Places
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Beautiful Morocco
I have been rather critical in my assessment of Morocco, and in particular Marrakech. It wouldn’t be fair of me, therefore, not to mention that, once you get out of the chaos inside and around Marrakech, Morocco…
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Zidane takes on Ali Baba
They have this endearing habit in Morocco of calling bearded men ‘Ali Baba’. I earned the title for the first time when we stopped for our first ‘activity’ while on an organised tour to the foot of…
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Ali Baba goes to Marrakech
The Jemaa El-Fna, the nerve centre and focus point of Marrakech, a Unesco world heritage site, was surprisingly quiet at 9.30 in the morning. If you exclude the loud calls to prayer by muezzin (or, more likely, amplified…
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Gripes in Marrakech
If you type “Marrakech” in Google images, most or maybe all of the pictures in the top two rows will be photos of the Jemaa El-Fna square, possibly with the minaret of the Koutoubia mosque in the…
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Motor scooters
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I used to agree with this statement before I saw this picture that I took myself on my last day at the Marrakech medina. It’s the classic picture…
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The Stob pyramids in Bulgaria
On the way to the Rila Monastery in Bulgaria, there’s an interesting stop that’s worth a visit if you’re interested in unusual landscapes formed by natural phenomena. You need to be prepared to walk up a moderately…
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Religious art criticism at its very worst
One of the most famous landmarks of Bulgaria is the Rila Monastery, tucked inside the mountainous area bearing the same name. You arrive at a car park at the end of a winding road up a valley…
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Skiing: thanks, but not for me please
People make such a fuss over skiing. I did try to ski a couple of times, which was enough to realise that it’s not for me. So without much further ado, here are 7 reasons why I…
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Humble, unknown Lembeek
Recently I was more or less stranded in an unknown village in Belgium on a chilly Sunday morning in January, while my son Gianluca played in a table tennis tournament with no viewing places for spectators. I…
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