Experiences
Better than Varanasi
In northern India, a meal made over a dunghill fire turns a detour into an arrival: “The smell of manure and raw meat mixed in the air. I felt sick, and not only to my stomach. This was the opposite of Varanasi.”
The Case for Geocaching
From environmental activism and travel incentives to close-knit community and increased consciousness, the global treasure hunt known as geocaching turns up far more than caches.
In Zeus’ Cradle
Chris Watts sends a dispatch from the island of Naxos: “With free reign to wander, unencumbered, across this large Cycladic island, you quickly discover that most of the narrow, serpentine roads pull you toward the rough interior.”
Desperately Seeking Autumn
Even in the Ruhr, far from the famous Oktoberfests and vibrant forests, fall, writes Tara Thomas, has its charms: “I needed to look at trees with bright leaves. But how? The Ruhr is landscaped with steel plants.”
A Mosque, a Book, and a Banister
“The codes surrounding holy books and buildings in Islam are different than in the religion I grew up with,” writes Rachel Pieh Jones in her latest essay from Djibouti, “but there are similarities.”
The Day of the Goat
Over a breakfast of tomatoes, cheese, olives, bread and hot, black tea, I asked Ergun what he had in mind. He spoke a word I dona��t know, kA�rkA�m. It was the same word he had used on the phone the night before. a�?Whata��s a kA�rkA�m?a�? I asked.
