Travel Between The Pages

Sleep Like an Egyptian

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

Located at Egypt’s Siwa Oasis, just thirty miles from the Libyan border, the handsomely restored Adrere Amellal Hotel is an unlikely luxury eco-lodge. Set lakeside, the hotel was built at a site that has seen human habitation on and off for more than 10,000 years.

The hotel itself has been constructed from a combination of ancient ruins, kershef ( a mix of mud and rock), stone, wood, masonry and plaster. All of the furnishings were handcrafted using traditional techniques.

Lodgers forgo modern amenities such as electricity, a/c, phone service and even wifi. And all for the low price of about $500 US per night.

Posted in Africa, Hotels, Middle East, Tourism | Tagged Africa, Egypt, Siwa Oasis | 4 Comments

Biblio-Surrealism

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

Russian-born, U.S.-based artist Vladimir Kush describes his work as “metaphorical realism”, but his literary themed paintings could easily be called biblio-surrealist. Working primarily in oil on canvas or board, Kush also is known for lyrical sculpture pieces. The artist’s work is available at his own galleries in Maui, Las Vegas and Laguna Beach, California.

Posted in Art, Books | Tagged Art, Painting, Vladimir Kush | Leave a comment

Is it art or cartography

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

I know, enough with the maps already. But these are awesome—really. Japanese artist/photographer Sohei Nishino’s Diorama Map series is based on his unique approach to cartography. Nishino wanders around a city shooting hundreds of images with actual film, then cuts the photos into thousands of pieces before arranging and pasting the pieces into his fantastic maps. So far, he has completed thirteen city maps, including Paris, NYC, London, Tokyo, Berlin and Jerusalem.

Posted in Art, Maps, Photography | Tagged Cartography, Geography, Sohei Nishino | 1 Comment

How Do You See The World

Posted on June 9, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

Close your eyes and visualize a map of the world. Chances are that your personal world map is strongly influenced by your country of origin or your long term place of residence. In fact, New Yorker Benjamin Pollach has created a project that demonstrates how our backgrounds influence our world view.

The crowd-sourced project, called World Map Archive, involves the collection of hand-drawn world maps that are solicited from volunteers around the globe. You can participate by visiting the project website. And, you can see an exhibition on the project that opened on June 1st at The WYE in Berlin.

Posted in Maps | Tagged Crowdsourcing, Map, World map | 1 Comment

Who Killed The Poet

Posted on June 8, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

Last Saturday, a judge in Chile ordered the police to track down the man who may have poisoned the poet Pablo Neruda nearly 40 years ago. Two months ago the poet’s body was exhumed after his former driver alleged that Neruda had been poisoned by agents of the dictator Pinochet. Subsequently, Dr. Sergio Draper, who had previously testified that he was with Neruda when he died, changed his story and asserted that a mysterious Dr. Price was actually with the Nobel Laureate at the time of his demise. Now there’s speculation that the mystery doctor was actually Michael Townley, a CIA agent working for the Chilean secret police.

Posted in Books, South America, Writing | Tagged Augusto Pinochet, Central Intelligence Agency, Chile, Pablo Neruda, Pinochet | Leave a comment

Holland. The Original Cool

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

Like many of you dear Travel Between The Pages followers and visitors, I’m a huge fan of the Netherlands in general, and of Amsterdam in particular. In fact, I’ve lost count of just how many times I’ve been there. So, I found this new little tourism campaign from Holland.com endearing. Of course, it once again raises that persistent kerfuffle re: Holland vs the Netherlands. If you’re still confused, take a look at the video below. But first, enjoy Holland. The Original Cool.

Posted in Europe, Tourism | Tagged Amsterdam, Holland, Netherlands, North Holland, Travel and Tourism | Leave a comment

Everybody Loves A Road Trip

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

Well, almost everybody loves a road trip, in fact in the U.S. at least 80% of travel and tourism is by motor vehicle. A newly launched website/app called Roadtrippers is designed to help travelers plan road trips while eschewing generic chains and mundane attractions. Like a hybrid between Yelp and Mapquest, Roadtrippers combines mapping, travel guides, and gps functionality into a single simple and intuitive interface that syncs across web and mobile platforms. It offers a wide selection of places to stay, food choices and cultural attractions for vehicle-based travelers. Plan a route, explore sightseeing options, flag pit stops, find entertainment and custom itineraries. And, it’s all free.

Posted in apps, Maps, Tech, Tourism, Travel Writing, USA | Tagged Mapquest, Roadtrippers, Tourism, Yelp | 1 Comment

Wallace & Gromit Show The Way

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

The British tourism website VisitEngland has launched a charming new ad campaign featuring the lovable claymation duo Wallace & Gromit. The first video installment shows the pair preparing to set-off on their big summer holiday adventure. Take a peek:

Posted in Animation, Europe, Tourism | Tagged Nick Park, VisitEngland, Wallace & Gromit | Leave a comment

Windows to the Past

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

During a recent visit to Budapest, I was intrigued by the discernible connections to Hungarian history conspicuous every where that I looked. Hungarian artist/photographer Kerényi Zoltán has created a project called Ablak a Múltra or Windows to the Past that links the past and present of his country through one lens. His compelling website shows images taken from an online collection of historical photos from the entire 20th century overlaid with his own contemporary shots from the same locations.