After all, it’s a game built around travel and geography. I originally was going to write about all the places on the game board that I’ve visited, but I’ve already done that enough times to fill a Gulliver’s or Frommer’s. Let’s do something different, and write about all the places on the regular Dip game board that I haven’t visited? Allowing for differences in country and space boundaries since 1901 I have been in all seven of the Great Powers, although not necessarily in all the spaces within those countries; and, as you will see, some of those visits would baffle a diplomat or cartographer. I have not been in Portugal, Tunis, or Bulgaria. Nor have I been in North Africa, Syria, or Finland. Portugal: I never got to Portugal although I had planned to visit it in combination with a trip to what was then called Leningrad and is now called St. Petersburg (and may yet be called Putinville someday). On many of my trips I try to combine a big city with a small or medium-sized country (e.g. London and Italy, Paris and Austria, or San Marino and the Western Mediterranean). I was born in San Diego, California, which was discovered by a Portuguese explorer, Juan Cabrillo. My first Model United Nations country was Portugal, back in the days when Salazar was its dictator. And what’s not to love about Port? Cities like Porto and Lisbon are well worth a visit, not to mention all that history, and those beaches of the Algarve. http://www.golisbon.com/portugal/ Tunis: Tunis is a major city with its souks and medinas; and just outside of it are the Roman and Carthaginian ruins. Further south is the Kasserine Pass of WWII fame, complete with rusty relicts for Patton’s and Montgomery’s tank battles. Today it is possible to visit the country by cruise ship. http://www.cometotunisia.co.uk/ Bulgaria: I remember a few years ago meeting an elderly gentleman from Bulgaria. When I asked him if he was from Sofia his eyes got big. “You’ve heard of my country?” he asked me in wonder. When I said yes, his eyes teared up. “You’re the first American I’ve met whose heard of my country.” He said. This was a battleground between Slavs, Greeks, and Muslims for years; and it shows. Bulgaria was one of Rome’s bread baskets and the country is filled with Roman ruins. The beaches of Bulgaria are known as the Black Sea Riveria. Just click on the Bulgarian tourism web site and listen to the music. You’ll know you’re not in Europe any more. http://bulgariatravel.org/ North Africa: North Africa is in my blood, or at least it was in my great grandfather’s. Lafayette Jerome Napoleon Peery (For real!) was a railroad engineer by trade and he went to Algeria to help build one of the first railroads on the African continent from Oran to Algiers in the 1860s. By the 1880s he was in the United States helping build the railroad across the Mexican-Californian border that ended in San Diego. And the rest, as they, is history. The real dream trip would be from Morocco through Algeria, Tunis, Libya to Egypt. That would be the trip of a life time. Del Grande would do it by train, I’d do it by cruise ship, and Birsan would do it by camel! http://www.algeriantourism.com/ Syria: Hopefully the civil war going on Syria will end before they destroy the country because there are some fabulous sites to see. Damascus, Palmyra, and Aleppo are all worth a look. The Crusaders left citadels all over the place, including the Crac des Chevaliers and the Al Marqab Citadel. The beaches, the mountains, and the deserts make this a geographically diverse and historically fascinating country. What is happening there now is a tragedy for Syria and the Arab World. http://www.visit-syria.com/enstathis.htm Finland: In contrast, Finland is a land of peace and prosperity. In the north you’ve got Lapland and the Sami people, lots of reindeer (now herded by helicopters and snow skis), and the real home of Santa Claus. In Turku you’ve got the STX shipyard, one of the largest and most modern in the world. There’s Nokia, which is a town in Finland, but to the world it means mobile phones. And then there’s Sibelius whose name appears all over the country in concert hall after concert hall and monument after monument. He gave the country Finlandia which; contrary to what most Americans think is NOT the national anthem. For the history buff there are some interesting museums and fortifications along the Finnish-Russian border. Oh, and did I mention the skiing? And for a real bit of Scandinavian cultural shock take the ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki and watch the alcohol flow. http://www.visitfinland.com/ http://www.favorite-classical-composers.com/sibelius-finlandia.html That’s it. I don’t know if God will allow me to visit these places in this life but someday I will. And I hope you will too! Larry Peery (peery@ix.netcom.com) If you wish to e-mail feedback on this article to the author, and clicking on the envelope above does not work for you, feel free to use the "Dear DP..." mail interface.