Ian Bancroft

Hodophiles is pleased to present an extract from the chapter 'A New Naivety' of Ian Bancroft’s new novel, Luka, which is inspired by the musings of L., a naive artist. Luka tells of lives scarred...

The annual Župa Wine Run (‘Župaska vinska trka’) in Aleksandrovac, Serbia, is a unique way to savour the region's immense natural beauty and the fruits of its vineyards. Come and try it for...

Hodophiles is pleased to present an extract from the chapter 'Old Fairground' of Ian Bancroft’s new novel, Luka, which tells of lives scarred by wars past and present, whose main characters - L.,...

Whether love, loss, or longing, there are various reasons why a particular wine resonates with an individual. It could be a reminder of a journey or a specific occasion on which it is drunk. The...

The streets of Tbilisi offer a glimpse into the battle for Georgia's future; of those standing up to Russian influence and committed to the country's European path. Such confrontations take place...

This extract from Ian Bancroft's book, 'Dragon's Teeth - Tales from North Kosovo', tells the story of Banjska Monastery which has, in the words of Abbot Danilo, witnessed ‘all historical events in...

Belgrade is in a constant state of flux. There are near-endless developments, much to the delight of my son who loves cranes and diggers. Lots of the traditional architecture is disappearing. I...

The majesty of Petra, one of the seven new wonders of the world, creates a weight of expectation that can burden one's visit. It is a burden that can be lifted by savouring the memories and...

The Bunjevac community's identity has been pilloried from generation to generation, including a 1945 instruction to treat them as Croatians. The so-called ‘Bunjevac question’ remains a source of...

This extract from Ian Bancroft's new book, 'Dragon's Teeth - Tales from North Kosovo', explores Gazivode Lake in north Kosovo, which is described as a 'site of repressed memories'; concealing the...

The humble sunlounger has become synonymous with the creeping development of the Croatian coastline, gradually occupying sites one enjoyed by local residents. In response, new civic initiatives...

The village of Çabër/Čabra is nestled on the north bank of the Ibar, down a rather steep embankment from the main road between Mitrovica and Zubin Potok. Ninety five per cent of its pre-war...

This extract from Ian Bancroft‘s new book, ‘Dragon‘s Teeth - Tales from North Kosovo‘, tells the story of Sokolica Monastery and the ‘miracle-making’ prowess of its sculpture of the Virgin Mary...

The Alhambra is a place of consequences, many of which still reverberate to this very day, both here and beyond; a place that one will constantly refer back to, or be referred back to, in the...

The immaculately preserved Crveni Krst (Red Cross) concentration camp in the Serbian town of Niš preserves the memory of loss and suffering endured by thousands of inmates during the Second World...

The commodification of various elements of Cuba’s revolution and culture has created a cliched idea of what the country is and was; an idea readily propagated by those keen to ‘sell’ Cuba to the...

Hotel Ukraine's unique vantage point over Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti), where much of Ukraine’s political and social discontent has been expressed, makes it the ideal place to...

As the world flirts with the prospect of another nuclear fallout - whether from rogue leaders or accidents like Fukushima - moving beyond purely academic understandings of the impacts of nuclear...

The Great War, the centenary of whose conclusion will be widely observed this year, devastated most of Arras, which locals claim was the only town in France to be on the front-line for the wars...

Throughout the course of history, those resisting colonialism, authoritarianism and/or slavery have retreated into the foothills and foliage of the Sierra Maestra mountains in southeastern Cuba....

In ‘Čudna jadna – od mostara grada’, one of the most famous songs about the city, Biba endures a “strange pain from the city of Mostar”, having been “hurt by love”. And so it is that many leave...

A once secret nuclear bunker in Konjic, Bosnia-Herzegovina - built to safeguard former Yugoslav president, Josip Broz Tito, and other members of the elite - is now home to an internationally...

Skopje is dominated by newly-erected statues representing different epochs and episodes of its historical, social, political and cultural life. Women, however, are rarely to be seen, save as...

It is the season for fish in Turkey apparently, and Istanbul's Kadiköy market is alive with the scents and shrieks of this timeless corner of Turkish culinary delight.

Without the ants of Adam's Peak in Sri Lanka and the provisions they lug up the mountain side every day, the summit would be beyond the reach of many a tourist, and even the most avid of...

Amidst the limestone mounds and caves of the Viñales Valley, we experience firsthand the life of cigar makers and the friendly scams they engage in to exploit our love for their world famous...

On 10th June 1944, Nazi forces surrounded and then besieged the village of Oradour-sur-Glane, rounding-up and murdering 642 men, women and children; one of the largest mass murders by the...