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It’s the cities that reflect the true pulse of the Rainbow Nation. Here’s a look at the action of revitalized Johannesburg, the beguiling beauty of Cape Town, and the distinct laid-back culture of seaside Durban, along with easy side trips.

How a trip to the Middle East taught a blue-state liberal to get along with her red-state mother

Get the most out of your visit without tiring yourself out.

Farm-to-fork meals, spa treatments, vineyard hikes, and more—this is how you do a proper weekend in South Africa’s wine country.

These well-curated hotel shops will give you a sense of place and a lasting memory.

A journey through one of the world’s last, best travel secrets.

In the neighborhood of Asmalımescit near Tünel, you’ll find Babylon, a popular club with a capacity for 450 people and pumping sounds. The club’s state-of-the-art lighting and sound system, mixed with its rustic Byzantine-style backdrop, makes it the crème de la crème of intimate performance venues in Istanbul. Gigs here run the whole gamut of genres including rock, pop, alternative grooves, world music, and music from the ‘80s. Pictured above is celebrated Australian singer-songwriter Sarah Blasko at her Istanbul debut in 2013.

About an hour outside of Cape Town, Babylonstoren is one of South Africa’s oldest werfs, or farmyards. In 2010, Karen Roos, a former editor at South Africa’s Elle Decoration, reimagined the property as a fantasy farm stay with an eight-acre garden that grows 300 varieties of fruits and vegetables. Guests are welcome to help the head gardener prune and plant, and to join the chef in his daily harvest. Some of the 13 laborers’ cottages that have been rebuilt as guestrooms feature kitchens for those who want to pick and prep their own meals.

It’s easy to head to a beach town and get stuck at all the typico backpacker bars hawking a different ‘night’ every day of the week: ladies’ night; free shots night; you name it, it’s been done. Casa Babylon easily stands apart from that well-worn holiday model. Positioned along the main drag at Playa Zicatella, Babylon isn’t particularly easy to spot from the street. Inside is a different story. Multi-hued masks of every shape and size dot the vibrant rust-red walls from floor to ceiling. And then they continue on to the ceiling, fanciful creatures both macabre and non suspended from above. Growling beats and trumpeting angels all share the same space. (Sadly, my disposable camera did not capture any such glory.) The bar itself turns out — what else? — plenty of cerveza and mezcal and if you’re lucky, you’ll have time to peruse the heaving bookshelves (warning: it’s all in Spanish) before live music gets the night started.

The Paris café scene has always been compelling, but the actual café (coffee) is often forgettable. That’s all changing, thanks to places like Coutume, Kookaboora and Telescope, where obsessive (and often mustachioed) baristas are redefining the French coffee tradition. Using freshly roasted beans and frothy Normandy milk, they’re producing delicious fuel for the real raison d'être for any Parisian café—the people watching. Coutume, 47 Rue de Babylone, 33/(0) 1-4551-5047. Kookaboora, 53 Avenue Trudaine, 33/(0) 1-5692-1241. Telescope, 5 rue Villedo.

One of the biggest stars of the five museums on Museum Island, the Pergamon was the last to open, in 1930. Built to resemble a Babylonian temple, it houses a trove of ancient treasures from the Middle East, with highlights that include the enormous Pergamon Altar, dating from around 170 B.C.E. and featuring a dramatic frieze showing a battle between gods and giants; the two-story Market Gate of Miletus, built by the Romans in 120 C.E.; and the equally impressive Ishtar Gate, from the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II in the 6th century B.C.E. Another poignant highlight, given the large influx of Syrian refugees into the city since 2015, is the 17th-century Aleppo Room, a reception chamber from a merchant’s house with exquisitely carved wall decorations.

If you have any interest in the history and archaeology of the ancient Near East, you’ll wander the galleries of the Oriental Institute with goosebumps, slack-jawed. This museum on the campus of the University of Chicago houses one of the finest collections of Antiquities in North America. Some of the oldest cuneiform tablets--humanity’s earliest writing--here. A portrait of Sennacherib from Sargon’s Throne Hall--here, too. Friezes of Lions from Babylon, bull-headed columns from Darius’ Persia--all here. Amazing. Whether you’re interested in the sources of the Greek historians or Biblical archaeology, this museum alone would almost be worth a trip to Chicago...so it’s definitely worth the urban trek south from downtown.

Why we love it: A grand resort with subtle style and top-notch amenities

The Highlights:
- Stylishly minimal guest rooms with balconies and deep-soaking tubs
- An infinity pool overlooking the Dead Sea
- Impeccable service from an expert staff

The Review:
There’s a tendency among high-end hotels in the Middle East to overwhelm guests with bling. The Kempinski Hotel Ishtar, the grandest of all the Dead Sea resorts, does things a little differently, impressing visitors with its architecture instead. The hotel’s Babylonian-style buildings loom large, but inside the decor is dialed back to the point of almost minimal. Walls disappear into expanses of glass, framing dramatic views over the sea, while shady balconies and sunken baths keep ostentatiousness at bay. There are plenty of pools, lagoons, and waterfalls of course, plus a private beach, a luxurious spa, and a handful of restaurants, but your first impression, as someone hands you a glass of cold hibiscus juice at check-in, is that this is a hotel that gets the details right.

According to the Epic of Gilgamesh (a Babylonian creation myth) and some interpretations of the Old Testament, the mythical Garden of Eden - of Tree of Life fame - might have actually been in southern Bahrain. Local tour operators cite a sprawling and gnarled mesquite tree without any apparent water source that has continued to bloom since anyone can remember as proof of this legend.