-As travelers, we learn.
Deepening our understanding of history, art, and culture,
we better appreciate those who came before us,
and it helps us to better prepare for and contribute to
what's next.
Gaining context and perspective, we become wiser.
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Wherever we travel, we see reminders
of our collective past.
History speaks.
Travelers listen.
And we learn.
We appreciate the long march of human progress.
Great civilizations arc.
They rise...
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...they peak...
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...and they fall.
We're inspired by their achievements,
the ancient foundations of our own society.
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Prehistoric pagans,
mysteries still held in their megalithic wonders...
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...the Egyptians,
with the extravagance of their art
and the immensity of their architecture...
...the Greeks, whose magnificent temples
and passion for bringing gods to Earth
established what became a standard for beauty.
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And the Romans,
whose empire taught the West how to organize society,
to engineer...
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...inspiring those who followed to build big and dream bigger.
Travelers trace the progress
out of ancient times through the ages,
as if enjoying an epic play --
fear and feudalism,
pillage and plagues,
sacred monarchs,
profane popes.
We witnessed the birth of our modern age,
the Age of Enlightenment,
that spark that lit the age of revolution.
Then, with the rise of the masses,
the fall of kings.
History teaches us that evil
also plays a role in the human story,
that the struggle for justice, for liberty, for democracy
has always been expensive --
horrific wars, so many dead.
We mourn the losses.
We celebrate the victories.
We honor the cost of freedom.
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Travelers learn to appreciate the past
as if they actually lived it.
We marvel at glitter and gilding,
dazzled as if duped by a king's propaganda.
We gape through a dome
as if it actually does connect mortals with the gods.
And we gaze at the divine,
like an illiterate peasant filled with fear and faith.
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