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Visiting Chernobyl, Part I, Ukraine
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‘Dark Tourism’ has become more than a catchphrase; it’s now a bona fide part of the broader tourism industry. There is no shortage of people who want to see first-hand the places where significant historic tragedies, crimes and disasters occurred. I am one of them.
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Museum of Strategic Missile Forces, Part II, Ukraine
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In the midst of paddocks in south-central Ukraine, a tour guide and I were cramped inside an elevator descending 30 metres into the earth to visit an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile command centre.
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Museum of Strategic Missile Forces, Part I, Ukraine
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The brinksmanship, mistrust and misunderstanding between the east and west during the Cold War had created weapons so monstrous that offensive, defensive or erroneous launch would had spelled the end of everything.
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The Red Flat, Bulgaria
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Close to the centre of Sofia, in an ordinary, non-descript housing block, is a unique time capsule. The Red Flat is an apartment that has been set up to replicate a family residence typical of 1980s urban Bulgaria.
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The Cemeteries of Gallipoli, Turkey
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The cemeteries of Gallipoli hold tens of thousands who died in 1915; every one a story of a life cut short by the tragedy that occurred here in this beautiful place.
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HMS Lundy and HMS Louis, Turkey
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Diving the gloomy waters off the Gallipoli coast in Turkey was a nervous but fascinating experience.
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Visiting Gallipoli, Turkey
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Gallipoli is a beautiful place with a fascinating, tragic history. The Turkish people are committed to keeping this history alive, and ensuring that visitors have the opportunity to discover and learn.
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Diving the S.S. Thistlegorm, Egypt
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The wind was gusting over 20 knots, and the dive boat lurched in the choppy seas. Geared-up and ready, I have to admit I was feeling nervous. It didn’t seem all that long ago that I had done my first scuba dive, and now I was waiting to descend to the bottom of the Gulf…
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The S.S. Thistlegorm, Egypt
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Merchant seaman are arguably the forgotten heroes of World War II. Sailing the unarmed, or lightly armed, cargo ships that delivered troops and vital supplies was a dangerous game.
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Searching for the Blockhouse, Part II, Egypt
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I had spent an enjoyable, but ultimately disappointing, couple of days searching the area west of El Alamein for the Blockhouse. I was still keen to find this surviving landmark from the final battle at El Alamein, but I was running out of ideas.