Sean O'Reilly Flying Carpet Articles

The Dragon’s Portal
Sean O'Reilly explores the water towns of Jiangsu Province, China. [Read on]
Added on September 02, 2010

Do editors read—and if not, why not?
"The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself." – Albert Camus [Read on]
Added on October 08, 2008

Introduction to 30 Days in Italy
The editors address the lure of Italy. [Read on]
Added on September 05, 2006

Dining at the End of the World
by Sean O’Reilly On the south shore of Iceland, forty minutes from Reykjavik and not far from the waterfall Gullfoss is one of the coziest and yet loneliest restaurants in the world–Vio Fjorubordid in the tiny village of Stokkeseyri. The... [Read on]
Added on September 04, 2006

Introduction to Travelers' Tales American Southwest
Utility workers found a mammoth bone a few years ago, a quarter of a mile from my home in Peoria, Arizona. They thought it was a log and left it by the side of the road. Just to the east... [Read on]
Added on September 04, 2006

What I Did in the Doll House
by Sean O’Reilly Many years ago, I flew to Boston to visit my brother in Watertown, Massachusetts. At the time he had a wonderful barn that he had converted into a two-story office and a guesthouse. The flooring downstairs was... [Read on]
Added on September 04, 2006

Medical Vacations in Asia: A Great Way to Get Renewed in Mind and Body
by Sean O’Reilly and Carol Lamb A “Medical Vacation” is a fantastic way to renew oneself in mind and body. When the body is relaxed and the mind is at ease, the quality of healing can be phenomenal. If you... [Read on]
Added on September 04, 2006

Riverworld
by Sean O’Reilly I am at the helm of a 59-foot houseboat, cutting steel blue water and steering through massively beautiful canyons. A long curve of beach shimmers in the distance against the backdrop of a ruined mesa. I am... [Read on]
Added on September 04, 2006

Introduction to The Spiritual Gifts of Travel
Spirituality and travel have been linked from the beginning of human history. The oldest spiritual quest that we have an inkling of is ancient man's quest for the House of the Sun. One can imagine our ancestors seeking this house... [Read on]
Added on September 04, 2006

Cities of the Sun, Renewed
by Sean O’Reilly Cancun became a popular tourist destination in the 1970s, and at the same time, the ancient Mayan City of Cobá, which may have lain in ruins for ten centuries, slowly found a place in the annals of... [Read on]
Added on September 04, 2006

Oh Mao, Where Art Thou?
TT Editor-at-Large Sean O'Reilly visits China, where he discovers that the great leader must be turning in his grave. [Read on]
Added on January 27, 2004

Gateway to Somewhere Else: The Arch of St. Louis and the King's Basilica

We were traveling with our children on our annual van excursion across the country, and being Catholic, needed to go to Sunday Mass. Marvel of marvels there was a church within walking distance of our downtown hotel and so we went. The Basilica of Louis IX was first built in 1770. A newer structure was built in 1832 and dedicated in 1834. It is a wonderfully airy and very pretty cathedral but it has one feature that the builders would never have imagined in their wildest dreams. If you look out the western windows, you can see the Arch of St. Louis.

[Read on]
Added on March 07, 2003

Athena in Nashville

The City of Nashville first built the Parthenon to house the international art exhibition for the 1897 Centennial Exposition. Nashville's pavilion was constructed of brick, wooden lathe and plaster and was intended to reflect the city's reputation as the "Athens of the South." Following the Exposition and due to popular demand, the city left the temporary structure standing in Centennial Park. (A similar event also occurred in San Francisco with the Palace of Fine Arts, which likewise was never intended to be a permanent structure.) However, by 1921 the building was crumbling to such a degree that the Park Board authorized reconstruction with more lasting materials. The commitment was made to completely replicate the original structure and by May 1931, the Parthenon was reopened to the public, attracting thousands of visitors from the United States and abroad. This version of the Parthenon remained unchanged until 1987 when a radical renovation was undertaken to completely update the facilities and add a critical missing element.

[Read on]
Added on February 28, 2003

How Can This Be Israel?
I have just woken up in Galilee at the Mitzpe Ha Yamin organic farm and health resort and had my first morning glimpse of Israel. I walk out onto the veranda, which overlooks the Galilean hills. Horses graze on the hillside and I absorb the peace and quiet that extends for miles in all directions. I was expecting to hear the distant sound of at least a few explosions and maybe some smoke on the horizon over my morning coffee. The only smoke to be seen is from construction sites not far from the Sea of Galilee. [Read on]
Added on January 13, 2003

The Sweet Smell of Success
He travels back to 1950s Manhattan through the magic of a Broadway show. [Read on]
Added on October 13, 2002

Lady of the Avenues
I have always loved San Francisco. I say this without shame or passion. It is a statement of fact, something unalterable like the sun rising or the smell of coffee in the morning. This is the city where I spent... [Read on]
Added on August 21, 2002

The Snowboarder
A fifty-something former pioneering teenage skateboarder tries out snowboarding, and discovers his muscles have a long memory. [Read on]
Added on February 13, 2002

Glide and the Family Church
I knew this was not going to be a normal day at church when I encountered a tall transvestite in the bathroom. He was preening over the sink—the sink that I wanted to use. What should I do? [Read on]
Added on December 13, 2001

Let's Pull the Plug on Group Mind
There are many among us who are puzzled by the suicidal actions of Muslim terrorists. How and why are they doing this? What really is their motive? None of these questions can be answered with the standard pabulum about terrorism seeking to destabilize the West. [Read on]
Added on December 10, 2001

St. Peter's Black Box
The plaza in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome imposes itself on the imagination. It is humbling to stand at the religious center of 2,000 years of creative and passionate spiritual endeavor. Here in the presence of the unthinkable successor to the mighty Roman Empire, the mind tends to implode, to shift into reverie and things besides mere thoughts enter the heart. [Read on]
Added on November 13, 2001

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