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Il faut que jeunesse se passe, проспект Павла Тичини, 1в, Kyiv (2026)

23/07/2022

Switzerland's gravity-defying solution

Switzerland's 15th-Century farmers and vintners had a dangerously creative solution to irrigating their mountainous land that's still in use today.

Tacked on to a sheer rock face, a series of weathered wooden channels led our hiking group across vertical cliffs at a dizzying 1,200m. It was only thanks to the mounted guardrails and safety nets that we could walk the 6km-long trail – known as Torrent Neuf – at all. The 15th- Century Rhône Valley farmers and vintners who dared to build these suspended irrigation channels had nothing more than a shovel, pickaxe and worn ropes. It was a perilous job that cost lives – but spared one corner of Switzerland from near drought.

Switzerland may be dubbed "Europe's water tower", but one region, the Valais in south-western Switzerland, has historically endured aridity exacerbated by the foehn, a notoriously dry, warm wind found here.

21/07/2022

The Maya's ingenious secret to survival

Tikal was the economic and ceremonial hub of the Maya civilisation. But its stone palaces and temples would never have been constructed without mastery over one vital substance.

Standing in the ancient Mayan city of Tikal in Guatemala, visitors are surrounded by steep limestone pyramids nearly as tall as Notre Dame cathedral while the calls of howler monkeys and toucans emanate from the site's rainforest backdrop. Constructed without the aid of beasts of burden, metal tools or the wheel, these grandiose stoneworks served as the seats of power for the kings and priests who ruled over what was one of the most influential city states in the Maya realm, which spanned Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, Guatemala, Belize as well as portions of Honduras and El Salvador.

Tikal was an economic and ceremonial hub of a civilisation that, in light of recent laser-based aerial surveys that revealed more than 60,000 structures hidden for centuries by thick jungle, may have once encompassed as many as 10 to 15 million people in total.

19/07/2022

Yemen's ancient, soaring skyscraper cities

Constructed using natural materials, Yemeni high-rises are superbly sustainable and perfectly suited to the hot and dry Arabian desert climate.

Stepping through Bab-al-Yaman, the enormous gate allowing access into Yemen's old walled city of Sana'a, was like stepping through a portal into another world. Tall, skinny buildings were crammed into the narrow lanes that connected lush fruit and vegetable gardens with the ancient souq where donkeys are still sold. I saw locksmiths mending enormous metal keys that open imposing wooden doors; a vendor selling prickly pears from a cart, and the local baker pulling fresh bread from a hot-glowing hole in the ground. In a tiny room, a camel trudged in tight circles powering a millstone crushing sesame seeds.

But despite all the visual stimulus, it was the architecture that dominated the scene.

17/07/2022

The Spanish city where water defies gravity

At Granada's famed Alhambra palace, a 1,000-year-old feat of hydraulics still impresses engineers today.

Water is everywhere in Granada's ornate and lavish Alhambra, a 13th-Century palatial complex that's one of the world's most iconic examples of Moorish architecture. It flows in channels that cool the buildings; spurts from fountains in grand rooms and charming courtyards; and sprays in such a way that, from certain angles, it perfectly frames majestic arched doorways. The same intricate system brings colour to the famed gardens of the Generalife, the former summer palace next door.

At the time, this was one of the most sophisticated hydraulic networks in the world, able to defy gravity and raise water from the river nearly a kilometre below.

15/07/2022

Egypt's Red Sea resort that's making waves

On the shore of the Red Sea, the forward-thinking town of El Gouna was founded with a mission: to do its part to protect the environment.

As I sat under the welcome shade of a cluster of palm trees, my gaze drifted over the calm waters of the lagoon ahead of me – and was caught by a line of neatly labelled terracotta rubbish bins.

To be honest, when I'd imagined my trip to Egypt's Red Sea region, I'd pictured swimming in warm, crystal-clear waters and discovering vibrant coral reefs surrounded by brightly coloured fish. And though I was able to do all of that, it was not the marine beauty that captivated me the most, but rather El Gouna's impressive commitment to sustainability. Instead of detracting from the natural beauty of the Egyptian resort town, the rubbish bins were a welcome sight.

11/07/2022

The empire the Aztecs couldn't conquer

The P'urhépechas were the only indigenous group in Mexico the Aztecs failed to conquer – but despite that feat, they were nearly lost to history.
"This is the legacy of our people," my uncle said as we gazed at the pyramids. We were not in Egypt, but rather in the town of Tzintzuntzan, in Mexico's south-western state of Michoacán. The pyramids, or yácatas, looming in front of us were uniquely round and made of volcanic stone – perhaps the most intact relics of the P'urhépechas, a pre-Hispanic indigenous group that once reigned here, but that most people have never heard of. In fact, I'd never heard of them either until a few months ago, when I found out that I was a direct descendant.

Born and raised in California, I grew up unaware of this part of my heritage as it was lost in my family after my grandfather passed away in 1978. My grandmother was left with five kids and no income, but after saving up, she brought my dad and his siblings to the United States in 1983. Under pressure to assimilate, my father disconnected from our P'urhépecha culture, and it was only recently, when I began to be curious about my identity, that I started questioning him about our past. So in 2021, at the age of 31, he brought me to Michoacán for the first time. That's when I met my uncle Israel, and he revealed that not only were we P'urhépecha, but that my great-grandmother, Juana, was still alive and living in the small pueblo of Urén nearby.

When people think about Mexico before Hernán Cortéz, they automatically think about the Aztecs, but what they don't know is that the P'urhépecha existed at the same time – and they were such a mighty kingdom that they were the only indigenous group in Mexico that the Aztecs failed to conquer.

04/07/2022

How the African rainforest is helping fight climate change

In the midst of the African rainforest, one elusive animal wreaks havoc on vegetation – and in doing so, offers a big favour for the climate.

Companies and governments around the world are racing to slash their emissions and develop innovative technology to capture carbon. But the African forest elephant is remarkably efficient at storing carbon with no technological aid at all.

African forest elephants are known as "mega-gardeners of the forest", because of their ability to boost carbon stocks and disperse vital nutrients. A 2019 study found that the elephant's destructive habits help boost the overall amount of carbon stored in the central African rainforest. Each forest elephant can stimulate a net increase in carbon capture of these rainforests of 9,500 metric tonnes of CO2 per sq km. This is equivalent to emissions from driving 2,047 petrol cars for one year.

Il faut que jeunesse se passe

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