Washington, D.C.: Cyrus Cylinder on exhibit

The Cyrus Cylinder is on display until April 28, 2013 at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, D.C. It will then travel to Houston, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Tish Wells / MCT

It’s about the size of a football and made of clay. It’s chipped, cracked and missing a chunk. But the Cyrus Cylinder is one of the most important pieces of pottery in history. The nearly 2,600-year-old artifact, described as the world’s first human rights declaration, is being shown for the first time in the United States. The Cyrus Cylinder, on display through April 28 at the Smithsonian’s Sackler Gallery, carries an account of how Persian King Cyrus conquered Babylon and would allow freedom of worship. It also confirms a Bible story of Cyrus releasing people held captive to return to their homes. This would include the Jews’ return to Jerusalem. It’s being shown with U.S. President Thomas Jefferson’s copy of a book about Cyrus, illustrating how the Persian king inspired the founding fathers.

Details: www.asia.si.edu or 202-633-1000.

Associated Press

Read more Just In! | Travel News stories from the Miami Herald

American Queen Steamboat Co.

River cruise line adds a second vessel to sail Pacific Northwest

The American Queen Steamboat Co., which launched steamboat cruises on the Mississippi River last spring, has bought a second riverboat that will sail the rivers of the Pacific Northwest starting in April 2014. The company, named for its Mississippi River paddle wheeler, announced Tuesday it had purchased the former Empress of the North and will rename it the American Empress. 1369169867
Gear + Gadgets

Got your backpack

Always improving its lines of luggage for the adventurous, Eagle Creek has fine-tuned its new Afar Backpack to be all business and a pleasure. About the dimensions of a standard wheel-aboard bag (12.5 inches by 20.5 inches by 8.5 inches deep), the Afar weighs in at a mere 1 pound, 11 ounces. It is equipped with a slew of great features: well-padded contoured shoulder straps, a tuck away padded hip belt, adjustable sternum straps, external compression straps and a sturdy top grab handle. A padded breathable mesh back panel makes for comfy cushioning. The back panel cleverly incorporates a zippered padded compartment for a laptop (up to 17 inches) that doesn’t broadcast your precious cargo to would-be thieves. The spacious main zippered compartment is blessedly unstructured, three roomy external mesh pouches are great for jackets, water bottles, snacks and maps, and a very well-designed zippered front organizer pocket has pouches and elastic slots for a cell phone, camera, sunglasses, pens and other essentials. Double-lock zippers, hidden slip pockets for documents, and reflective accents for nighttime visibility are smart security elements. Available in a dreamy slate blue, sunny ochre and basic black.
Travel briefs

Legoland’s new attraction, The World of Chima, will open July 3 at the Winter Haven park and recruit guests into a very wet battle among animal warriors. The centerpiece will be a water ride with water cannons, The Quest for CHI. The new “land” will also include Speedorz Arena, where players will build and race Lego Speedorz; Cragger’s Swamp, a water play area; a new 4D movie; character meet-and-greets; and of course a retail store. Cruises

Get the 5-Minute Herald
VIA EMAIL

Get the Miami Herald's Travel offers
VIA EMAIL

Join the
Discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere on the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

The Miami Herald uses Facebook's commenting system. You need to log in with a Facebook account in order to comment. If you have questions about commenting with your Facebook account, click here.

Have a news tip? You can send it anonymously. Click here to send us your tip - or - consider joining the Public Insight Network and become a source for The Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald.