Reflections on the "retracing trips people have already taken" genre of travel books.

Cabeza de Vaca's route (one possibility)PBS's site on its film about the Conquistadors has some useful material on Cabeza de Vaca, including some clips from the documentary.

The NY Times reviews The Way of Herodotus: Travels With the Man Who Invented History by Justin Marozzi.

The New York Times reviews the new Imax movie about Ibn Battuta, "Journey to Mecca."

A replica of Columbus's Nina is making the rounds.

Travel companies are packaging tours that follow in the footsteps of famous travelers, like Odysseus, Marco Polo, and Che.  

In a museum in Havana there are two skulls of Christopher Columbus, one when he was a boy and one when he was a man.—Mark Twain, The Adventures of Thomas Jefferson Snodrass

The First Voyage of Christopher Columbus

There are several films—features, mini-series, documentaries—about Columbus. Here's the trailer to one.

Released just a few days ago, a new film on The Travels of Ibn Battuta. The movie website has some useful background info.  And here's the Nightline episode on the Hajj.

"The West’s Selective Reading of History" is the title of an interesting article about the "civilization-barbarian" binary—its roots (back to Herotodus), its evolution into modern times, and its underlying problems.

The New York Times blogs about the endless references to drinking wine in The Odyssey in "The Tipsy Hero."

Two New Yorkers spent two years traveling through 22 countries, in the footsteps of Marco Polo, and came away with a book and a movie, which you can see on the web.

Justin Marozzi trails Herodotus through the Levant, reviewed by New Statesman.

This ancient Greek vase (from about 500 BC) depicts Odysseus and the Sirens.  And then there's Cream's "Tales of Brave Ulysses," and the Coen brothers' "O Brother Where Art Thou?"  For an interesting story about how Homer affected poet and humorist Andre Codrescu, check out this interview on NPR.

Battle of Marathon"With his reputation for romanticism and rambling and his love of gossip, Herodotus was dismissed by the serious thinkers of his day. Yet his work is both entertaining and deeply moral," argues Charlotte Higgins in the Guardian.  Travel writer Justin Marozzi re-creates Herodotus' travels, the subject of this Washington Post article and his book The Way of Herodotus; and the Post follows up with an article about places on the journey, then and now.  And for a different take, there's Ryszard Kapuscinski's excellent Travels with Herodotus.

"The Mongols have circular houses made of wood and covered with felt, which they carry about with them on four-wheeled wagons wherever they go," writes Marco Polo, and for contemporary architects, the yurt is still around, so to speak.