Tagged With: history
3 Cities, Malta
Across the Grand Harbour from Malta's capital are the 3 small cities of Senglea, Vittoriosa, and Cospicua (also known as Isla, Birgu, and Bormla respectively) on 3 neighboring peninsulas. Like many Maltese towns, you'll never get lost strolling through the gridded streets since here you're guaranteed to hit the Mediterranean before too long. … Continue reading
Mdina & Rabat, Malta
Mdina lies almost in the center of Malta high on a hill. The walled city is so immaculately preserved that it almost feels a little like a movie set! With only a few hundred residents, the Silent City as it is also called, is a peaceful and lovely town. The view from the walls. … Continue reading
Comino & Gozo, Malta
By far the smallest of Malta's 3 islands, Comino is just 3.5 square kilometers. What it lacks in permanent residents (the number varies between 1 and 3 depending on your source), it more than makes up for with hotel guests and day trippers when the sun is shining. The island is reachable with a quick … Continue reading
Dougga, Tunisia
It's hard to describe how striking Dougga was. I was completely unprepared for it. My Lonely Planet had said it was an impressive site of Roman ruins and it was just a couple of hours south of Tunis, so I decided to head down there and take a look. There was a bizarre incident on … Continue reading
Carthage, Tunisia
It's incredible how many layers of history are found in Carthage. It was originally founded by the Phoenicians in the 9th century BC and flourished as an important trading post due to its prime location on the Mediterranean beginning in the 6th century BC. During the Punic wars, the Romans eventually destroyed and conquered Carthage … Continue reading
Murambi Genocide Memorial
It's been so easy to put off finishing this post for the last few weeks. Life has kept me happily busy of late, so I haven't wanted to dwell too much on seeing the horrors of Rwanda's genocide, but I've finally finished my post about the Murambi Genocide Memorial. The blog should be regularly updated … Continue reading
Former slave market, Zanzibar
After Kili, the four of us flew to Zanzibar where we visited the former slave market and Anglican church. Zanzibar was once home to a massive slave trade. From here, most slaves were transported either to Madagascar to work on French sugar plantations or to Middle Eastern countries like Oman. Slaves were kept in tiny … Continue reading
Luxembourg
I’ve heard Luxembourg described as a fairy tale city and it’s not hard to see why. With castles, ruins, and lots of nature, the capital of this small country is gorgeous. I spent most of my two sunny days there walking for miles. I popped in to a small museum that had a great … Continue reading
Helsinki’s Suomenlinna fort
My last day in Finland was spent visiting Suomenlinna, Helsinki's sea fortress. Housed on a collection of islands, the buildings represent three distinct eras in the country's history. When Sweden included what is now Finland, the first buildings on Suomenlinna were built in the mid eighteenth century. Sixty years later, Russia won the Finnish War … Continue reading
Tartu, Estonia
Estonia is small enough that the bus ride from the western island town of Kuressaare to the southeastern university city of Tartu is probably the longest direct bus ride in the country, and it's just six hours. I picked up a map of town, not realizing at the time it was a self guided … Continue reading