ARCHIVES: FASCINATING CITIES

DURBAN - A SLICE OF AFRICA: South Africa
The city of Durban on the north-west coast of South Africa does not feature in most travellers’ plans. It is steamy in summer, allegedly unsafe, a bit dirty, and the beach strip is rowdy. So why go? To experience the “real” urban South Africa and enjoy value for money. Good highways, an excellent game reserve close-by, and warm hospitality are other draws.

PRESERVING HISTORY: Cleveland, Tennessee
The growing city of Cleveland, Tennessee has a population of over 38,000. In late 2007, it was ranked nationally as one of 50 best places to raise a family by BusinessWeek.com. Also, Forbes Magazine found Cleveland to be one of the top communities in the nation to do business. While a good place to do business and raise a family, it would hardly seem to be a destination for history buffs, but the town has made preserving history a priority.

KNOCKING AT HEAVEN’S DOORS:Qatar, Doha
Visiting Doha, in Qatar which claims to have taken over from Dubai as the stop-over destination choice between the northern and southern hemispheres, one discovers the Middle East just needs some seriously good PR - and the oil Sheiks are trying their hardest to achieve just that.

A CULTURAL ADVENTURE: Havana, Cuba
So much has written about the crumbling decadence, the poverty and third-worldness of Cuba that it is impossible for an artist to perform or visit the country without any fears and preconceived notions. I would turn tables on deprivation and use our band’s first performance in Cuba to introduce our music to the land that gave birth to the ”Bay of Pigs.”

BAROQUE BEAUTY, MODERN MARVEL: Valletta, Malta
Valletta, a city “Built by Gentlemen for Gentleman”, has received the ultimate accolade. It has the distinction of being known by the Maltese, as Il-Belt. Where else in the world does one find a UNESCO World Heritage Site, christened Superbissima by the rest of Europe immediately it was built, being referred to as ‘The City’ in so laid-back a manner?

HAUNTING TOURS IN AMERICAN CITIES: Chicago, New Orleans, Hollywood, New York and Savannah
Haunting tours to five US cities noted for their outstanding scandalous, murderous and strange behavior by a few of their illustrious and nefarious citizens – their ghosts and spirits still haunt the byways and thoroughfares of the cities. On a tour for the curious folk, the skeptics who will visit the haunted sites in the cities of America could make them a real believer in ghosts.

EXPLORING BAKU: Azerbaijan
I lived in Baku, Azerbaijan for over 20 years. But I rediscovered the city for myself once again when I was guiding a guest from Switzerland around. As I showed him the landmarks and told him the related history, explaining their meaning, I fell in love all over again with my city.

OLD MALACCA TOWN - MALAYSIA’S HISTORIC CITY: Malaysia
A fugitive Sumatran prince established Malaysia’s first sultanate in Malacca during the 1400’s…and as it turned out, he’d recognized a good thing when he saw it! Very quickly, his sleepy seaside-fishing village developed into a prosperous cosmopolitan port, changing hands again and again over time.

HOMES OF SPLENDOR, SPEED, AND SPIRIT: Daytona Beach, Florida
Daytona Beach is known nationally as hosting the famed Daytona 500 and has been a hotspot for young hedonistic Spring Breakers to kick up their heels. Yet this place is more than somewhere to get a nice tan or to escape from the wintry climates.

SCOTLAND: Edinburgh
Edinburgh has a worldwide reputation for its thriving and dynamic arts scene which comes to a head in August each year when millions of visitors converge on the city to enjoy the International and 'Fringe' Festivals.

ITALY - ENCHANTING LUCCA: Tuscany, Italy
Being an opera lover, I decide to visit Lucca in 2008 to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Maestro Puccini in his home town. Little did I know that my day in Lucca would turn out to be a chain of dramatic and emotional events just like scenes from an Italian opera.

RETURN TO SARAJEVO: Bosnia-Herzegovina
I looked up through the clear blue sky as the commercial jet flew high over the valley. It was 2004 and Sarajevo, Bosnia-Hercegovina was still suffering from the scars of the 1990s war. Progress had been made, buildings rebuilt, and people were moving on with their lives. I had hoped then to come back again one day.

WHERE HISTORY STARTS: Moscow, Russia
For me (and for the majority of tourists) Moscow is a big Russian city with lots of business centers and sightseeing among which were the Red Square, St. Basil’s Cathedral, Kremlin and other famous places. But frankly speaking, if you want to get to know the capital of Russia it is not enough to visit only these “standard sightseeing” places.

FLAVOR OF NEW ORLEANS IN TWENTY FOUR HOURS: Louisiana
While Bourbon Street, jazz, voodoo, street musicians and good food are always available, the season has lengthy lulls when Mardi Gras-related activities are unavailable. How do you compensate for those down- times? You find that “extra adrenaline rush” by sampling everything that New Orleans has to offer over a single 24 hour period.

THE 2010 WINTER OLYMPICS: Vancouver, Canada
As Host City of the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games, we Vancouverites will welcome the world this February. I’ve lived here most of my life and will share with you all the sights and attractions my city has to offer, including Vancouver’s colourful history.

SHAKESPEARE'S LONDON: London, England

Little appears to be left of Shakespeare's London. We know where he worked, and where he lived; but the Blackfriars theatre is no more, and though Ireland Yard (where Shakespeare bought a house when he could afford it) still exists, the buildings are much later.

THE WHOLE ENCHALADA: Oaxaca, Mexico
Oaxaca, however, brings a taste of everything - art, music, cuisine, culture, handicrafts, architecture, jewelry, museums and monumental history - to the table; and the result is a feast of all things Mexican - all in one delightful place.

TEL AVIV TURNS 100: Israel
Fireworks lit up the sky and a melody echoed across the stage as some of Israel’s top performers prepared for one of Tel Aviv’s grandest nights. Cheered on by over 100,000 enthusiastic fans, Rabin Square was filled with exuberant spectators ready to partake in the celebrations of Tel Aviv's 100th Anniversary.

VISITING ISTANBUL ONE DAY WITH PRESIDENT OBAMA: Istanbul, Turkey
Last April, I was in Istanbul when United States President Obama paid a visit to the city. We followed the same itinerary, except I didn’t have the political meetings that Obama had. It was Obama’s first visit to a country where ninety percent of the people are Muslim. I am there on my second visit to the city to write about how it has changed in the last ten years.

HISTORIC HAVANA, INDEPENDENT CUBA: Havana, Cuba
Before arriving in Havana on a warm January evening I thought modern day Cuba was held together as a country by socialism, with the deteriorating health of Fidel Castro threatening its identity and survival. By the time I left Havana three days later I realised that modern Cuba is as much about history and its long fight for independence as it is about the current government and its policies.

WALKING THE BARRIOS OF SANTIAGO: Santiago, Chile
Located in one of the most spectacular settings of any city in the world, Chile is unique. From the lush Plaza de Armas in Santiago Centro with it’s colonial architectural gems, to the high-tech Las Condes financial district with it’s modern skyscrapers, Santiago has much to offer the visitor.

GRONINGEN, A VERY DUTCH CITY: Groningen, The Netherlands
It’s Sunday morning and Groningen is still sleeping. A huge number of bikes are locked everywhere, the streets are quite deserted and the shops closed. Only a few hours ago the atmosphere was completely different: pubs and discos were crowded with people, streets were full of boys and girls walking across the town or getting something to eat at one of the ambulant food sellers.

CYCLING THE DUTCH CAPITAL: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
From edgy contemporary art to classic architecture to modern engineering marvels, the city has something for everyone. The best way to see this wide array of sights is by bike, the primary mode of transport in Holland and without argument the most efficient.

VENICE, MISTRESS OF THE SEAS: Venice, Italy
It is my first morning in Venice and I am anxious to explore her ancient promenades. Venice is a city dappled with light, tremulous and flashing, shimmering gently beneath the bridges and seeping into the shadowy lanes.

STROLLING LEVUKA - FIJI'S HERITAGE CAPITAL: Levuka, Fiji
With her extraordinary past still harkening to the 1800's, Levuka snuggles on Ovalau Island's eastern side, just ten air-minutes off Fiji's mainland. Once the South Pacific's lawless 'black birding' center and popular with sailors, whalers and sandalwood traders, Levuka is easily Fiji's most picturesque town today.

CASPER, WYOMING: Where Personal and Frontier History Merge
The venues that travelers deem as either a neat place to visit or a waste of time and money are often spots where the dramas, the highs, and lows of another’s past may have played out, leaving imbedded memories. Such is the case for the venue of Casper, Wyoming, where I came of age in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

ISTANBUL, A CITY OF SURPRISES: Istanbul, Turkey
Istanbul straddles the Bosphorous, the strip of water that divides Europe and Asia. It's a city with a mixed heritage – Roman, Greek, and Turkish – and whatever happens to Turkey's claims to membership of the European Union, Istanbul will remain an ambiguous city, with a foot in both continents.

A PLACE FOR DREAMERS: Bologna, Italy
One of the last big cities left in Italy that refuses to cater to the influx of tourists, Bologna packs as much culture into its winding vias and shady piazzas as its more popular cousins, Rome and Florence. There is a potent feeling of opportunity that hangs in the air, a vibrancy and excitement for life that radiates from the young residents of this college community.

THE FESTIVAL CITY: Edinburgh
The fun starts in the beginning – or the end – of the year with Edinburgh’s Hogmanay, a multi-faceted festival brightening up the long dark nights of winter and welcoming in the New Year. Many modern day traditions for the New Year come from Scotland, including the iconic Auld Lang Syne song, written by Scottish poet Robert Burns. The song is written in Scots, which explains why many find the lyrics to be near undecipherable.

WALLPECKERS - CHIPPING AWAY A PIECE OF HISTORY: Berlin
"In Berlin we don’t have woodpeckers; we have wallpeckers," Eva, a native Berliner, tells me. "People come to the Berlin Wall with picks and hammers trying to take home a piece of history." I can understand why. I have thought about doing this myself. Why pay twenty Euro dollars for a small piece of the wall when you can get your own much larger piece free?

THE ANTIQUITIES OF SPLIT: Croatia
The Peristil Hotel was a part of the Diocletian Palace, the basis of today’s Split. The Roman emperor, of the same name, had viewed this as his retirement, “mega-mansion” and eventual burial ground for himself. It is ironic justice that the Christians he murdered during his reign are buried there instead.

A SMALL SLICE OF THE BIG APPLE: New York City, New York
There’s plenty to see in Manhattan, so when you only have a few days like my friend and I did, plan ahead exactly what your priorities are. Our main focus was to see a Broadway show, check out the museums, and take in a night of jazz at one of NYC’s famous jazz clubs. In four days we did all this and much more.

WHAT TO SEE, WHERE TO GO, WHAT TO DO: Beijing, China
Beijing is buzzing with activity as it prepares for the 2008 Olympic games. If you’re headed there for either business or pleasure, you’re in for an unforgettable journey into the history and culture of a 5,000 year old civilization.

THE WONDERS OF KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia
In the words of British novelist and playwright Somerset Maugham, “If you haven’t seen this place, you haven’t seen the world.” He was referring to Malaysia. And he was right.

EXPERIENCE THE HISTORY: Louisville, Kentucky
In Louisville, Kentucky, I found some of the city’s best gems using a variety of transport means, and in the process fulfilled one childhood wish. From flying in a classic biplane to riverboating on the Ohio River, my getting travel-intimate with this city was made all the more fun and adventurous.