Asia, largest of the continents, is like a beautiful patchwork quilt, each piece being important to the whole, yet an entity unto itself. A trip to this great continent of extremes is filled with wonderment and miraculous sights, such as the impressive Himalaya Mountains, with the highest peak in the world, Mount Everest, being 29,028 feet high; Tibet, the highest plateau on earth, and the breathtakingly splendid Taj Mahal of India, which, although built in 1630, still symbolizes the exotic aura that surrounds all of Asia.
The mysterious Orient entices the traveler to its fabulous ports of Hong Kong and Singapore, two of the most exciting cities anywhere; to picturesque Japan, which consists of four lovely islands, and is renowned for its unique culture, charming Kabuki theater, quaint architecture and graceful cherry trees; to Burma, called the “Golden,” because of the gold-encrusted pagodas that dot the landscape; and to intriguing Istanbul, formerly Constantinople, with its five hundred mosques and glamorous history of glory and accomplishments.
You are transported to the pages of the “Arabian Nights” when you enter Baghdad, capital of Iraq; in fact your entire vacation in Asia will be memorable for its fairy tale quality and the indescribable magic that envelops this continent.
Often considered the cradle of the human race because the Biblical story of the creation of mankind originated here, Asia was also the birthplace of the great religions, Christianity, Judaism, Mohammedanism and Buddhism, thus making it the site of pilgrimages made by thousands of people every year. The Bible relates the story of the continent from the Garden of Eden to Babylon and Nineveh, and although Asia has changed in this age of modern commercialism, it has never lost its singular appeal.