Ancient City

The scientist had traveled from Germany to examine the ancient items that lay before him on the University of Pennsylvania laboratory table, and he was dazzled. Earrings with cascades of golden leaves. Brooches adorned with tightly coiled spirals. A necklace strung with hundreds of gold ringlets and beads. The jewelry bore a striking resemblance to objects from one of the world's great collections - a controversial treasure unearthed long ago from the fabled city of Troy. Were the objects on the lab table also from the city that inspired Homer's epic poem of war?

When Peter D. Harrison was writing the last chapter of his latest book, he was sitting near a hotel swimming pool on the edge of the ancient Mayan city of Tikal. "And there were howler monkeys in the trees," the New Mexico anthropologist, 62, said in an interview, "and they didn't stop all afternoon. " And all night. While the monkeys threaten visitors, he said, the 35,000 tourists at Tikal, Guatemala, each year threaten the ecological balance in the city that was hidden by jungle for almost 1,000 years.

The scientist had traveled from Germany to examine the ancient items that lay before him on the University of Pennsylvania laboratory table, and he was dazzled. Earrings with cascades of golden leaves. Brooches adorned with tightly coiled spirals. A necklace strung with hundreds of gold ringlets and beads. The jewelry bore a striking resemblance to objects from one of the world's great collections - a controversial treasure unearthed long ago from the fabled city of Troy. Were the objects on the lab table also from the city that inspired Homer's epic poem of war?

VALENCIA, Spain - This ancient city on Spain's Mediterranean coast has long drawn visitors to its UNESCO-cited, late Gothic silk exchange; its restored modernist central market; its plenitude of paella restaurants; and its old-fashioned cafes serving horchata , or chilled tiger-nut milk, a smooth and refreshing local specialty. But in recent years, it's a futuristic attraction more so than the historical and culinary ones that has landed Valencia on various travel publications' must-see lists.

"The history of York," said Britain's King George VI, "is the history of England. " Visitors to this ancient city, located 200 miles to the north of London, will surely agree. In a day or two of leisurely touring, one can examine the remains of each of the many ages of England's fabled past. But first a word about the people. The Yorkshire dialect, with its broad vowel sounds and old-fashioned expressions, is an education in itself. Yorkshire "fooak" still speak of streams as "becks," say "nae" rather than no and refer to you as "tha.

THIS MONTH, Berlin will mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the city's infamous wall. Made of stark concrete and barbed wire, and dotted with watchtowers, it divided the heart of Berlin into eastern and western sectors. Hundreds died there trying to cross into freedom. Berlin became a city early in the 14th century, when two feudal villages merged. Unified for hundreds of years, its division into eastern Soviet and western Allied zones grew out of the devastation of World War II. Berlin was divided for just over 44 years, until the collapse of East Germany (another arbitrary relic of the cold war)

Interested in diving for fun and nonprofit? A small exhibition at the University Museum offers a quick overview of the field of marine archaeology, a summary of its insights into an ancient Middle Eastern seaport - and an invitation to prospective archaeological volunteers. The traveling show,"Secrets from an Ancient Sea: Marine Archaeology at Caesarea Maritima, Israel," is a concise, lucid presentation of research conducted by a team led by Robert L. Hohlfelder, chairman of the History Department at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

Turkey! Never, ever, had I thought of having a chance to take a trip to that part of the world. And then, out of the blue, came my sister's phone call. "How about a vacation in Turkey?" she asked. "I'll pay. " I couldn't refuse. Still, I approached the visit with mixed feelings. After our arrival at the Izmir airport, I was appalled by the brazenness of the porters, who grabbed passengers' luggage without seeking permission first. And on the road from the airport, I was saddened by the obvious poverty of the farmers, whose crude, dilapidated dwellings sat among parched, almost barren fields.

Mayor Rendell, eat your heart out. Philadelphia archaeologists excavating an ancient Egyptian site have found a house truly fit for a mayor in the ancient city of Abydos. It is the first such find in all of Egypt. The 4,000-year-old house, which boasted walls five feet thick, spans more than 40,000 square feet - covering nearly an acre. It was a city hall, financial center, granary and a mansion rolled into one. The mayor may have controlled 75 percent of the wealth in the town and supervised such important officials as the overseers of the herds, the brewery, and the superintendent of the bread house.

The facts about Homer have faded - nobody even knows where he was born or is buried - but his two great stories have endured more than 2,500 years. The Iliad and Odyssey seem likely to last as long as there are humans alive to read. The Iliad in particular, covering the Trojan War, has given us a gallery of unforgettable characters whose names and likenesses have been utilized in everything from Shakespearean plays to cars to kitchen cleansers. The mighty Achilles, the doomed Hector, the beautiful Helen, the wise Odysseus, the wanton Cressida, the stupid Ajax - what they did for a decade, before the Greeks built the Trojan horse and used it to slip inside and conquer Troy, has been absorbed either in depth or in passing into the minds of millions.

VALENCIA, Spain - This ancient city on Spain's Mediterranean coast has long drawn visitors to its UNESCO-cited, late Gothic silk exchange; its restored modernist central market; its plenitude of paella restaurants; and its old-fashioned cafes serving horchata , or chilled tiger-nut milk, a smooth and refreshing local specialty. But in recent years, it's a futuristic attraction more so than the historical and culinary ones that has landed Valencia on various travel publications' must-see lists.

The scientist had traveled from Germany to examine the ancient items that lay before him on the University of Pennsylvania laboratory table, and he was dazzled. Earrings with cascades of golden leaves. Brooches adorned with tightly coiled spirals. A necklace strung with hundreds of gold ringlets and beads. The jewelry bore a striking resemblance to objects from one of the world's great collections - a controversial treasure unearthed long ago from the fabled city of Troy. Were the objects on the lab table also from the city that inspired Homer's epic poem of war?

The scientist had traveled from Germany to examine the ancient items that lay before him on the University of Pennsylvania laboratory table, and he was dazzled. Earrings with cascades of golden leaves. Brooches adorned with tightly coiled spirals. A necklace strung with hundreds of gold ringlets and beads. The jewelry bore a striking resemblance to objects from one of the world's great collections - a controversial treasure unearthed long ago from the fabled city of Troy. Were the objects on the lab table also from the city that inspired Homer's epic poem of war?

The writings and illustrations of the ancient Maya civilization have told us primarily about the elite classes and religion, with rich depictions of headdress-wearing kings and mystical jaguars and bats. Scenes of everyday life from the Central American people, on the other hand, are largely unknown - until now. A University of Pennsylvania scholar is part of a team that is deciphering newly discovered murals in Mexico, with images of commoners handling maize, clay vessels, and salt.

THIS MONTH, Berlin will mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the city's infamous wall. Made of stark concrete and barbed wire, and dotted with watchtowers, it divided the heart of Berlin into eastern and western sectors. Hundreds died there trying to cross into freedom. Berlin became a city early in the 14th century, when two feudal villages merged. Unified for hundreds of years, its division into eastern Soviet and western Allied zones grew out of the devastation of World War II. Berlin was divided for just over 44 years, until the collapse of East Germany (another arbitrary relic of the cold war)

Because the city is home to numerous bands and live-concert venues, Time magazine called it "Europe's secret capital of music. " It boasts hip new restaurants, a thriving arts scene, stunning Victorian architecture, and enough rollicking pubs and clubs to satisfy party-hungry appetites. Oh, yeah, and the men like to dress up in skirts. Kilt-wearing blokes notwithstanding, Glasgow is a must-see destination. A onetime haven for shipbuilders and textile workers, this town of 600,000 has blossomed into a stylish city that even a hipster could love.

Ryan Howard sat on the floor, his legs folded uncomfortably, staring at a box of raw seafood. His teammate Chase Utley had no qualms downing the sea urchin in front of them, but the Phillies first baseman wasn't quite as eager. "He made all kind of faces," coach Ramon Henderson said. "It took him quite a bit to swallow it. That was funny watching him do that. " Said Howard: "I did try it, though. You have to give me that much. " Howard, who turns 27 in less than two weeks, truly went global this week.

Turkey! Never, ever, had I thought of having a chance to take a trip to that part of the world. And then, out of the blue, came my sister's phone call. "How about a vacation in Turkey?" she asked. "I'll pay. " I couldn't refuse. Still, I approached the visit with mixed feelings. After our arrival at the Izmir airport, I was appalled by the brazenness of the porters, who grabbed passengers' luggage without seeking permission first. And on the road from the airport, I was saddened by the obvious poverty of the farmers, whose crude, dilapidated dwellings sat among parched, almost barren fields.

At its height in the 15th century, the northwest Afghan city of Herat was the cultural hub of the Persian Empire, noted for its music, poetry, calligraphy, art and architecture. Its splendid mosques, madrassas, shrines and minarets were admired throughout Central Asia. Today, the city's cultural heritage barely survives. Twenty-two years of occupation and civil war have led to neglect, plundering, and, most recently, destruction by the former Taliban ruling militia. Several of Herat's best-known landmarks are in crumbling disrepair.

I didn't come to Bordeaux looking for Eleanor of Aquitaine. My youthful infatuation with this best-known of medieval queens had been gathering dust in my mental attic, so it was my past as well as hers that came back to haunt me when I found myself walking in her traces on a long weekend in this ancient city. Suddenly there she was, in spirit at least, entering the city through gates in walls whose shadows still linger, wending her way through streets that retain their tangled medieval courses if not their 12th-century houses, and stopping before the Cathedral of St. Andre to arrange her skirts, headdress, and entourage before entering the church to be married - not once but twice, the second time a match with the future Henry II of England that would change the destinies of England and Aquitaine, Eleanor's possession in southwestern France.