On my recent visit to Dubai on Emirates Airline, I was pleased to discover that I’d be flying on a plane I’d only seen from a distance before: the enormous Airbus A380. The A380 The A380 is a behemoth of a plane. Like Boeing’s 747, it just doesn’t look like it should be able to…
Outside my comfort zone: scuba diving
I am a certified open water diver and have done exactly 29 dives up to today. That makes me a relative newbie, but I know the basics of scuba diving. Nevertheless, scuba diving is and always will be outside my comfort zone. The basic problem is that the whole thing just goes against any idea…
Petra travel advice: 10 tips for visiting Petra
My first awareness of the existence of Petra was seeing it in the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. When I learned that it was a real place and not just a movie set, I added a trip to Petra to my next Israel trip. (Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links, which means if…
A Dead Sea Day
Floating in the Dead Sea is one of those things people put on their bucket list: something that has to be experienced once in a lifetime. The Dead Sea is called the Dead Sea because its salt and mineral levels are so high that nothing lives in it. It is also the lowest elevation on…
Masada and the Israeli Army
In about 66 C.E. (Christian Era, which is the term Israelis use for A.D.), a Jewish rebel movement captured a great fortress and palace built by King Herod. Called Masada, it stood high above the Dead Sea on a flat-topped mountain, surrounded by desert. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E. by…
The Western Wall Tunnel Tour explores a long-hidden history.
If you visit Jerusalem’s old city, you will surely see the Western Wall. It’s as if the large plaza at the center of this ancient place draws you in like a magnet. All roads don’t lead to Rome; they lead to the Western Wall. Yet the Western Wall is more than the most holy place…
The Via Dolorosa
Jerusalem A 24-hour ceasefire has been agreed, and swiftly failed. Palestinian civilians are suffering terribly – many dead and wounded, houses destroyed, shortage of food – and Israelis, particularly in Ashkelon, are living in fear of the next rocket attack. Only the politicians on each side seem to want this war to continue. Nevertheless, I insist…
The Mundane in Jerusalem
A protest march in the West Bank turned violent last night when it was stopped by riot police at the checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem. Also last night, I had a very pleasant meal with my cousins at an Italian restaurant right outside the Jaffa Gate to the Old City of Jerusalem. The coexistence of…
Why I’m in Israel
Jerusalem, July 23, 2014 When I told people several months ago that I was planning to go to Israel, their reaction was usually “Oh, how interesting! I’d love to go there someday!” or “Really? How exciting!” By the time I told people a couple of weeks ago about our trip, their reaction had changed to…