Climate and tourism education right now? With its endless golden sands, rugged canyons and sweeping star-studded skies, Wadi Rum is an adventurer’s paradise. Ideal for hiking, camel tours and even overnight stays in desert camps, this mystical land of shifting dunes and reddened sandstone has been inhabited since prehistoric times and is home to nomadic Bedouin tribes. It has stood in for Mars in several Hollywood films and was the location of the Lawrence of Arabia film in the 1960s. Want to see it for yourself? With Culture Trip, you can hike through Wadi Rum and stay in a traditional Bedouin campsite on our immersive nine-day Jordan adventure. See more information at Define Places.
Marrakesh is a city that sums up all of Morocco’s exotic North African charm. The city’s name provided the root for the name of the country itself, spelling out this town’s importance through the ages. Within the hustle of the medina, you’ll find the city’s main points of interest in a dizzying meld of ancient and new. Just soaking up the atmosphere here tops the things to do list, with snake charmers and smooth shop touts both competing for your attention amid a noisy, colorful bustle that encapsulates Morocco’s vibrant soul.
Mall of the Emirates is one of the city’s most famous malls, with the spectacular (and surreal) Ski Dubai facility inside. The indoor ski slope is complete with chairlifts and a penguin enclosure, all at a continuous temperature of -4 degrees Celsius. There’s also a cinema complex and a family entertainment center with a whole host of rides aimed at both the big and small. The shopping opportunities are boundless, as are the eating options, offering every conceivable world cuisine. This theme park, near Global Village, is immersive entertainment at its finest and has thrills and spills for both kids and big kids. With one zone devoted entirely to Marvel’s iconic characters; another to dinosaur-themed rides; and a zone where the Cartoon Network takes the helm, with gentler rides and activities for younger children, there’s something here for every age. Whether you want to help the Avengers battle Ultron, scare yourself silly in a haunted house, or join Spider-Man as he swings through the city, this is heaven for families looking for a fun-filled day out.
Drop the diet. Sicily sits at the culinary crossroads of the most gluttonous nations on earth. Arabs, Spanish, Normans and Greeks deposited a foodie fusion. Like pasta con le sarde, an Italo-Arabian blend of fennel, almonds, sardines and saffron. Then there’s sfincione, from the Latin word for sponge, which is half pizza, half bun, with an anchovy-cheese-tomato flavour. In Palermo, posh nosh means A’Cumcuma. Here street food and fisherman’s catches are raised into photogenic bites like red shrimps with oyster emulsion. For Sicilian cuisine as it used to be near Portorosa, try Agavos Agriturismo. Stuffed anchovies and chargrilled swordfish rolls served with a sea view.
Near the village of modern Akrotiri, 12 kilometers southwest of Fira, the ancient Minoan settlement of Akrotiri was buried below lava following the 16th-century BC volcanic explosion that created the caldera. At the Akrotiri Archaeological Site, visitors can walk on pathways through the debris of the town to see remains of the clay buildings of this once thriving town. It is so well preserved that it’s often compared to Pompeii. The site has remnants of multi-level buildings, pottery, and drainage systems, proving that Santorini was a flourishing and prosperous island before the eruption and probably lived from shipping and trading. Santorini’s connections with North Africa can be deduced from the outstanding frescoes (most of which are now in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens) that decorated its houses. The site of the Akrotiri ruins reopened to the public in 2012, following several years of closure.
The Miraflores Locks is the Panama Canal visitor center and viewing deck. The center is home to a museum and the best seat in the house to watch huge ships navigate the canal. You can visit the Miraflores Locks on tour or on your own. The entrance to the museum and viewing deck is $15 USD for adults and $10 USD for children. I personally visited the locks on this full-day guided tour that visited lots of other attractions around the city. A ship leaves the narrow canals of the Panama Canal and enters the man made Gatun Lake It takes a while for a ship to even pass one gate. If you don’t just want to watch the ships go through the canal then you can also do this partial Panama Canal cruise or this full cruise through the canal. These tours have you literally one a boat going through the canal. The partial cruise just takes you through on section of the narrow canal whereas the full tour takes you through all 3 canals and the man-made lake from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean.