The waiters at the MovenPik Hotel in Petra dragged chairs and tables together for the men to be able to sit as a group. They gave no help for the women, no offers of chairs for those standing. When Suzi … Continue reading Petra, Take Two
I didn’t have enough time to take a bus to Petra on my weekend break from working at Jordan’s community radio station, plus I was on crutches with a sprained ankle, so I hired a cab. One of my goals, … Continue reading Petra, Jordan
The only way to get into the King Hassan II Mosque, if you are not a Moslem, is on a guided tour. It’s worth it. The mosque is more than two football fields long and one wide. I think St. Peters in Rome could easily fit inside if the roof were retracted for the dome. It has a carved wooden roof of cyprus that is retractable so in good weather you can pray outside. There is a glass floor under part of the mosque, which is built on and, in parts, over the Atlantic. The floor gives us a glimpse … Continue reading King Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca, Morocco
At first I thought it was a mistake to rent a car in Malta. It was almost midnight; I was tired and had to drive on the left with a stick shift. I usually drive a stick but I am … Continue reading Malta
On Thursday we had 1.7 inches of rain, it was dark and wet. I had the feeling that the season had changed. We were finally going to get payback for our beautiful summer and fall. On Friday I woke up to blue skies and sunrise alpenglow on Mt. Edgecumbe. This morning (Saturday) I woke up to — snow. Friday was a good day for walking. I took my usual turn through the National Park and then walked Sitka’s new Sea Walk. The Sea Walk opened on Alaska Day. I have never driven by without seeing people enjoying the walk and … Continue reading Sitka Sea Walk
These are pictures I have taken over the years of our Ferry System. I am amazed that several of the ships have been serving for 50 years and still run well, having been modified over the years. Three were stretched, … Continue reading The Alaska Marine Highway System is 50
The Bibliotheca Alexandrina, or “New Library of Alexandria,” is an attempt to recreate the tradition of the first “Great Library of Alexandria” built by Ptolemy in the third century BC. It is either a stunning triumph of modern architecture or “The Rotten Oyster” depending on your point of view. It is a stunning building, designed by a Norwegian firm incorporating types of natural wood never seen in Egypt. Some Egyptians wonder “why a Norwegian, why Norwegian wood?” I like it. The outer wall has carvings of letters from most of the world’s alphabets reflected in a blue moat that surrounds … Continue reading Bibliotheca Alexandrina, The Great Library at Alexandria redux
When Moses got to Mt. Nebo he could see the Promised Land, but he could not enter. The mountain has a commanding view down into the Jordan Valley and across. It is more than 2.600 feet above sea level and the Dead Sea at the foot of the Jordan Valley is more than 1,400 feet below sea level. That’s quite a drop and quite a view. You can just see the gold glint of dome from the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. You can also see Jericho, the Dead Sea and practically all of modern Palestine and Israel. I … Continue reading Mt. Nebo, Jordan
I’m not sure of the theological meaning, but Pope John Paul II has been turned into a pillar of salt. In Genesis it was Lot’s wife who became a saline pillar. Her sin was looking back at Sodom, the home from which she was being evacuated by angels before its destruction. The Wieliczka mines in Krakow Poland are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We took a bus to the salt mines and went on the tour. We went down about 438 feet, although the mines go down much further than that, and walked for about three kilometers underground. The wondrous … Continue reading Salt Pope, Krakow, Poland
We visited the Garden of the Gods, in Colorado Springs, about a year ago. It’s a great place to wander, with views of Pike’s Peak in the background. Continue reading Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs
The text to accompany these pictures is in the previous post. “Sinai Desert.” I like the last picture, the imprint of the Burning Bush on the rock. Continue reading St. Catherine’s Monastery, Mt. Sinai and the Original Burning Bush.
Suzi and I decided not to take a bus tour from Sharm to St. Catherine’s Monastery (featured in the next post) the home of the burning bush at the foot of Mt. Saini, but to hire a car and guide, … Continue reading Sinai Desert
If my parents could see me they would die a second time. Last night Suzi and I went to Yankee Stadium and I rooted for the Yankees. I was thrilled when the Yanks popped 4 homers and scored 9 runs in the second inning. I cheered when the scoreboard showed Baltimore losing to Tampa Bay giving the Yanks sole possession of first place with two games left in the season. At the end of the game I sang along with Frank Sinatra, long gone but still beloved , in a chorus of “New York, New York.” We had planned to … Continue reading Yankee Stadium
Each town in Malta has its Festa, dedicated to the town’s patron and church. Festa season runs from April to September. Festa starts on Saturday with booths, food stands, fireworks and brass band concerts (a tradition carried over from the … Continue reading Festa in Malta
In the last post I mentioned the Madaba mosaic map of the Holy Land on the church floor. here are some pictures of the Madaba map. Madaba has a mosaic school that is worth a visit. Continue reading Madaba, Jordan
This is the first of my posts on Holy Land sites. Over the months there will be more. We cannot be sure where most things in the Bible actually happened because, at the time, people didn’t put down GPS markers. For instance, there are two competing sites of the crucifixion in Jerusalem. The Via Dolorosa has changed routes several times. The upper room touted as the site of the Last Supper is in a building erected in the 11th Century – AD. This is one of three sites claiming to be the place Jesus was baptized. If you’re looking for … Continue reading Bethany Beyond the Jordan.
Khor Virap is the Armenian monastery closest to the sacred Mt. Ararat. Because of a combination of fog and cloud we were only graced with fleeting glimpses of the mountain and never got its picture. But when we got to the Monastery a man pushed pigeons into our hands (he said they were doves) and told us to release them with our fondest dreams so they could fly off to the holy mountain (which is in Turkey, behind barbed wire and watchtowers that the clouds did not obscure from the monastery). Apparently, by releasing doves we were following the example … Continue reading Khor Virap Monastery, Armenia
The French Cathedral Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart Cathedral) is at the heart of French Colonial Art Deco Casablanca. It was built in 1930, abandoned for Catholic worship in 1956 on Morocco’s independence. It sat derelict for years and reopened as an art gallery just before I got there in 2005. It is built in a mix of Gothic and Art Deco styles with Islamic touches. The stained glass is set in cutwork geometric patterns much like the decoration in a mosque. Paul Tournon was the architect for this church turned art gallery. It serves its new purpose well. For more … Continue reading Sacré Coeur in Casablanca.
Who wouldn’t want to visit Casablanca made famous by the Bogart film? Of course that movie was shot in Hollywood, not North Africa. Some current guidebooks tell us that Casablanca is good as a portal to pass through on your way to more interesting places like Fez and Marrakesh. One book said that aside from the Grand Mosque of King Hassan II there is not much in the way of ‘sights’ of interest to the tourist, unless you want visit made up sites, two bars designed after the movie set, “Rick’s” and “Casablanca.” My work took me to Casablanca three … Continue reading Casablanca Art Deco
The highlight of the 17th Sitka WhaleFest was whale watching. November is when Humpback Whales gather in Sitka Sound to bulk up, either before they make their swim to Hawaii to mate or give birth, or as a prelude to … Continue reading Sitka WhaleFest 2013, The Whale Watch Cruise
I’ve never before been to Sitka’s WhaleFest, even though it has been run by old friends. I have missed 16 of them. I’ve always been out on assignment in early November and never thought to rearrange my schedule to be … Continue reading Sitka WhaleFest, 2013.
This has been a wonderful weekend in Sitka. While we see snow on our mountains all year, those closest to the sea are bare in the summer. We had a lot of rain at sea level during the week; in the mountains it was snow. On Saturday it cleared and the near peaks and our volcano got their white snow caps back. “Termination Dust” is what Alaskans call it, the snow that means summer jobs are over. Some of these are shots taken on the water this weekend on a whale watch sponsored by Sitka WhaleFest (the whales I will … Continue reading Termination Dust, Sitka Alaska, November 2, 2013
At the roadblock the police asked where we were going. Our driver mentioned several towns in the Fayoum Oasis (Faiyum) I wanted to see. “But no tourist ever goes there,” which, of course, is the point. Egyptian friends told us about these villages, each dedicated to some traditional manufacture, like pottery. The roads into them are bad. They don’t have bus service. Pickup trucks act as public transport. Because of security concerns westerners are not allowed to use public transportation here. We must either travel in protected tour busses or a private car, which the police told us, require an … Continue reading Fayoum’s Water Wheels, Creating an Oasis in Egypt
I wrote this on my 55th birthday, November 21, 2001. We had just finished work in Serbia and Kosovo and were home. We had been expats for the better part of 8 years. We had no idea what we would do next, but we came home to a different America. We had watched the World Trade Center Towers collapse on CNN from Kosovo. We had worked with independent media in Serbia, Albania and Slovakia. Our re-entry to the States was a road trip across country, from New Jersey to Bellingham, Washington and the ferry that took us home to Alaska. … Continue reading Jefferson’s Monticello, Reflections on Our Democracy