Persepolis

Roads to ruins

Baby-boomers want tours that will feed their minds (plus a bit of shopping), writes Caroline Gladstone.

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Tajikistan

A rallying cry

Tajikistan's poverty is numbing, its roads rotten, the vistas stunning and its people heartbreakingly hospitable, writes Jamie Lafferty.

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Rich tapestry ... a workshop of women embroidering textiles in Tashkent.

A stitch in time

On a trip along the old Silk Road, Sandra Hall admires intricate carpets and embroidery, and the revival of a nation's traditions.

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Uzbekistan. Savitsky Museum in Nukus. Painting "by the sea" by Kliment Redko 1933.

Canvas in the desert

Sandra Hall discovers a trove of art rescued from the Soviet regime and housed in an unusual outpost.

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Woman pretending to kiss the Sphinx, Egypt. Solo travel.

Roam alone

Breaking free of the tribe can deliver the holiday of a lifetime, writes frequent soloist Julietta Jameson.

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