Quixoticguide

Lebanon is one of those countries that everyone has heard of, but few people really understand. Ask a foreigner what comes to mind, and the answers are often clichés: war, hummus, or a distant memory of Beirut’s nickname, the Paris of the Middle East. But how much do foreigners actually know about Lebanon? The truth…

John Lennon’s Imagine is one of those rare songs that transcends generations, languages, and borders. When you’re out in the world—walking through a bustling souk in the Middle East, riding a crowded train in India, or watching the sun set over the Andes—the lyrics take on new meaning. Travel itself is a quiet rebellion against…

Two wind-lashed specks in the southern Indian Ocean—Marion Island and the smaller Prince Edward Island—make up South Africa’s only sub-Antarctic territory. Lying roughly 1,900–2,000 km southeast of the mainland, they’re volcanic, treeless, and vital to Southern Ocean science and conservation. Encyclopedia Britannicarsis.ramsar.org What—and where—they are Marion is the larger island, crowned by Mascarin Peak (≈1,230…

Syria’s story is a palimpsest—new hands writing over old ones, never fully erasing what came before. Walk any old street and you’re tracing trade routes, empires, and faiths layered so densely that time feels near-vertical. Here’s a compact, readable sweep you can drop straight into a blog post—built to pair with photos from Damascus, Aleppo,…

Editor’s note — 21 Aug 2025: Marc Santens is flying this route shortly and will update this guide with fresh timings, photos, and a cockpit‑view clip. A detailed trip report will be added below once back on the ground. Fast facts What the flight is like Think bus‑with‑wings: single pilot, tiny cabin, and big windows…