When the first rays of sunrise strike the great mosque at Djenné, many believers fall to their knees from its beauty. Djenné, Mali, is a fly speck on a map. Overlooked by most travelers, it's …

My friend Saba and I decided to take a trip outside of Istanbul to Ağva, a vacation village in the mountains, by the Black Sea. Saba is a native Turk, but she majored in American …

Editor's note: The author visited Tawi Tawi in 2007. There are a few more accommodations there now, it looks like. A few years ago, ignoring the advice of our horrified Filipino friends, my wife and …

Overlooking the Salton Sea in the shadow of mature Ironwood trees rests a man still much loved. The former “mayor” of East Jesus, a fenced community of free-roaming, ever-rotating artists, musicians, scientists and builders located …

In Kinmen you don’t have to worry about getting blown up anymore. I kept reminding myself of this as I wandered alone on a deserted beach. It was a sunny day with few clouds. Across …

If you like your mayonnaise called aioli and your pastries gluten-free, then Bulgaria is probably not the place for you. If you prefer smoothly paved roads and lining up at world-famous museums, then Bulgaria is …

Dolphins play near the shore at sunrise, whiplashing their tails to form a sand circle to entrap their breakfast. The panicked fish jump up directly into the dolphins' mouths – a nature event I'd only …

Grass and girls. That was what life was all about, at least viewed through the black, bulby eyes of Keswick, a seven-year-old alpaca. His muppet-like neck bobbing in front of my wife and me, Keswick …

Overshadowed by beach destinations of the south, Zagreb, Croatia’s inland capital, should not be missed. Like several other European capitals, Zagreb is a blend of nature, culture and the characteristic pace of Europeans. What sets …

Most people only know the town of Saginaw, Michigan, from the song made popular in the 1960s by country singer Lefty Frizzel. Some hipsters might know another song, “If I Ever Get to Saginaw” by …

As a former musician myself, I shake my head sadly at musicians who think they’re getting the folk zeitgeist of a given genre just by listening to records. You learn folk music by listening to …