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  Incidents of Travel in Central...

  John Lloyd Stephens

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  The year is 1838. The scene is the dense Honduran forest along the Copán River. Two men, John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood, are about to rediscover Mayan civilization. Their guide, slashing through the rampant growth with his machete, leads them to a structure with steps up the side, shaped like a pyramid. Next they see a stone column, fourteen feet high, sculptured on the front with a portrait of a man, “solemn, stern and well fitted to excite terror,” covered on the sides with hieroglyphics, and with workmanship “equal to the finest monuments of the Egyptians.” Stephens records these discoveries and also his travels in Central America, where he had been sent by President Van Buren as special ambassador to the ill-fated Republic of Central America. The republic being engulfed in civil war when Stephens arrives in Guatemala, he finds himself dodging revolutionary armies while he hunts for a “legitimate government” to which to present his credentials. Catherwood, meanwhile, directs his immense artistic talent to illustrating views of Mayan architecture. Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan was a best seller in its day and has been called an “Indiana Jones” saga by modern reviewers. (Summary by Sue Anderson)

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  An Ottoman Traveller -...

  Robert Dankoff

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  Evliya Çelebi is the greatest travel writer of the Ottoman Empire. Born in Istanbul in 1611, he started travelling in 1640 and continued for over forty years, stopping eventually in Cairo where he died in about 1685. He collected his lively and eclectic observations into a ten-volume manuscript the Seyahatname, or Book of Travels. For the first time in English, this selection gives a taste of the breadth of Evliya's interests: from architecture to natural history, through religion, politi, linguisti, music, science and the supernatural. While he made over a thousand complete recitations of the Koran in his lifetime, he also wrote with curiosity about Christianity, about his own impotence, about the anti at a world convention of trapeze artists and the feats of a Kurdish sorcerer who conjured a horse from a log pile.

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  19 Year Old World Traveler -...

  HowExpert, Briana Grenert

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  What began as a wild idea turned into the adventure of a lifetime - this is the story of how I traveled around world at age 19, and who I met on the journey. Cult members and college students, chain smokers and cameramen, this story recounts a slew of traveling adventures and misadventures. It’s about holding your cool while detained in airports, extreme and convoluted economizing, and getting lost at all hours of the night. It includes everything from hitchhiking at five a.m. to trying on a $1,140 dress on a dare. 
  Gratitude and wonder are the hallmarks of my voyage, both for the opportunity to see and experience iconic sites (Louvre, Great Wall of China, Leaning Tower of Pisa) but also for the chance to meet so many wonderful people (and some strange ones, too). It’s being overwhelmed in the Vatican and petting kangaroos on Mount Fuji, but it’s also making friends on airplanes and being so engrossed in conversation that you don’t notice an entire night slip away. This 225-day adventure was the fruit of months of planning, years of working, and a lifetime of dreaming - and no amount of preparation could have helped me anticipate all the outlandish and lovely experiences that awaited me along the way.A trip around the world in 225 days described in about 25,000 words.This story spans three continents, beginning/ending in Philadelphia, PA, and going through Hawaii, Japan, China, Vietnam, England, Wales, France, Italy, the Vatican, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Hungary. It includes places that were familiar to me (Hawaii, Japan) and places that were brand new and overwhelming (e.g., the Vatican).Everywhere I went, I managed to be both awed and a little homesick - not just for my home but for the places and people I had already left behind. 
  HowExpert publishes quick 'how to' guides on all topics from A to Z by everyday experts.

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  Barcelona Movie Walks - Discover...

  Eugeni Osácar Marzal

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  Enjoy a star-struck holiday in Barcelona in the footsteps of Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Robert de Niro, Scarlett Johansson and many more.
  
  Make your visit to Barcelona a film-star experience: see the locations of Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Biutiful, All About My Mother and more than 90 other films by directors such as Woody Allen, Pedro Almodóvar and Steven Soderbergh. Discover the parts of Barcelona immortalized by filmmakers and find out lots of interesting facts about the favourite places of the stars.
  
  Every chapter begins with a presentation: you will find detailed and interesting information about films of a certain genre shot in Barcelona, or about a specific director or film. You can find more info about the shoots and then re-live stories on the routes. This book also includes QR codes for mobile access to exclusive Internet maps including all the information and spots selected by the author. 
  
  With the QR codes, you will have all the information you need, directly from the book to your smartphone!
  
  Barcelona is on the big screen – Lights, camera, action!

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  Scotland's Islands - A Special...

  Richard Clubley

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  This is not a guide to the islands of Scotland. This is not a tour to be followed, nor is it travel advice. This is a richly anecdotal and personal exploration. Richard Clubley shares the sense of freedom he finds in the Scottish islands as he discovers their individual character, beauty and diversity. He meets locals and learns a few realities of island life. He almost perished on Ailsa Craig, before finding fresh water dripping from the roof of a cave, but spends two idyllic nights alone on Mingulay, with a fabulous coal fire in a bothy. His passion for Scottish islands shines through every chapter. Curl up by the fire, pull the blanket close and sip on your dram. You're about to escape to the islands. Prepare for addiction. A book for islomanes to savour in sips. Night caps are suggested; that way the addiction can be controlled. MAIRI HEDDERWICK

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  Tiger Heart - My Unexpected...

  Katrell Christie

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  Katrell Christie was a thirty-something artist turned roller-derby rebel who opened a tea shop in Atlanta. Barely two years later, her life would make a drastic change--and so would the lives of a group of girls half a world away."I chose the name of my tea shop--Dr. Bombay's Underwater Tea Party--because it sounded whimsical. India wasn't part of the equation. Not even remotely. I didn't do yoga. I had no deep yearning to see the Taj Mahal or tour Hindu temples. Indian food? I could take it or leave it."Yet on a whim, Katrell did go. She witnessed the throngs at the Ganges River, toured the tea fields of Darjeeling, and helped string pearls in conservative Hyderabad. But it was in a crowded Buddhist orphanage where she crossed paths with some girls who would change the course of her life."One night we had a conversation about their futures. What did they hope to be when they grew up? They didn't have any answers. The fear that consumed them was leaving the orphanage. What would happen on the day they were asked to gather their things and leave--to walk out the door and be all alone on the street with no one to turn to and nowhere to go?"With her mind racing about their grim futures, Katrell reached the simple conclusion that she couldn't walk away. So instead she walked forward--on a mission to help them in any small way. Once back at her shop, an idea for The Learning Tea was born. By selling tea, cupcakes, scones, and other treats, Katrell raised enough funds to provide life necessities for the girls--safe housing, uniforms, medical care, tutoring, and ultimately, a college education for each of them. To date, The Learning Tea has helped eleven young girls who once faced the bleakest of futures.Tiger Heart recounts Katrell's riveting adventures back to India, through the chaotic streets of Mumbai, to tiny villages with roadside tea huts and hot samosas, to elephant crossings and snow-capped mountain switchbacks of the Himalayas--an unexpected backdrop where she fell in love with a country that was gorgeous and heartbreaking all at once, where tragedy, humor, resilience and kindness were inextricably bound. From dodging feral monkeys, to slamming shots of whiskey to win acceptance at a local Rotary Club, to forging lasting friendships with the people who stepped up to help her cause, Tiger Heart offers a shot-gun seat on an inspiring trek across the globe, capturing the essence of India: its quirks, its traditions, and its people.Fate may have led Katrell to a tiny spot on a map, but it was a kinship that brought her back home a half a world away. Tiger Heart is a life-affirming look at the ties that bind and the power of each of us to make a difference.

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