Turkey: From Anatolia to the Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, also historically known in the West as the Turkish Empire, was a superpower that lasted for 600 years. Parcelled out among the victorious Allied nations …
Odyssey Traveller publishes articles on a regular basis about places you may as a mature or senior traveller be curious about as well as practical travel advice.
Festivals of Bhutan Tshechu, or religious festivals are at the very heart of Bhutan’s unique way of life. These sacred festivals take place all year round – in every monastery and temple, even in the …
Life in the Medieval British Village In a previous article, we looked at the icons of the British village–the pub and the cottage–and looked at their history and evolution from Roman and Norman times. In …
Icons of the British Villages: Pubs and Cottages The British pub and cottage figure prominently in the image of a (often romanticised) quintessential “British village”. In this article, we will give special attention to these …
Bhutan a journey into the Hidden Kingdom Bhutan, a tiny and remote nation nestled within the Himalayas, has been described as a real-life Shangri-La. It is famed for its Buddhist spirituality, pristine mountain landscape, and …
The Bauhaus School and its 100-Year Legacy The Bauhaus School was the brainchild of Walter Gropius of Germany, who reimagined art and utility as a single form that combined architecture, fine arts, and crafts …
Studying Gargoyles and Grotesques
- 7 mins read
Architecture, Blog, British Isles, England, Europe, France, History
Studying Gargoyles and Grotesques Gargoyles and grotesques were a hallmark of the Gothic period of architecture, which grew popular in Western Europe from the 12th to the late 15th centuries, and which was carried over …
Istanbul, Imperial City For more than a thousand years, Constantinople stood as the capital of the Byzantine Empire, surviving numerous attacks and internal rebellions, until the cannons of the Ottoman Empire breached its walls. Constantinople, …
European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) The EU has recently announced a system for its border entry process to the Schengen Zone. The system is called ETIAS, and here is everything you need to …
Constructing Versailles, the making of a Palace The Château du Versailles is an iconic destination for all of those interested in French history. A stone’s throw away from Paris, Versailles was the official residence of …
The Portuguese in Africa The Kingdom of Kongo and the Transatlantic Slave Trade The Kingdom of Kongo was a former kingdom that dominated West Central Africa in the fourteenth century (Heywood, 2009). Located south of …
‘Queen of the Sea’: A History of Lisbon In 1554, the writer Damião de Góis claimed that out of all the European cities, only Lisbon and her rival Seville ‘could rightfully be called Ladies and …
Five Female Explorers and their Adventures There are many female explorers who have been forgotten or are not as widely remembered as their male counterparts–Gertrude Bell, for example, has been overshadowed by her male colleague, …
Exploring Newcastle Newcastle (or Newcastle upon Tyne) in northeast England is rich in architectural wonders and steeped in history. It was an important settlement on the River Tyne during Roman times, a thriving commercial hub in …
Who led Rome? There are plenty of lead characters that rose to Roman power throughout its empire. While some of them are very well known, others are less so. Some ascended to leadership via lineage …
Xi’an, the Beginning of the Silk Road The bustling city of Xi’an (“Western Peace”) in China’s Shaanxi Province is one of China’s oldest cities and perhaps also its most culturally significant: as the ancient …
Shetland Islands Discovered Scotland’s Shetland Islands (or simply, Shetland) is a group of more than 100 islands, only 16 of which are inhabited, with a pristine coastline unrivalled in all of the United Kingdom. Its …
Claude Monet’s Water Lilies are among the most beloved artworks of the 20th century. Displayed in Paris’s Orangerie in a set of rooms devoted entirely to the paintings, they are Monet’s gift to France at …
Vikings and Their Use of Wool for Sails According to Kassia St Clair in her book The Golden Thread: How Fabric Changed History, when the Gokstad ship, dated 850 AD, was found in 1879 as a …
The Beginning of Human Civilisation Ancient Greece is well-known as one of the earliest civilizations that contributed significantly to human advancement. “Greece reached heights in almost every area of human learning” (Mark 2013). Generally speaking, Ancient, …
Exploring the Faroe Islands
- 9 mins read
Blog, Denmark, Europe, History, Scandinavia, Scotland, Travel tips
The Faroe Islands, far far away Tjornuvik village, Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands (also called the Faroes or Faeroes) is a self-governing region of the Kingdom of Denmark, a group of 18 pristine volcanic islands …