Many are unaware that it was possible to sail from the Mediterranean Sea to Red Sea before the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869 CE. Nile-to-Suez canals existed more than two thousand years ago, providing a steady flow of trade and traffic between East and West. In the March/April 2012 edition of Saudi Aramco World Magazine, John Cooper introduces us to the lost canals of ancient Egypt and the colorful personalities behind their construction, maintenance, and destruction. Please click here to read “Linking Med to Red.”

The Economist magazine has posted this video review of “Nomads & Networks: The Ancient Art and Culture of Kazakhstan” at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World in New York City. Please click here to access the video. We promise that you won’t regret doing so! The objects are beautiful and most have never been seen by the public until now.

Channel News Asia is reporting that the remains of a Stone Age man has been unearthed off the southern Chinese coast in Fujian Province. Archaeologists from Taiwan believe that the 8.000 year old skeleton might be an ancestor to Taiwan’s aboriginal peoples. The man was believed to be around thirty-five years of age around the time of his death and the bones are in excellent condition. Please click here to read more.

Here’s a listing of more spring exhibitions which might of be of interest to many of you: The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), in Los Angeles, California USA, will be exhibiting Children of the Plumed Serpent: the Legacy of Quetzalcoatl in Ancient Mexico until July 1, 2012. With over 200 objects ranging from manuscripts and textiles to gilded plates and jewelry, this show delineates the importance of the Quetzalcoatl myth to the Nahua, Mixtec, and Zapotec city-states and kingdoms of Pre-Columbian Mexico. This geographical area of southern Mexico was unique in retaining a separate cultural identity during the apogee of the Mayans and Aztecs. For more information, please be sure to read this review from the The Art Newspaper by clicking here. Museu Nacional d’Arte de Catalunya (MNAC), in Barcelona, Spain, is presenting Gods and Myths of Antiquity: The evidence from Hispanic Coins until March 17, 2013. This exhibition provides a unique perspective into the religious beliefs, customs, cults, and mythologies of Iberian peoples, from the 5th century BCE until the arrival of …

The New York Times has just reviewed the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s newest exhibition, “Byzantium and Islam: An Age of Transition.” Please click here to read the favorable review.