Τhe Berbers, or Imazighen —"the free people"— belong to one of humanity’s oldest civilisations, having lived in North Africa since at least 10,000 BC. When the Romans first encountered them, they termed them barbari….
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Mesmerised, I gazed around me as modern architectural marvels rose from the sands of Abu Dhabi. What stood before me was not just a city, but a symbol of transformation — one that had evolved from a modest Bedouin port…
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Seville, a city where history whispers from every street corner and the sun gilds its ornate façades, had long called to me. With eager anticipation, I was ready to immerse myself in a place where past and present…
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Ι am standing on a terrace above Piazza Venezia, and the view before me resembles a postcard. In the distance rises the Colosseum; in the middle ground stretches the Roman Forum; and in the foreground stand the twin domes of two Baroque churches…
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I believe there are beautiful landscapes, more beautiful landscapes, and a third category – those that are incomparably unique. That’s where I placed the location we were looking at now, which in Italian is called le crete senesι…
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Sicily had always existed in my imagination as a place shaped by cinema: harsh, sun-scorched landscapes, stern faces, and an atmosphere of austerity. Such images, largely crafted by Hollywood rather than by Italians themselves, had led me to expect…
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Ιt remains one of the most captivating places I visited in Chianti during my recent journey through Tuscany. In my book A Year in Tuscany, I wrote about the extraordinary beauty of the Tuscan…
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When I turned, and Dubrovnik came into my field of vision, it was like looking at a perfect postcard; I put down my camera and gazed at the medieval city, totally captivated. It was time for me to get closer…
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When we had sailed past the island, leaving the Adriatic behind us, the tempest subsided, the cruise ship reduced its speed, and it felt like we were sailing on a lake, a natural labyrinth of bays and capes, surrounded by the spectacular mountains…
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I started to put together a trip in my mind while watching the sea gulls calmly fly by, not having a care in the world. The closest island to Amorgos with an airport was Astypalea, and I had to get there by nightfall…
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I went back to the Mykonos of my childhood, and I saw it was a thousand times more fascinating than it had been then. The Mykonians made a miracle during all this time. Almost half a century! Everything was in tune with the traditional…
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I went back down to the Old Town and found myself in a labyrinth of dwellings, alleys, arched passages, square shaded by plane trees, churches and mosques, knightly buildings, the Hebrew...
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Autumn in New York City is, to my mind, the most beautiful season of the year. Early in the morning I walk through Central Park without haste, savouring each step as the foliage glows beneath the first rays of the sun…
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Berlin asserts its Prussian style with undeniable authority. The eye is struck by its grandeur and by the uncompromising order that seems to govern the entire urban landscape. Yet, even while admiring this magnificence, my thoughts drift back…
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Yet in Moscow I was nevertheless astonished by the golden domes shining beneath the blue winter sky, and by the vivid colours — red, blue and green — set against the intense white of stuccoed walls and fresh snow.
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In front of us was the Hawa Mahal, the famous Palace of the Winds, whose rosy façade is the emblem of Jaipur. It has over nine hundred small windows, through which the women of the palace could gaze at the traffic of the market road without being observed. Men were forbidden entry…
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When I first visited the Grand Palace, its glazed tiles shimmering in green and red, I was struck above all by the gleaming gold that seemed to suffuse every surface. Yet instead of reflecting on the history and significance of such splendour…
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While we were motoring to the Lake Palace, the spectacle of Udaipur, which was built in the 16th century by the Maharajahs of Mewar, unfolded along the banks. Their dynasty is said to have been descended…
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