Dubai are beginning to legitimize Oman as a regional surfing outpost.

4. Uruguay

Sandwiched between Buenos Aires and Brazil, people tend to forget about Uruguay, which is a major South American faux pas. One group of individuals who consistently flock to Uruguay in droves, however, are Brazilian and Argentinian surfers who road trip to the coastal nation for a shot at some South Atlantic juice. While trendy locales such as Punta del Este get all of the attention (surf all day, gamble all night), it’s the remote sand dunes and fishing villages of eastern Uruguay that consistently see the best surf.

5. Ghana

Though waves have crashed into the West African coastline since well before colonialism, it was the boys from Endless Summer who first put Ghana on the surfing map. One of the most economically stable nations in West Africa, various surf shops and groups such as the Ghana Surfing Association have begun to spring up along the coastline to accommodate the growing legions of local and visiting surfers, their boards gliding through the tropical waves to the beat of a West African drum.

6. Thailand

Better known for it’s beaches, diving, and morally questionable tourism, Thailand is also the premier surf destination on the Southeast Asian peninsula (with perhaps the exception of southern Vietnam). Monsoon winds provide ample surf for certain parts of the year, and although the Thailand surf scene is centered around the beaches of Phuket, other islands such as Koh Lanta and Koh Pha Ngan can pull in some pretty hefty Asian slabs for anyone hanging out during the monsoon.

10 countries Americans need advance visas to visit

by Meg Nesterov on

We live in an increasingly borderless world and we have access to many countries that were closed (or non-existent) 20 years ago. As reported earlier this week, Americans are especially lucky with access to 169 countries visa free. Still, there are still many countries that Americans need advance visas to visit. Visa applications and processing services can cost several hundreds of dollars and take a lot of time and energy to obtain, so figure in that into your travel planning but don’t let it discourage you from visiting.

Nearly all countries in Africa, the Caribbean, Central America, Western Europe, and the Middle East will give you a visa free or for a fee on arrival. See below for our guide to countries you will need to apply for advance visas, along with fees, useful information and links to consular websites.
Asia

  • China: US citizens pay $130 for tourist visas, single- or multiple-entry up to 24 months from date of application. Keep in mind a trip to Hong Kong or Macau counts as an exit from China, so plan on a multiple-entry visa if you’ll be in and out. You’ll need to send your actual passport in for processing and ideally plan 1-2 months in advance of travel.
  • India: Fees from visa contractor Travisa start at $50 and visas can be valid for up to 10 years, but note that you must have a gap of at least 2 months between entries.
  • Vietnam: Single-entry visas start at $70 and multiple-entry visas are valid for up to one year. Another option for Americans is a single-entry visa on arrival, apply online and pay another stamping fee at the airport.
  • North Korea: Not an easy one for Americans as there are no consular relations between the two countries, but it is possible if you go through a specialist travel agency such as New Korea Tours and realize you’ll be visiting only on a highly-restricted and guided group tour. Note that you’ll have to go through China, requiring another visa of course!
  • See also: Afghanistan, Bhutan, Pakistan

Eurasia

  • Russia: Russian visa rules are quite strict and complicated, so you’ll need to have a solid itinerary set up before you apply as visas are valid for specific dates and not extendable. You’ll need a sponsorship for your visa, typically provided by your hotel or tour operator for a small fee, and you’ll register your visas once in the country. Fees start at $140 and applications should now be filled out online. Tourist visas are generally only valid for two weeks and even if you are just traveling through Russia, you’ll need a transit visa.
  • Belarus: Similar to Russian rules, a letter of invitation must be provided from an official travel agency in order to get a visa. You also have to show proof of medical insurance and financial means (about $15 USD/day, can be demonstrated with credit cards or paid travel arrangements). Tourist visas start at $140 and $100 for transit visas. Gadling writer Alex Robertson Textor is currently planning a trip, stay tuned for his report next month.
  • Azerbaijan: The country changed its visa policy last year, and now Americans must obtain an advance visa. You’ll need an invitation from an Azerbaijan travel agency, then a tourist visa costs $20 and takes 10 business days to process. Transit visas don’t require an invitation letter but should still be obtained in advance of travel.
  • See also: Turkmenistan

Other

  • Australia: Getting a tourist visa is simple and cheap ($20). Apply online at any point in advance and you’ll be verified at the airport. Valid for as many entries as needed for 12 months from date of application.
  • Brazil: Tourist visas are $140 plus $20 if you apply by mail or through an agency. If you are self-employed or jobless, you’ll need to provide a bank account balance, and all applications should include a copy of your round trip tickets or other travel itinerary.
  • Iran: There’s a current travel warning from the US state department, but Rick Steves is a fan of the country and several reputable travel agencies provide tours for Americans. The US consulate notes that some Americans with visas have been turned away, so your best bet is to visit with a group.
  • See also: Nigeria, Paraguay, Saudi Arabia, Suriname

The good news for expats, students studying abroad, and other foreigners with residency is that many countries will allow you to apply in a country other than your home country for a visa. For example, I traveled to Russia from Turkey, getting my visa from a travel agency in Istanbul without sending my passport back to the US. Always check the US state department website for the latest visa information and entry requirements.

Photo courtesy Flickr user Thomas Claveirole.