I have always been a fan of Soviet gigantism from the skyline dominating Motherland statue in Kiev to the outsized Defender of the Soviet Arctic in Murmansk. While spending a few days in Minsk a day trip to Brest to see the mighty statue named Courage in the military fortress was an opportunity I was not going to miss. ...

KEEP READING...

Belarus is in the news for the wrong reasons at the moment and may seem to be an unlikely choice for a trip. One of the least visited places in Europe, not least because visas were hard to get (a situation that has now changed for the better for most countries), it still remains mostly undiscovered. Minsk, the capital, is an intriguing city. A...

KEEP READING...

The Ottoman Empire was not renowned for being kind and gentle to its subjects, particularly those from lands it had invaded. Fear was a weapon used to maintain control and punish those that stood up to the caliphate. When the Serbians rose up against the foreign invaders in 1809, the revolt was quickly crushed and a gruesome reminder of the fate that awaited...

KEEP READING...

On the 10th of June 1944, an SS Panzer Division entered Oradour-Sur-Glane, a small picturesque village not far from the wine-growing region of Bordeaux. In a barbaric act of violence, the villagers were murdered and many of the buildings burnt down. ...

KEEP READING...