Nature

The author stands amidst weirdness in the Cappadocian village of Zelve.

Cappadocia’s Fairy Chimneys and Cave Dwellings

Doorways still lead into cool, cozy chambers where people grilled kebabs, served tea and worshiped until 1952

A potential buyer must carefully inspect the rugs at the Navajo rug auction.

Where to Get a Great Rug, and a Helping of Navajo Culture

Connoisseurs of Native American textiles know to go to the Crownpoint, New Mexico, Navajo Rug Auction

A piece of black marble from a quarry in Vermont as seen under a scanning electron microscope

An Artist Gets a Backstage, Behind-the Scenes Ticket to Tour the Smithsonian

Acclaimed sculptor Elizabeth Turk is studying the properties of marble—her medium—at the Smithsonian Institution

Come hear Yumi Kurosawa play the koto, a traditional Japanese stringed instrument.

Events Oct. 11-13: Stories From the Mine, Baseball Americana and the Music and Arts of Japan

This week, come to a panel discussion with the Chilean miners, a talk about baseball, and join in an evening of Japanese culture

The floating fishing villages in Vietnam's Halong Bay

The World Monuments Fund 2012 Watch List

The latest Watch List from the World Monuments Fund cites 67 invaluable places in need of attention, in some cases protection from tourists

No doubt about it, bears had been in this area.

The Bear and the Bullet

The truck came by slowly and a spotlight swept the river bottom. "My God—they're hunting me!"

Film still from 55 Days at Peking (1963)

The List: Top Eleven Things to Do this Month at the Smithsonian After Work

Date night at the Smithsonian, grab your special someone and head out to these after-hours events

Turkish tea

Tea and Bear Talk in Turkey

"It's too dangerous," said a villager. "There are bears." His boys growled and clawed the air

Visit the Butterfly Pavilion at the Natural History Museum

Events Oct. 3-6: Butterfly Pavilion, Quiltmaking Demonstration, America in Black and White and African Drumming

This week, see exotic insects, learn a new craft, be part of a thought-provoking discussion on race and join a drum circle

Water in the Black Sea’s northern reaches gets as cold as seawater can get—31 degrees Fahrenheit—and as warm as the 80s in summer.

The Wild World of the Black Sea

Visitors come for the place and spill onto the beach and pose exuberantly under umbrellas and wrestle with colorful inflatable toys in the brown waves

The great Selimiye Mosque of Edirne

Where to Go when Greece Says No: Turkey

That evening a man walked into my bush camp with a gun, marched straight at me as I gaped in shock and sprawled out beside me on my tarp

See Sidney Mobell's 18-karat gold Monopoly Board at the Museum of American Finance in New York as part of Smithsonian's Museum Day.

The Jeweled Art of Sidney Mobell

Mobell is one of the world's most unusual artists: a craftsman who turns everyday items into extremely valuable works of jeweled art

A relic from the communist era lies along the road to the Kabata Hut.

Uphill All the Way in the Rhodope Mountains

I have my dinner—cheese, a four-pound organic tomato, a sack of figs and a jar of pickled chanterelles—and I’m ready to get lost on the mountain roads

Come learn about the Zoo's Aldabras tortoises.

Events Sept. 19-22: The Life of Cleopatra, Aldabras Galore, Celebrate the Land, and La Buena Vida

This week, hear about the queen of ancient Egypt, see some of the world's largest tortoises, talk to curators about the environment, and more

Spring-fed fountains are refreshing rest spots in the Bulgarian countryside.

What to Drink in Bulgaria

The fountains are a marvel of local social infrastructure; the spouts pour out spring water along almost every mile of mountain roads

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CT Scanners Crack Open a Mummy Mystery

Shih Chieh Huang's creations in a 2009 installation in Brisbane, Austrailia. They are now featured in "The Bright Beneath."

Shih Chieh Huang’s “The Bright Beneath” at the Natural History Museum

Inspired by bioluminescent undersea creatures, an installation artist creates an unearthly world

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Weekend Events Sept 9-11: Remembering 9/11, Oral Traditions, and Jazz Competition

Martha, the last surviving member of the passenger pigeon species

Martha, the World’s Last Passenger Pigeon

97 years ago today, a once-ubiquitous bird species tragically went extinct

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Weekend Events September 2-5: Tarantula Feedings, Book Signings, Harry Potter, and Labor Day

This weekend, check out a giant spider at mealtime, get a book autographed, and take advantage of your last chance to see Harry Potter in 3D

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