All  

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ Mobile

Mauritius

Illustration by John Tensile of the Dodo from Lewis Carroll’s “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.” Source: Archivist / Adobe Stock

Scientists Plan to De-Extinct the Dodo!

Have you ever wondered where the phrase “dead as a dodo” comes from? Used to describe something obsolete, unimportant and unquestionably dead, the saying was inspired by the sad story of the long-...
Chevalier Tristan Bréville, owner and curator of the Photography Museum of Mauritius Source: Courtesy Micki Pistorius

The First Newspaper in the Southern Hemisphere

In 1773 the first printed newspaper in the Southern Hemisphere was published in Mauritius. The tiny island of Mauritius may only seem like a verdant dot in the azure blue Indian Ocean, yet this...
Close-up of a woman's eyes and red bindi.

Bindi: Investigating the True Meaning Behind the Hindu Forehead Dot

A distinct dot is a popular forehead decoration worn mainly in South Asia - especially in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Mauritius. It is an old Hindu tradition and is known as a bindi,...
View of the Colonial home on Labourdonnais’ estate reflecting the opulent lifestyle of French sugar cane plantation owners of the 18th century.

Slaves and Sugar: ‘Black Gold’ and ‘White Gold’ of Mauritius’ Economy

In the 18th and 19th centuries, sugar was considered the ‘white gold’ in the commercial arenas of the world, but it was accrued by the scourge of ‘black gold’ – slave labor. The tiny green emerald...
Le Morne Brabant, UNESCO world heritage site with depiction of a runaway slave.

Le Morne, Mountain of the Slave Maroons in Mauritius

There is a legend that marooned slaves jumped off the high cliffs of a mountain to their death into the sea, when they saw a ship approaching, because they believed the ship was sent to capture them...
Downtown Port Louis, a blend of the historical and the new.

Nostalgic Old Trades Facing Extinction in Mauritius, Like a Doomed Dodo

Tinker, tailor, blacksmith, barber, butcher, baker, mason, candlestick maker and carpenter; all old trades that served the seafarers of the 18th century on the trade route to India and the sugar...
Bird's-eye view of Mauritius Square

Mauritius Square, Ukraine: What is this Giant Crab-like Earthworks?

There is a huge, mysterious structure near the village of Mezhirichi in Ukraine. It has an unusual shape (some suggest it looks like a giant crab or spider) which is visible in images actually taken...
Battle of Grand Port by Pierre-Julien Gilbert

Mauritius: From Conquests to Naval Battles, Piracy and a Long-Awaited Independence

Volcanic activity in the Indian Ocean gave rise to the island we know today as Mauritius. Undetected for millennia, like a tiny green emerald dropped in the azure blue Indian Ocean, it lay virginally...
Have Scientists Discovered Proof for the Lost Continent of Lemuria?

Have Scientists Discovered Proof for the Lost Continent of Lemuria?

Most people have heard of the lost continent of Atlantis. Some know about the legendary lost continent of Lemuria and the semi-mythical land of Kumari Kandam as well. But have you heard of the...