Yom HaShoah: Holocaust Remembrance Day

I’ve really picked the most holiday packed time to visit Israel I could have. Today is Yom Hashoa in Israel, or the Holocaust Remembrance Day. Last night at about 7-8pm most of the businesses shut down. Today at 10am a siren sounded and everyone stopped and stood still for 2 minutes. Even the cars on …

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The Seven Wonders of Egypt

Great Pyramids and Sphinx The very fist list of wonders created by Herodotus in the 5th Century BC had the pyramids on the list. In 2,500 years, not much has changed. The Great Pyramids and the Giza Complex are still one of the most impressive sights in the world. The pyramids are from the Upper …

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Tel Aviv

I’ve been in Tel Aviv for two days now. It is a very different city than Jerusalem. For starters, I haven’t seen a single Orthodox Jew here. Zero. Everything here is much more laid back and secular than Jerusalem. In addition to a very large beach area, it also seems very artsy. Some of the …

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Easter in Jerusalem

I got up Easter morning to the sound of bagpipes (yes bagpipes) and headed off to the Church of the Holy Seplechure. While it is Easter for Western Christians, it is Palm Sunday for the Orthodox Churches, and it is the anniversary of the fight fight breaking out between the Greeks and Armenians last year. …

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Jerusalem: Good Friday Edition

I got up early to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to view/photo the events going on for Good Friday. The crowd which was there for the morning service wasn’t as big as I thought it would be. No bigger than what you would see on a Sunday at any large church in the …

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Jerusalem Syndrome

There really is something called Jerusalem Syndrome. Wikipedia describes it as a: …mental phenomena involving the presence of either religiously themed obsessive ideas, delusions or other psychosis-like experiences that are triggered by, or lead to, a visit to the city of Jerusalem. It is not endemic to one single religion or denomination but has affected …

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Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae

Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae - UNESCO World Heritage Site

From the World Heritage inscription for the Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae: This outstanding archaeological area contains such magnificent monuments as the Temples of Ramses II at Abu Simbel and the Sanctuary of Isis at Philae, which were saved from the rising waters of the Nile thanks to the International Campaign launched by …

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Palm Sunday in Jerusalem

I’m in Jerusalem now having spent three days near the Dead Sea. I was able to visit Masada and finally got my chance to float in the waters of the Dead Sea. Let me just say that a Dead Sea float is one of the most overrated things I’ve done on my trip. You float. …

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No where to go but up

I am writing this near the shore of the Dead Sea at the Ein Gedi resort. I’m not staying at the Ein Gedi resort, but the bus dropped me off at the wrong stop and I had to walk about 4k to get here only to find out that the Ein Gedi hostel is 2k …

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