Author: Ms. R.

Until it was restored in 1994, this first century Roman theatre in Spain was a magnificent ruin visible on the hillside from a long distance. Though the restoration has made it functional once again, it has covered up much of this historic structure.  The theatre was originally built on a hillside, making use of the natural topography. It sits just below the much later Sagunto Castle, which dominates the landscape and is adjacent to a medieval Jewish cemetery. It……

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Irish doctoral student Fionnan O’Connor has been chasing ghosts. He is not pursuing the spectres of deceased warriors or poets, but rather forgotten Irish drinks. In a personal quest that has taken him from quiet university libraries to modern distilleries, he is determined to revive rare spirits made using old-fashioned methods and ingredients, specifically pot-still whiskies. As part of his Ph.D. thesis in ghost whiskeys, O’Connor is resuscitating pot-still recipes that have not been tasted for more than 100……

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Located in an unassuming suburb of Hof, Fernweh Park is an eclectic collection of thousands of city and street signs from all corners of the world. The park takes its name from the German word Fernweh (literally: “far away-pain”), which is the exact opposite of homesickness (Heimweh), and means “a painful longingness to travel”—proving again that the Germans really do have a word for everything. Fernweh Park was inspired by the Yukon’s Sign Post Forest and was opened on November……

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When the first royal palace of modern Greece was being designed, Queen Amalia assumed oversight of the design of the Royal Gardens. Upon seeing Amalia’s proposed design King Otto, a hunting enthusiast, noticed that the far end of the gardens were near an area he had hunted birds in the past. Based on this, Otto decided to have a small building added to the garden plans to serve as a hunting pavilion for his nearby hunting trips. The Royal……

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As with any artist, a great tofu maker relies on his instincts. And for Lin Yih-Cheng, those instincts kick in when the soy milk begins to curdle in the hot wok. He prods the half-liquid, half-solid mush gently with the tip of his spoon, and adds a bit more coagulant—a solution that looks just like water. “My experience tells me I can add a bit more,” he says as he works. Lin is the owner of the Luoshan Organic……

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Tucked in the hills of one of Taiwan’s first organic farming villages, Luoshan Organic Tofu Farm gives visitors the chance to try making tofu from scratch. But there’s a secret ingredient: volcanic mud water.  Contrary to how it might sound, volcanic mud pits are nothing like their magma-spewing counterparts. The pits form as gases such as methane and carbon dioxide push hot water and minerals out of the ground. The water that comes out is a natural source of……

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It was a sweltering summer afternoon when photographer Taha Ahmad first walked into Feroz Shah Kotla, a sprawling 14th century citadel in New Delhi. At the gate, the guard warned him to take care of his camera. Cheels, birds of prey also known as black kites, circled above his head, trying to catch pieces of meat thrown skyward by a man. Ahmad wore a black t-shirt and dark blue trousers, colors that he hoped would help him blend in……

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