Virtual History Tours

For years I've pored over amazing photography of faraway lands, people and objects unimaginable to me. Each time I opened magazines like National Geographic, or flipped through Polaroids of someones family trip, there was another tiny little peek at a different world, which seemed to only create the desire for more.

I've already accepted that there are some places that I will just never get to travel. This is one of the reasons I love virtual reality. It's not the real thing, but it's better than nothing at all. But lately what has been really impressing me are these amazing 360 degree panoramic QTVR's (QuickTime Virtual Reality). I've put together a list of few of the coolest ones I could find. These make me want to strap on a pair of those geeky VR goggles and pretend I'm really there...

For our virtual tour you'll need Quicktime installed, a good graphics card and a fast internet connection for these to view correctly. First stop....Denmark!

Apparently, there are around 600 medieval churches in Denmark with visible paintings. There are untold numbers of undiscovered paintings, as many were whitewashed over due to controversial images. These three Danish Medieval Church Frescoes from Elmelund, Marie Magdalene and Sulsted have been restored to near original condition.

Moving on to Slovenia brings us to the Erasmus Knight's Tournament, held every year at Predjama Castle. There's quite an array of activities for the historian! "Everything has been designed according to documented models from the 16th century," quotes a foreign travel website. Yeah, except for those cabaret bellydancers. That's just plain funny to an SCA'er like me.

Maybe you've always wanted to stand in the ring of standing stones, with nary a soul to be seen. At Callanish, on the Isle of Lewis, you can do just that. I appreciate that the photographer has positioned himself so that he casts no shadow. You really get the feeling you are alone out there.

Last but not least, let's travel to Turkey for an amazing view of the inside of the Bayezid Mosque. The ceiling is stunning, and I suspect it would cause vertigo in real life. Don't forget to look down - the photo is so good you can see crumbs on the carpet!