Bethany Hughes has been appearing on British television for over 20 years. The 56-year-old historian and television presenter has special expertise in antiquity and is a popular lecturer. She has written several bestselling books since her first book.Helen of Troy: goddess, princess, prostituteher recent things, Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: An extraordinary new journey through history's greatest treasuresreleased on April 23rd.
Hughes lives in London but spends most of the year overseas, logging approximately 75,000 miles of flying. Her favorite airline is SriLankan Airlines. This is a holdover from when she was filming a show that focused on the world of ancient Buddhism. “There were a lot of flight delays, and every time my flight was delayed, they made me a nice cup of ginger tea in a silver teapot,” she says. She said, “She took care of me even when I was on an economy flight.''
Here are some of Hughes' hard-earned hacks he's discovered while trekking everywhere from the Turkish desert to the Cambodian hinterland.
Never apologize for double packaging.
I always carry two suitcases, even if it means paying extra. Each one contains the same thing or almost a copy like a mirrored suitcase. This means that even if you lose one item, you still have enough clothes. My first solo trip was when he was 15 years old. I had never been abroad before, but that summer I traveled alone to Italy to go to the Alps with someone I had just met on the beach.
I was so scared of the idea of ending up there and being a kind of burden. That's when I started double packing. Two small identical suitcases. I made a schoolgirl mistake last October while traveling to Trieste, Italy for a public talk. “For now,” I thought. What could go wrong? And Lufthansa lost. That meant I went without makeup or clothes. It showed up after 4 or 5 weeks, but I learned my lesson.
If you're worried about creepy crawlies, try these two methods.
When I was researching not only Angkor Wat but also Angkor Thom, which is a little more remote behind Angkor Wat, I was really getting out into nature. Pass through the bushes. I had a guide with me and he admitted that the only two things he's scared of in life are the dark and snakes. He said, “Don't worry, look what's in my pocket.” It was lemon. He said, “I promise you won’t get bitten.”
Whether that's true or not, I now always carry at least a slice with me. That means at the end of a big trip, you'll often find yourself with a slightly wilted lemon slice in your pocket. I also wear Clarks desert boots, but they are just tall enough to keep my feet from biting. My ankle is just above the level of a snakebite.
Need an inside guide to Athens or Istanbul? This is what you need to know.
The city of Istanbul is surrounded by water, so the best way to experience Istanbul is by boat. You can take a ferry from one end of the Bosphorus to the other or across the Bosphorus. A classic way to travel from Asia to Europe by ferry for less than $1. Then go to Athens, walk down Adrianou Street, the main pedestrian street, and look to the left. You can actually see the oath stone on which Socrates was tried. Also on the other side, almost directly opposite, is the painted Stoa, from which the word “Stoicism” is derived.
Follow this protocol whenever you plan to take photos.
Never forget that you are a guest in another country. My position is always this when you arrive. You are a guest, lucky to be there, and must earn the host's respect. Whatever you use to film, be it a camera or an iPhone, make sure you respect the location and have permission.
I don't mean legal permission, but the consent of the people you're with. Make eye contact and make friends. Be sure to say, “Can I take a picture?” When I was filming on the Jordan-Lebanon border, we were sitting in a cafe that was full of Hezbollah. We weren't aware of it and it could have been very annoying. But the fact that we took the time to explain what we were doing, that we were doing something about the history of Mars, the god of war, allowed us to move on. it was done. If we had taken our time and just picked up the momentum and dominated, it could have ended very badly.
Visit here as an alternative to the overcrowded excavations of Pompeii.
The Turkey-Syria border is home to the richest archeology spanning 12,000 years of human history. There is a place called Zeugma. An ancient city captured by the Romans shortly after the time of Alexander the Great, it is an incredibly rich border town. It was located on the border with the Persian Empire at the time. The level of detail in the mosaics discovered there is truly extraordinary. It has a level of preservation comparable to Pompeii.
Is there an easy way to visually check the safety of a new place? Rely on your animal instincts.
I do a “stray pet check” when I land somewhere I've never been before. I always check how friendly the dogs and cats are. If they cower, you know people aren't treating them well, so you need to keep your wits about you. If the dog is incredibly friendly, that's a good sign. Because it shows that people are kind to them. I just returned from the Georgia caucuses and I can't tell you how friendly the dogs were. They were like emotional support dogs.
Two souvenirs worth buying at any destination.
No matter where I go in the world, I always buy a scarf and a pot of honey. If anyone knows my program, I always have a suitcase full of scarves. I've found that no matter where I travel, it can provide shade from the sun, wipe sweat, keep me warm, and even double as a tourniquet if I get into trouble. So I always carry with me wonderful scarves that I collect from Indian bazaars, Istanbul souks, and Albanian villages. They're definitely not Hermès, but they have their own authenticity and integrity.
And my kitchen has an archaeological honey collection all over the side wall. I brought back saffron honey from Azerbaijan. As a historian, I know that honey is sometimes preserved for centuries. I'll never run out of honey in my lifetime because I literally bring it home from every place I've been.
Two Greek islands that deserve a special trip.
I love the Greek islands. You expect them to be amazing, but Ikaria is very beautiful. This is where Icarus is said to have fallen to the ground and died, and it remains almost completely untouched. There is also a freshwater spring. There are not many cars. There is a man called Honey Odysseus who travels by boat to get fresh honey from bees. It's a very dreamy island. Then head to Naxos, another Greek island where large amounts of marble were extracted to make Greek sculptures. But there they had cut out a sculpture, perhaps of Dionysus or Bacchus, the god of wine, and it stopped mid-stream on the mountainside – a half-finished statue. You can still see the chisel marks.
