Amsterdam

A new exhibition at Madrid's Prado museum is throwing a spotlight on the reverse side of paintings, letting visitors see labels, seals and sketches that are usually hidden from view.

The aim of the Reversos (On the Reverse) exhibition is to change the viewer's point of view and take them behind the scenes to open a "door to the secrets of art," said its curator, Miguel Angel Blanco.

Ancient Crimean gold treasures returned to Kiev on Nov. 27 after being stuck in a Dutch museum for nine years, where they were on show when Russia seized the Black Sea peninsula in 2014.

Ukraine hailed the arrival of the jewels in the midst of the Russian full-scale 2022 invasion as a victory for its "identity and freedom."

If the extraordinary energy tax on the transfer and transit of Russian natural gas through Bulgarian territory is introduced for the Republic of North Macedonia, the country will request compensation from Bulgaria and additional support from the European Union.

This was announced by the Minister of Economy of North Macedonia, Kreshnik Bekteshi, quoted by BTA.

Greek travelers are turning to European destinations off the usual list but more affordable, as shown by the air booking data for the upcoming national holiday on October 28.

Aegean Airlines has increased its number of available seats by between 18% and 20% on the international and domestic networks.

The Netherlands returned formal ownership to Sri Lanka of six colonial-era treasures on Aug. 28, including a more than 275-year-old cannon inlaid with gold, silver, bronze and rubies.

At a ceremony at the cultural ministry in Colombo, Dutch deputy minister for culture, education and science, Gunay Uslu, signed over the ownership of the objects to Sri Lanka, local officials said.

Inhabitants of Belgium's cobblestone-and-canal city of Bruges are clear: Summertime tourism has hit capacity.

"It's really reached a red line now," says one, 55-year-old architect Arnout Goegebuer, as he sits inside a cafe, peering out a window across a packed outside terrace.

"We don't need more tourists anymore, it's enough - maybe a little bit less" is needed, he says.

Amsterdam's city council has decided to close a major cruise ship terminal in its centre, officials confirmed to AFP, the latest measure to limit mass tourism in the Dutch capital.

The last known pair of Rembrandt portraits in private hands sold for more than £11 million ($14 million) at Christie's in London on July 6, nearly 200 years after they first went under the hammer at the auction house.

The paintings, which are thought to date from 1635, had been expected to fetch between £5 million and £8 million as part of Christie's "Old Masters" sale.

Turkish Airlines carried a total of 38.7 million passengers in the first half of 2023, up from 30.9 percent a year earlier.

International passengers rose more than 27 percent in January-June from the same period of 2022 to 24.5 million.

The domestic passenger tally increased by 22 percent to 14.2 million, the flag carrier said in a filing with Borsa Istanbul.

A growing number of young foreign buyers are acquiring holiday homes in Greece.