Hamba Travel Magazine
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153 stories from our editors. Filter by part of the world, or page back in time.
The Painted Earth of Tiébélé’s Royal Court
Tiébélé’s Cour Royale is not a palace in the usual sense. It is an inhabited network of earthen homes, courtyards and ceremonial places where Kassena authority, family life and women’s wall art occupy the same ground.
Asia · Middle East · Europe
Inside George Town’s Working Kopitiams
At lunchtime, Kek Seng on Jalan Penang fills with office workers, returning regulars and visitors under ceiling fans, among old tiles and booth seats. The room shows why George Town’s kopitiams still matter: they give small food traders, workers and longtime customers the same practical place to eat.
Bread, Pastry and the Former Tram Stop at Raml Station
At Raml Station, the former tram stop at 2 Saad Zaghloul Street and Délices Patisserie at number 46 share more than a street. They mark a central Alexandrian district shaped by the traffic of an old tram terminus, shops and places that sell food to take away.
Asia · South Korea · Busan
Jagalchi: Fish, Fire and Busan’s Working Waterfront
At Jagalchi, Busan’s fishing trade reaches the city through tanks, wooden boxes, knives and charcoal grills. The market sits on the edge of South Harbour, where vendors, cooks and customers turn seafood into an everyday meal.
Ouagadougou, After the Festival Lights
In February 2025, FESPACO garlands hung above the roads between the Cinéastes roundabout, the United Nations roundabout and Place des Femmes. Buses, billboards, radio and television carried the festival through Ouagadougou before the first screening began.
Europe · Poland · Łódź
Red Brick and Cotton: Inside Łódź’s Manufaktura
At the junction of Ogrodowa and Zachodnia, Izrael Poznański’s former cotton complex sets a long red-brick spinner beside an ornate palace. The factory made the fortune; the palace displayed it. Both still explain how textile work shaped Łódź.
The last push at Soumbédioune
Late in the day, long wooden pirogues return to Soumbédioune, where the beach serves as a landing place, work yard and direct route to the fish market. Once a hull reaches shore, people place rollers beneath it and push the boat across the sand.
Central America · Guatemala · Antigua Guatemala
Water and Stone at Antigua’s Tanque La Unión
Twenty-two stone washing stations stand beneath the arches of Tanque La Unión in Antigua Guatemala. Water still fills the central tank, while the corner around it serves more often as a place to sit, walk, eat and pass through than as a guaranteed daily laundry yard.
Middle East · Iran · Yazd
Flour, Clay and First Light in a Yazd Bakery
Morning bread work in a Yazd neighbourhood bakery moves from soft dough to a hot clay wall. Outside, high mud-plastered walls keep the narrow lane shaded while broken light gathers at the doorway.
Asia · China · Chengdu
Before the Mahjong Tiles Click: Opening Heming Teahouse
Before seven, staff sweep the stone paving at Heming Teahouse in Chengdu’s People’s Park. Bamboo chairs and low tables stand under trees beside the water; soon, hot water will fill porcelain gaiwans and mahjong tiles will begin to click.
Asia · Georgia · Batumi
From a Hauled Boat to Batumi’s Fish Counter
In Batumi, a documented small catch begins with a boat pulled from the Black Sea on wooden runners, not tied to a market quay. Nets and sacks carry the work forward, then scales and scissors finish it in the compact fish market near the port.
Asia · Armenia · Gyumri
Workshop doors on Abovyan Street
A short stretch of Abovyan Street in Gyumri runs from a ceramics workshop at number 182 to a creative workshop at 252 and a tailor at 258/2. Snow, dark tuff and low winter light frame work that continues behind wooden doors and iron gates.