Mummies and Melodrama
“Reality” TV strikes again in creating a dreadful television series I’ve been captivated by things Egyptian since I visited Egypt last year as part of a Society American Travel Writers Freelance Council meeting that included an audience with Dr. Zahi Hawass, the media-savvy, imperious and very gifted secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. Dr. Hawass [...]
Palestine: Reflections
Headlines provide signs of hope that Israeli-Palestinian tensions will ease and that peace will prevail As I was recounting my Palestine/West Bank travel experiences and observations, I made notes to myself about how I wanted to wrap it all up. After all, this wasn’t just a sightseeing trip featuring antiquities and sacred places. It was [...]
Palestine: Day 8, Jerusalem
Winding down at the Temple Mount and old city Our group started our light Day 8 schedule with a tour of the Temple Mount (Haram ash-Sharif in Arabic). At the bottom is Western Wall (Wailing Wall), the last remnant of the Israelites’ Second Temple and a sacred to Jews. Men and women, facing the wall, pray separately, and [...]
Palestine Day 7: Ramallah and Ein Areek
Two more faces of Palestine: the capital and a small town with no major landmarks from antiquity Much of the West Bank and Ramallah in particular remind me of every developing country I have ever visited: Roads in various states of disrepair. Incomplete buildings that are either under construction or abandoned and crumbling. Graffiti. Weed- and litter-choked [...]
Palestine: Day 6: Wadi Qilt and Jerusalem
Wadi Qilt, a final desert drive and the last checkpoint into Jerusalem At a Society of American Travel Writers’ conference in Israel a quarter of a century ago, Wadi Qlt (or Wadi Qelt) was the first stop out of Jerusalem en route to several days of hiking and camping in the Judean and Negev Deserts. [...]
Palestine: Day 5, Part 2: Jericho and the Dead Sea
Jericho and the Dead Sea: Palestine’s hot pocket When it comes to records, an area of desert and water where the jurisdictions of the Palestinian Authority, Israel and Jordan meet, can lay claim to two impressive records. The Dead Sea is the lowest spot on earth, and Jericho claims to be the oldest city on the planet. Jericho Before this [...]
Palestine: Day 5, Part 1: Galilee, Jordan River Valley and Jericho
From the lush Galilee to the parched Negev Desert After the blinding light and barenness of the desert, Galilee green soothes the eyes and lifts the spirit. Much of the water that drains out of the south end of the lake and used to replenish the Jordan River’s flow is now diverted for irrigation, causing the [...]
Palestine: Day 4, Part 2: Nazareth
Nazareth remains one of the world’s major Christian pilgrimage centers, plus it’s got a disco As the site of Christ’s birth and, equally important, a Palestinian town in Israel rather than in the Occupied Territories, Nazareth is set up for day-tripping tourists from Jerusalem, including the Nativity Village I wrote about previously. Nazareth As is [...]
Palestine: Day 4, Part 1, Sebastia, Checkpoint Hassles and Nazareth
Excursion into antiquity marred by arbitrary stop at Israeli checkpoint What should have an easy trip from Nablus to Nazareth via modern highway was marred by a one-hour delay at a sizable checkpoint and an unexpected detour. Sebastia Sebastia, now a sleepy rural town in the hills above Nablus, traces six cultures spanning some 10,000 years: [...]
Palestine: Day 3, Part 2: Taybeh, Mt. Gerizim and Nablus
Visits with two priests who loom large in their small West Bank towns Christians, once a sizable chunk of the Palestinian population, are now a tiny minority. But a handful of clergymen and parishioners are keepers of the flame. Taybeh Tiny Taybeh is so much more than beer and antiquity. It is the location of St. George [...]
