2019-10-01 Wanderlust

TRAVEL SECRETS

62 wanderlust.co.uk October 2019

50

Takeinmosaicsin

thecathedralat

HagiaSophia,Istanbul

PeterFrankopan,author

andhistorian

Oneofmyfavourite

placesonearthisthe

cathedralofHagiaSophiain

Istanbul.I
irstvisiteditwhenIwas

tenyearsold–andwastrans
ixed.

Onewritermorethanamillennium

agodescribeditasseemingto


loatlike‘atentoftheheavens’–

andyoucanseewhy.Imake

abeelineeverytimeIvisit(which

isoften)tothemosaicofJohnII

Komnenosandhiswife,Eirenewho

ruledthecityandtheByzantine

Empireinthe12thcentury.I’ve

spentsomanyyearsstudyingthis

periodthatIhavecometoregard

theEmperorandEmpressasclose

personalfriends,sotheleastIcan

doispopbytosayhelloandsee

howtheyaredoing.

51

Enjoyaglassof

mulberrywinein

Rumboor,Pakistan

IainCampbell,author

Withitsclear,glacier-

fedriversandancient

wood-and-mudterraced

houses,theKalashvalleysare

anareaofPakistantuckedinthefar

north-westcorner.Bumburetisthe

mostvisitedofthevalleys,butit

isworthmakingtheextraeŠortto

gettoRumboor,alessdeveloped

settlementandabetterstarting

pointfordaytreksintotheHindu

Kushmountains.Relaxafterwards

with walnut and apricot cake and a

glass of the local mulberry wine.

From the Lion’s Mouth: A Journey

Along the Indus (Bradt Travel

Guides, 2019) is out now.

52

Eat vegan in

Guadongand

Hainan,China

Thomas Bird, author,

Insight Guide: China

People often ask me

“Isn’t it hard to travel in

China as a vegetarian?” Well, yes,

it’s a meat-loving culture but here’s

a word from the wise: when people

say the Chinese eat anything, that

means vegetation too. Wherever

you arrive in China tell the cab driver

to take you to a Buddhist Temple

(Fo Si) and there will almost certainly

be an a–iliated meat-free eatery.

Typically these all-you-can-eat

buŠets oŠer faux (tofu) meats that

sitalongsideChina’salphabetof

greenvegetables,exoticfungiand

tropicalfruitsfromtheprovincesof

GuangdongandHainan.

TheupdatedInsightGuide:China

isoutnow.

53

BuyaPersian

carpetinArab

Street,Singapore

SianMarsh,author,

TheRoughGuide

toSingapore

VisitorsinSingapore

aredrawntothearomasinLittle

Indiaandthefoodandfestivals

inChinatown,butthecolourful

shopsinArabStreetareoften

overlooked.Intriguedshoppers

arerewardedwithboutiquesfull

oftextilesandPersiancarpets,two

commoditiesthisareaisknown

for.Thereisauniquecaféculture

toimmerseyourselfinforawell-

deservedrest.

TheupdatedRoughGuideto

Singaporeisoutnow.

54

Seetheother

sideofDubai

HazelPlush,travel

writerandeditor

There’ssomuchmoreto

Dubaithanskyscrapers

andshoppingmalls.Ifyou’reona

connecting
lightthroughthecity,

CULTURAL

From shopping for traditional crafts to tasting local

delicacies, immersing yourself in a country’s customs

will reveal a dierent side to the places you visit

Shutterstock; Alamy

Mulberry & mosaics

The Empress Zoe mosaic

in the Cathedral of Hagia

Sophia; (below) relax

with a glass of local

mulberry wine after a trek

in the Hindu Kush

mountains