Author: Ms. R.

It is not difficult to find the De Salvo family plot. Standing out amongst the flat slabs and marble obelisks, the De Salvo tomb features a detailed sculpture of the family carved into the marble. Even though it has been exposed to the elements for nearly a century, you can still see the facial features, folds in clothing, and the individual fringes of the carpet. Angelo and Rosa De Salvo died in 1930 and 1927. Their photos adorn the……

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In what is now a part of downtown in Słupsk, Poland, stands an odd-shaped local art gallery. However, the history of this structure has not always been so civil-minded. It owes its tall, narrow shape to it originally being built as a defense tower along the city’s walls in the 15th century. As time moved on, the fear in the mind of the public became less focused on threats from the outside coming in and more on the people already……

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Little visibly remains of the period of Ottoman rule over Hungary during the 16th and 17th centuries. Although it is a period that many would rather forget, some reminders have been restored, including Gül Baba’s Tomb in the country’s capital. Gül Baba, known as the “Father of the Roses,” was a dervish and scholar of the esoteric Bektashi Order of Sufi Islam originating in Turkey. He is said to have died the day the Ottomans captured Buda in 1541……

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In the quirky toy town of Seiffen, there’s no need to set your watch for the holiday season. All eyes turn to the famous Christmas clock perched above the town square, ticking down the days, hours, and minutes to Christmas Eve. When the clock strikes 5 p.m. on December 24th, the whole village proclaims a heartfelt “Hooray!” signaling that the season is officially here. Shops close, silence settles, and maybe even a dusting of snow completes the scene. Shortly……

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On August 23, 1989, the people of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia organized a protest against the Soviet Union (of which the three nations were then a part).  Two million people, constituting approximately one third of the population of the Baltic nations, joined hands to form a 600-kilometer-long human chain (about 370 miles long) called the Baltic Way, which spanned from Vilnius, Lithuania, to Tallinn, Estonia, via Riga, Latvia. The date of the demonstration was chosen specifically to coincide with……

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It is unclear how long the Grand Mud Mosque of Kong has been around, but the region it sits in has been inhabited since the 14th century. Islam quickly took hold in the region when it was introduced, and records indicate many mosques were constructed in the 18th century. However, this mosque is likely the result of more recent construction, like other mosques of Sudanese style. The Grand Mud Mosque of Kong and a smaller private family mosque only……

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Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, and Amazon. Rhym Guissé: A quick warning, some of the language and imagery used to describe this period of time may be upsetting. Please take care while listening. On my very first trip to Myrtle Beach, I wanted to orient myself with the place. Like a good tourist, I signed up for a trolley tour. And it happened to stop at Charlie’s Place. That was the first time I saw it…….

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Marks & Spencer is potentially the most well-known department store chain in the United Kingdom. The chain originally started in 1884 as a stall in Kirkgate Market in Leeds selling simple household goods, but by the end of the nineteenth century, the business had already set up stores in multiple other cities, and throughout the 20th century, the company would continue to expand across the United Kingdom and into international markets. As the chain opened more stores, it would……

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In addition to national standardized testing, Japanese college admissions are marked by individual entrance exams for many schools. As such, hordes of senior high schoolers will descend upon a given college to take their exam. In hopes of aid in such ordeals, students also customarily visit Tenmangū shrines, dedicated to the patron kami (spirit) of learning, Tenjin. Tenjin was originally the exiled 9th-century scholar Sugawara no Michizane, deified after his death as it was believed he was causing misfortune for Kyoto…….

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Rambadagalla is a small rural village that around 3,300 people call home. Surrounding this village in all directions are gentle rolling hills, mostly consisting of farmed land and tiny hamlets. Snaking up and down these hills are a few narrow roads that connect Rambadagalla to the two major cities in the region: Kurunegala and Kandy. In spite of the modest distance to these two cities, this place feels truly remote and as far from the tourist crowds as it could……

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