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Belize decries destruction of temples integral to tourism growth
DestinationsThe government of Belize said Tuesday it is pursuing a “vigorous” investigation into a road-building company’s near destruction of one of the country’s largest Mayan pyramids. The Ministry of Tourism and Culture expressed outrage at the demolition of the Nohmul complex in northern Belize to extract crushed rock for a road project. It said it [...]
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World War I cemetery touched up in anticipation of centennial crowds
DestinationsThe Tyne Cot cemetery sweeps gently down the slope, the nearly 12,000 headstones aligned in solemn rows of gleaming white. Beyond the walls stretch Flanders Fields, dotted by red farmhouse roofs. For the stage of some of World War I’s worst carnage, the scene is tranquility itself — but over the whisper of wind floats [...]
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Run-down New Jersey city tries to capitalize on its baseball past and natural wonders
DestinationsMention America’s historic landmarks and most people will envision battlefields, statues or beautiful scenery, not a crumbling, graffiti-covered shell of a ball field surrounded by abandoned cars, broken glass and piles of garbage. The years of neglect can’t erase what Hinchliffe Stadium once was, a hub of activity that in its heyday was filled to [...]
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Philly’s historic ocean liner desperately seeks donation to avoid scrap yard
TransportThe SS United States is sending out what may be its final distress call. The 990-foot-long ship could be sold for scrap within two months unless the grassroots preservation group that’s working to secure a home and purpose for it can raise $500,000 immediately, the group told The Associated Press. Talks are under way with [...]
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Egyptian looters strip pyramids of valuable artifacts during tourism lull
DestinationsFrom a distance, it looks as though an animal has burrowed around the 4,000-year-old Black Pyramid of Amenemhat III. But thieves dug these holes. And Egyptian archaeologist Monica Hanna calls that “a catastrophe.” “See the ancient mud bricks?” says Hanna, 29, peering into a pit. “It is very well structured.” She walks to another, followed [...]
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Air travel today looks fantastic when compared to the options available in 1800
DestinationsIndeed, in this age of instant digital communications and fast travel, we tend to forget that not so long ago traveling distances were subjectively very different. In the 1800s, for example, traveling a few hundred miles across the U.S. meant taking a steam-powered train, and the trip could take days. Going from coast to coast, [...]
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Rooms are filling up fast to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg
DestinationsIf you’re planning to visit historic Gettysburg and its environs in 2013 — especially during the anniversary period of late June to early July — book your hotel/motel arrangements now. During next year’s peak periods, the 2,600 rooms in Adams County already are 80 percent full, said Carl Whitehill of the Gettysburg/Adams County Convention & [...]
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A piece of the archeological site in Pompeii crumbles after days of heavy rain
DestinationsThe Italian news agency ANSA says a wall at the Pompeii archeological site has collapsed following days of heavy rain. The collapse Friday of a two-meter (six-foot) section of wall in an area closed to tourists is the latest in a series that has raised concern about the state of the cultural treasure. In 2010, [...]
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Trump reveals design plans to turn a historic D.C. landmark into a luxury hotel
RoomsIt’s been nine months since the federal government chose Donald Trump to turn the Old Post Office pavilion into a luxury hotel, and in that time Trump and his development team, headed by his daughter Ivanka, have been working through the myriad details of redeveloping a building on the National Register of Historic Places in [...]
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Historic Jewish cemetery deteriorates beyond recognition, plans in place for digital memorial
DestinationsHeadstones are pockmarked, their inscriptions faded. Stone slabs that have covered tombs for centuries are crumbling. White marble has turned grey, likely from the acrid smoke that spews from a nearby oil refinery. One of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in the Western Hemisphere, Beth Haim on the island of Curacao, is slowly fading in the [...]
