This episode titled “Rediscovering Ancient Civilisations in Africa & the Americas with Surya Prasad” of the show Travel Conversations (TC) on The Rustik Travel Podcast is the second part of the two-part series (Listen to the previous episode at Rediscovering Ancient Civilisations in Asia & Europe with Surya Prasad). In this episode, Surya continues to explore the hidden secrets of the past of various ancient civilisations in Africa and the Americas.
Surya Prasad studied to be an engineer, but given a choice he would’ve preferred to be an archaeologist traveling around the world discovering historical sites and civilisations a la Indiana Jones. It is a passion has remained with him and has become a part of his prolific travels around the world. Inspite of visiting some 70 plus countries he is always eager to travel to new destinations and uncover some old civilisations. He is a successful fintech entrepreneur and is totally passionate about Cross Fit.
Biete Ghiorgis (House ot St George), Lalibela, Ethiopia 
Biete Ghiorgis (House ot St George), Ethipoia 
Lake Guatavita, Colombia 
The Sun Pyramid at Teotihuacan, Mexico
Podcast Summary: Rediscovering Ancient Civilisations in Africa & the Americas with Surya Prasad
Hosts: Hemant Soreng & Rajesh Nair
Producer: Tanvi Jain
00:00:00-00:02:45: Intro
00:02:45-00:21:10: The Americas:
– Christopher Columbus – landed in Bahamas, buried in Dominican Republic
– The Incans, the Mayans & the Aztecs
– El Dorado – The city of gold
– History of food – maize/corn
– Central America: El Salvador, Panama, Guyana, Costa Rica
– Peru: Inca civilisation
– European influence and cultural fusion
– Who discovered America? – Various theories.
00:21:10-01:10:00: Africa:
– Large continent with 54 countries
– Africa: The birthplace of humankind
– East Africa, Ethiopia: Lucy (3.9 – 2.9 million years old), the first human skeleton (Australopithecus afarensis) found now in a museum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia museum
– South Africa: The cradle of humankind, stone age caves.
– West Africa, Ghana: Gold Coast – The history nobody wants to talk about.
– Slave Trade: From Africa to the Americas. Coolies from India to the Americas (West Indies).
– Reasons to travel in the past: Religion, Trade, War and Work (forced).
– Guyana, Mauritius
– Cultural influence due to slave trade
– Ethiopia: The Jewish connection. Have their own script. Have a different system of measuring day & time. Superfoods. Home for the Ark of the Covenant. Ancient Bible.
– Zimbabwe – Zambia: Bungee jumping in Victoria Falls.
– Swaziland
– Geopolitical situation in Africa
– Rwanda – Safaris.
– Uganda: The origin of River Nile. Mountain Gorilla safari.
– Story behind the The Red Sea Diving Resort movie
– The Red Sea: One of the top scuba diving spots in the world.
– Botswana – Okavango Inland Delta
– Namibia
– North Africa: Egypt, Morocco, Algeria. Carthage – Punic Wars. Hannibal.
01:10:00-01:14:12: Museums: Learning history and culture without visiting the place.
01:14:12-01:16:04: Conclusion and Outro.
Just finished listening to both episodes The Rustik Travel Podcast with Surya.
Simply Amazing!! He gave a new definition to travel. It was a real pleasure and privilege to listen to his experiences. Well articulated and analysed too!
Loved these 2 episodes!!!