by Anja Heij / AeonGlobe.com

Twenty mountains on planet Earth bear the name Olympus, being the dwelling of the gods. On Mount Olympus burns the eternal fire of creation and this sign of a bond between the gods and the humans is kept alive and still spread around as the flame on the Olympic Games. In the region Lycia in Turkey we find a remarkable natural phenomenon: a high mountain from which small fires spring to 1 to 3 feet high. This phenomenon has been recorded for at least 4000 years. One can extinguish the small fires, but the natural gas inside the mountain will light them again in minutes. Although the mountain now goes by the Turkish name Tahtali Dag, in older days it formed part of the Greek civilization, was non-surprisingly called Mount Olympus, and in the neighbourhood one can visit the ruins of the ancient city of Olympus (founded around 300 BC). I believe this is the real Mount Olympus the chronicles speak of.

Mike is still looking for his missing friend. My missing friend is called Bob Arthrell and he is sailing a 40 ft. yacht named Tasneem. Four months ago he was at Nuku Hiva island in the Marquesas, and looking for crew to help him sail to Fanning (Tabuaeran) island which is a tiny part of the republic of Kiribati in the pacific ocean. If you can help Mike, please contact him by email.

Need help? Want a travelling buddy or advice about a place or country – want to share something with us – why not visit our Mutual Aid section of the Website: Mutual Aid

Hotel brochure, Italy:

THIS HOTEL IS RENOWNED FOR ITS PEACE AND SOLITUDE. IN FACT, CROWDS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD FLOCK HERE TO ENJOY ITS SOLITUDE.

Hotel lobby, Bucharest:

THE LIFT IS BEING FIXED FOR THE NEXT DAY. DURING THAT TIME WE REGRET THAT YOU WILL BE UNBEARABLE.

Hotel elevator, Paris:

PLEASE LEAVE YOUR VALUES AT THE FRONT DESK.

Hotel, Yugoslavia:

THE FLATTENING OF UNDERWEAR WITH PLEASURE IS THE JOB OF THE CHAMBERMAID.

Hotel, Japan:

YOU ARE INVITED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CHAMBERMAID.

Write in and tell us your funny sign! Drop a line to the Beetle! E-mail the Beetle.

Over half of Cuba's 2 million visitors come from Europe, so it perhaps makes sense that tourists visiting Cuba's biggest tourist beach resort, Varadero, some 3 hours east of Havana can now use the European currency, the euro. Of course, you are still welcome to pay for good and services in US $ or Cuban pesos. News reports say that even small Cuban children have started to ask for euros!

Ever wondered who were the most corrupt countries in the world?

The Corruption Perception Index (CPI) lists those countries which are perceived by suppliers as requiring the most bribes of businesses. The countries that currently do worst on this score are Russia, China, Taiwan and South Korea, with Sweden and Australia faring the best.

At the end of May, beginning of June, the UK was in party mode to celebrate 50 years of the Queen on the throne. Two public holidays added to the weekend lead to four days of celebrations. Street parties were held across the UK and thousands went to Buckingham Palace in the evenings for massive rock and classical concerts.

The English Tourist Council predicted that around one third of Britons took part in a Golden Jubilee event of some kind over the long bank holiday weekend. Also to celebrate the event there was almost 2,000 beacons lit across the UK and many more in all of the Commonwealth countries. The fact that the jubilee coincided with the start of the World Cup gave an extra boost to the festivities and resulted in far fewer (about 1.5 million people) people going abroad to take advantage of the 4 day holiday.

Not a lot of people know that John Lennon and Yoko Ono were married in Gibraltar, or that Prince Charles started his honeymoon there with Princess Diana. Gibraltar is, at the moment, a 3 square mile piece of independent territory in southern Spain overlooking Morocco with some 30,000 inhabitants.

The original settlers came from around the Mediterranean: from Malta and Italy. Both Spanish and English is spoken in Gibraltar and most of the population are, unlike Britain, Catholics. Back in the 18^th century, Spain ceded Gibraltar to Britain. Spain now wants Gibraltar back! In 1969, the people of Gibraltar included a proviso in its constitution that Gibraltar will only be returned to Spain if is population vote for this in a national referendum.

The Gibraltarians feel very passionate about not becoming part of Spain and Spain has been practicing all manner of restrictive practices towards Gibraltar, including causing a 3 hour wait to make a 100m drive across the border, even bribing ferry companies to move a few miles across into Spain to provide services to Tunis.

One has to consider the irony of this latest Anglo-Spanish diplomatic scuffle; true, Gibraltar with its geographical position almost at the mouth of the Med is well strategically placed, but equally, let's not forget that Spain maintains two separate territories in Morocco, which, strangely, Morocco wants back.

If you have a travellers tale that your aching to tell. Then why not visit the “Travel Sized Bites” section of the Website and share it with the world. Travel Sized Bites

Tina is a segment producer for a TV show called “Radical Sabbaticals” which airs on the Fine Living Network in the United States. The show features passionate, inspirational stories about successful, professional people who have walked away from their careers to pursue a dream…i.e. the CEO of a multi-million dollar company who left to become a wine maker. They could also be on an open-ended sabbatical We are also looking for people who have also given up their career to move to Europe to pursue their dreams. If you could refer any people or stories to us, it would be greatly appreciated. Your response would be greatly appreciated. Tina can be reached at (818) 755-4800 ext. 207 or click here to email Tina.

With thanks to sleepinginairports.net

Last month we had the winner, Changi airport in Singapore, which the Beetle can wholeheartedly agree with – it is a lovely airport! According to the website Sleeping in Airports, the runners up to the best airport to sleep in are as follows:

Runners Up (in alphabetical order):

• Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Auckland, New Zealand
• Hong Kong
• Melbourne, Australia
• Munich, Germany
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Portland, Oregon
• Toronto (Terminal 3), Ontario
• Vancouver, British Columbia

Write in and tell us your best airport nominations! Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk