Cruising the Turkish coast with Sailnstay: A review
Sailnstay offers gulet cruises along the Turkish coast. Read this detailed Sailnstay review before you decide!
Middle East Travel
Here you’ll find all of my articles about Middle East travel. My travel in the Middle East has mostly focused on Dubai and Israel, but you’ll find several other countries too, and I have every intention of adding more soon! Enjoy!
A near-miss in a Jordanian taxi
A travel story about an eventful Jordanian taxi ride from Aqaba to Wadi Musa.
Spending Ramadan in Jordan: Everything you need to know
Your instinct might be to avoid spending Ramadan in Jordan, but it’s actually a great time to visit if you want an interesting cultural experience!
How to choose a destination: Tips to consider before travel
Sometimes it’s hard to choose a travel destination. Say you have only two weeks’ vacation, and you want to get the most out of it. Here’s some advice.
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Lebanon
There are five UNESCO World Heritage sites in Lebanon, each illustrating one or more of many historical periods. What are they and which should you visit?
Lebanon travel tips: What you need to know to avoid nasty surprises!
Lebanon is fascinating, but it’s not an easy place to travel. Read these Lebanon travel tips to be prepared and avoid nasty situations!
28 Practical Tips for Women Traveling Alone
Truly practical advice for women traveling alone. Tips for sleeping, eating, socializing and lots more travel advice for solo female travel!
Special places in Lebanon: two full-day tours
Recently I made a short trip to Lebanon, despite a lot of “But is it safe?” from everyone I mentioned it to. I’ll write about the travel warnings at the end of this article, but first I want to report on all the special places in Lebanon that I saw in the two free days…
Baalbek Ruins, Lebanon: an extraordinary UNESCO site
On my recent trip to Lebanon, I was just blown away by the Baalbek ruins: a magnificent set of Roman temples in the Beq’aa Valley and a designated UNESCO World Heritage site. I saw Baalbek on a full-day small-group tour, which included other stops, but right now I just want to write about the Baalbek…
The Lost Chambers Atlantis Aquarium isn’t really about fish
The Lost Chambers Aquarium at Dubai’s Atlantis the Palm Dubai hotel is not your run-of-the mill aquarium. At any self-respecting large aquarium – think the Monterey Bay Aquarium or the Boston aquarium – you’d expect to see a range of species from all over the world. The Lost Chambers has that. It isn’t a big…
Green Planet Dubai: a review
If you’ve ever been to a world-class zoo – the Bronx Zoo comes to mind – you’ll have seen an indoor tropical rainforest before. Visitors walk on prescribed paths and bridges, while the birds and other animals fly or roam where they choose within their building-sized cages. The Green Planet Dubai is one such indoor…
Al Ayn UNESCO site: A day trip from Dubai
“We go to camel market?” Nishad asked, glancing over at me. I had, contrary to custom in Dubai, chosen to sit in the front seat of the taxi, explaining that I could see the scenery better from there. “No, thank you.” “Souk?” “No, not that either.” I had hired Nishad as a driver for the…
One Day in Dubai: Things to do!
Dubai is a land of superlatives: biggest, tallest, first. I would also add: oddest. Dubai is often compared to Las Vegas, and I agree: its sheer brashness and artificiality are very like Las Vegas. Like Vegas, it’s a big, shiny city plunked down in a desert. And although there aren’t any casinos – at least…
A Dubai Frame review
The Dubai Frame was not what I expected. In the flurry of publicity when it opened, the media showed just what its name promised: a picture frame. That’s what I thought it was: a large picture frame, outsized, like everything in Dubai. It was two or three stories tall, I figured, perfect for taking a…
Sightseeing in Ankara, Turkey
The last time I tried to visit Turkey was more than 30 years ago, and my attempt failed. I’ll tell that story at the end of this article. I will tell you, though, that I finally managed to get there recently when I flew to Ankara to lead a workshop. I tacked on one extra…
Impressions of Kuwait City souk
How my very brief visit to Kuwait allowed me to stroll in a attractive marketplace and meet a movie star.
Defense (with a view) at Belvoir Fortress
The Crusaders, arriving in what is now Israel back in the 12th century, didn’t waste any time staking their claim. Their effort to dominate and control the “holy land” for Christianity was bloody and misguided and, in many ways, shameful. Yet it has left us some fascinating historical structures to study and enjoy. I’ve already…
Um el Kanatir: ancient synagogue in the Golan Heights
When I write about off-the-beaten-path sights, I don’t necessarily mean that they’re hard to get to. I went to Um el Kanatir in the Golan Heights on the advice of Sara Zafrir, owner of Genghis Khan in the Golan, who insisted it was worth the effort. (Disclosure: I received two free nights in Sara’s hostel in…
Dubai Miracle Garden: Absurdity in the desert
The taxi ride promised little excitement. It was mid-afternoon and the traffic flowed smoothly past the shiny tall buildings. Impossibly green grass and brilliant pink flowers edged the wide highway, and beyond that we saw sandy vacant lots, parked cars, huge billboards advertising the next luxury development or flashy car, construction sites spiked with tall cranes….
Visiting Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world … for now
A bit of background first: About a year ago, I was in Dubai for a workshop, and decided to go see the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world (830 meters). (Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on them and buy tickets, I will receive a small commission. This…
Zippori National Park and its spectacular mosaics
“Sixteen miles all around Zippori is a land flowing with milk and honey.” This sentence from the Jerusalem Talmud (Bichurim 71d) opens the text given to visitors to Zippori National Park, north of Nazareth. On the spring day when I visited, I could believe it: carpets of wildflowers covered the rolling hills in all directions….
Bible Lands Museum: The history behind the Bible
The premise, or perhaps I should say the Unique Selling Point, of the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem is to illustrate each and every civilization mentioned in the Bible. Unlike some Bible museums, this one is not dogmatic: it shows the actual history of each civilization. Here, the Bible isn’t just a religious document: the stories…
Biblical Nazareth: my observations
In biblical Nazareth, a man, dressed like an extra from The Ten Commandments, wanders slowly by between the gnarled olive trees, leading a donkey by a rope. He lingers for a while near our assembled group. The camera-toting tourists, dressed in shorts and tank tops, crowd around. The effect of being in biblical Nazareth is…
Visiting Bethlehem for a Day
While visiting Bethlehem is mostly about seeing the birthplace of Jesus, it’s been in the news recently for a much more modern reason: the opening of the Walled Off Hotel. (Note added May 23, 2024: This article was published in May 2017. Obviously the focus in the West Bank has changed since then. And the…
Your Trip to Israel: 5 Christian sites in the Galilee
Are you considering a trip to Israel? Certainly you should visit Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, and perhaps Masada and Bethlehem. While I’m not a Christian, all religions are interesting to me in terms of their cultural and historical importance. In Israel, I’ve visited Muslim sites, of which the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem is…
Bitemojo: A new twist on culinary tours
A self-guided food tour, a great idea because you can take your time!
Akko old city (a.k.a. Acre): Jerusalem without the politics
Two separate people in 2 separate parts of Israel advised me to “go see Akko old city; it’s Jerusalem without the politics.” They were right.
At my age? Staying in Hostels in Israel
I haven’t stayed in a hostel in years. In a post I wrote back in 2007, I blamed it on the shared shower, and described how awful they can be. It’s not just that, though. As I get older, I have more trouble sleeping. I wake up easily, and then I’m grumpy the next day…
Susita National Park in the Golan Heights: a special off-the-beaten-track site
I never would have visited Susita if it hadn’t been for Sara Zafrir, owner of Genghis Khan in the Golan. When I asked her what to see in the Golan Heights, she insisted that this was a “must-see.” I’m so glad I took her advice. Disclosure: Sara sponsored me to stay in one of her…
Going to Jerusalem? First Visit the Tower of David
As one of the first things visitors see on entering the Old City of Jerusalem through the Jaffa Gate, the Tower of David makes an imposing impression, with its massive stone walls and towers topped with crenellations. The first thing your tour guide will say is that this citadel has nothing to do with King David from the…
Visiting the City of David: Older than the Old City of Jerusalem
Those of us who are not religious often see the Bible as nothing more than a collection of myths. Yet archeologists have confirmed many elements of Bible stories. Visiting the City of David reintroduced me to the overwhelmingly long history of Jerusalem. There’s something awe-inspiring about its sheer length, covering thousands of years of human history….
Tit for tat: the American version
But is it safe? or… There have been incidents lately. Please be careful! or… Are you sure you want to go there now? These are the sorts of comments I’ve received each time I’ve gone to Israel. The fact is that “incidents” do sometimes happen in Israel. Lately, it’s been a few stabbings on the…