Destinations of myth and legend (part 3)

Destinations of myth and legend (part 3)

Today we’ll be finishing our quick look at some of the destinations of myth and legend that our planet has in store for the interested traveler, and today we’re starting the journey in warm and sunny Tunisia.

Tunisia – Carthage

Carthage was once the superpower equivalent of an ancient city-state in constant conflict with the other superpower of the time, the considerably much larger Roman Empire. Its status was built up and maintained thanks to a very efficient navy that patrolled the Mediterranean Sea, as well as some ground combat proficiency, you might remember some elephants marching over a mountain lead by some guy called Hannibal.

The ruins of Carthage that you’ll find now on the outskirts of modern Tunis are in fact the ruins from the Roman-built city that took the place of the Carthage that they stormed and razed to the ground.

Mali – Timbuktu

Timbuktu has its own place in pop language sayings meaning ‘a place that is extremely far away’ and it got this reputation for being the terminus of a rich trade route that linked West Africa to the Mediterranean. All you had to do was take whatever your trading material was, joint a camel caravan and trek through the Sahara desert for a few months. Incredibly enough, you can still find such caravans, they trade in salt from the north and are lead by blue-clad Tuaregs.

England – Avalon

Taking a rather sharp detour from the sun and sand to jolly old England, to the mythical and enchanted isle of Avalon of King Arthur fame; alas Avalon isn’t an island per se, at least not anymore, nowadays the modern town of Glastonbury spreads over the site, but still clinging to its mystic roots, the place attracts all manner of New Age characters to its area.

You might’ve heard of a massive music festival that is held here each year as well.

Tibet – Shambhala

This one is by far one of the least accessibly destinations of myth and legend in our list and it’s a great one to end the list with.

The kingdom of Shambhala is still very well hidden from most travel paths, deep within the peaks of the Himalayas, so well-hidden that it’s not really there, it’s still a myth, but the closest thing to it is Zhingdian, which was renamed Shangri-la in 2001, claiming to be the inspiration for the eponymous location in James Hilton’s novel, Lost Horizon.

Don’t forget to consider some worldwide car rental services when visiting at least some of these places.

George

George