Ramadan is a movable fast/feast. Back in 2008 it was in August and September. Here is a letter that I wrote to my extended family back then, before I started blogging. I did not think it was appropriate to blog … Continue reading Ramadan Mubarak.
You can try to shelter yourself from travel’s inconveniences but you’re never completely successful. We’re used to negotiating travel’s mine fields (sometimes literally.) We’ve done winding dusty mountain roads in third world busses, train rides with goats and chickens, and … Continue reading The Long Ride Home
“He is Not Here!” This post is originally from May 2010 You need a lot of faith to visit holy sites in the Holy Land. The “upper room” where the Jerusalem tourist office tells you the Last Supper took place … Continue reading Crucifixion and Resurrection in Jerusalem.
I have one final post from Jordan. The Church of St Lot and St Procopius is located about 3 miles from Mt. Nebo in the municipality of Khirbet Mukhayyat. The church was built in 557 and has almost intact mosaics … Continue reading The Church of St Lot and St Procopius
Modern Amman, including West Amman is spread out over several hills and has steep streets. I was last in Amman 5 years ago and modern Amman has grown, with new skyscrapers and, it seems, more headquarters offices as organizations relocate … Continue reading Modern Amman
I am catching up on my backlog of pics from Jordan, these are some Amman street shots. I did some walking and quite a bit of riding through Amman. These shots of Amman show little change from when I was … Continue reading Amman Streets
Mt. Nebo is the spot where, traditionally, Moses stood to look across the Jordan into the promised land, where he could not go. He died there and tradition has it that he is buried somewhere Mt. Nebo. On a clear … Continue reading Mt. Nebo’s New Church.
I am home in Sitka and will have the pleasure of looking out my window across Jamestown Bay and to the Gulf of Alaska or a little to the westward toward our volcano, Mt. Edgecumbe. We have had two consecutive … Continue reading King Abdullah Mosque, Amman
Before there were Google Maps and Garmin there were maps made of stone. I’m sure I will have more to say about Jordan as the weeks go on, I have lots of pictures to share and lots of thoughts, and … Continue reading Maps of Stone in Madaba Jordan
I have just finished my work in Jordan. I have completed my interviews and typed up my notes. I will put off writing my report until after Christmas. So now I am sitting in a hotel waiting for a taxi … Continue reading Amman’s Other Christmas Souk
I was all set to post today about my trip to Madaba and Nt. Nebo to look at the wonderful mosaics and take in the view of the Holy Land from the mount where Moses stood. But after I got … Continue reading A Christmas Souk in Amman
Yesterday I posted about the World Cup. Today I am posting excerpts of two letters on European tournaments. I watched Euro 98 games Austria and Egypt. During Euro 96 we lived in Tirana. I’ll start with Euro 2008. A cartoon in one of the local Cairo papers shows two Egyptians looking at the European football tournament, Euro 2008, on TV. One says to the other “The difference is, with us, football is just a game.” It is a madness that takes over Europe every fourth June. The roof of the Cairo Marriott is turned into a big screen outdoor football … Continue reading European Football Tournaments.
One last post from Morocco. These pictures are from Casablanca — 2005 and 2009. I posted pictures of the grand mosque and art deco Casablanca earlier. This doesn’t complete the picture but gives a different side of the fabled city. Continue reading Casablanca
It’s kind of like sausage. I am not sure you really want to see how Moroccan leather is made. But in case you are interested, these are pictures from a tannery in Marrakesh. Continue reading Moroccan Leather (in Marrakesh)
Marrakesh is a trading center, a vast walled city at the foot of the Atlas Mountains. For many coming on the caravan trails it was the grandest city they would ever see. The main attraction of Marrakech, for me, is watching the walls and minaret of the main mosque glow pink in the light just before sunset. We’ve walked to the gate closest to the hotel to watch the transformation for two nights and can also see it from our hotel window. The main square, the Djemma el Fna makes Marrakesh different from anyplace else. There really are “charming cobras … Continue reading Marrakesh (Charming Cobras in the Square.)
I’ve never heard a train song I didn’t want to ride. I’ve ridden the Rock Island Line and the City of New Orleans. Some songs I can never ride. The Super Chief and Phoebe Snow are 30 years gone. But you can still “take the train from Casablanca going south.” We rode the Marrakesh Express. The song is more about anticipation than the ride, but the ride, while crowded, is worth it. You clickety clack from the coastal flats through rolling hills and dessert. There are settlements of brown adobe brick, circled by a wall, looking like they grew out … Continue reading Take the Train from Casablanca going south. (The Marrakesh Express)
A final tranche from our 2007 trip to Rabat. Continue reading Rabat Medina
In the last post I mentioned the art deco quarter of Rabat. Here are some pictures. Continue reading Rabat Deco
From an October 2007 letter: We’re in Rabat for a Pan-African Community Radio meeting. In the evenings Suzi and I are free and wander Rabat. Suzi says “we could live here.” Rabat is a walkable city, relatively clean, French art deco, relaxed without the hassle (or excitement) of Casablanca. A teenager grabs Suzi’s hand and starts doing henna artwork before she can protest. I, of course, have to pay for it, a temporary souvenir of Rabat. She is the only really aggressive tout we’ve encountered. It is so unlike Cairo, Casablanca or Marrakech. On Friday we had only morning meetings … Continue reading Rabat Morocco
This post is from Easter, 2007. Suzi and I were working in Egypt. The Spring Festival, “Sham el Nessim,” “smell the breezes” always falls on Easter Monday (Based on the Eastern rite’s reckoning, which this year was the same as … Continue reading Easter (or is it Spring Festival?) in Cairo.
The Suez Canal may be the only place where blue water mariners find sandstorms a hazard to navigation. There’s something otherworldly seeing a huge container ship gliding toward you through a golden brown silicone fog looking like it’s riding on sand. The camel is not the true ship of this desert, SeaLand is. The MV Hanjin Helsinki glides by, name written in Chinese characters and Latin letters, hailing port, Hamburg, Germany carrying Costo containers through an Egyptian sandstorm — globalization. On Saturday we visited the Suez Canal, Ismailia, near the canal’s center, where the waterway cuts through Crocodile Lake (people … Continue reading Ismaïlia and the Suez Canal
Christmas Day — a good day to post pictures of Bethlehem. The focal point of any visit to Bethlehem is Manger Square. It is a pedestrian zone bordered by the Church of the Nativity, the Mosque of Omar, the Palestinian Peace Center and a wonderful falafel shop which also serves freshly squeezed orange juice. Star Street, Nativity Street and Manger Street converge on the square. Some claim that the Church of the Nativity is the oldest Christian worship site in the world. It was built during the rule of Constantine on a site selected by his mother, St. Helena. She … Continue reading Merry Christmas !! Pictures from Bethlehem.
It’s Christmas Eve. In the news we have constant reminders that “Peace on Earth” is still a hope not a fact. This is evident at Shepherds’ Field outside Bethlehem where you can easily see the security apparatus that meanders around the hilltop where shepherds first heard “Gloria in Excelsis Deo,” (assuming the angels sang in Latin). The Franciscans control this hilltop and when we were there in 2010 we listened to them field questions from tourists looking out over the fields asking what exactly they were seeing. In one of the pictures in this post you can see an Israeli … Continue reading Christmas Eve, Shepherds’ Fields outside Bethlehem.
Henry Ford once said “History is Bunk.” While I love reading history I understand what he was getting at. Whose history you read can determine whose side you’re on. Every side has its own history. In the Balkans I have the experience to be able to interpret the different histories. In the Middle East I’m still trying to figure it out. Palestinians and Israelis read very different histories, and they portray different histories to their public monuments and museums. In Jaffa the historical sign outside the museum reminds us of each time Jews were driven from the city but does … Continue reading Jaffa, the other side of Tel Aviv