In addition to fresh fruits and vegetables, visitors can purchase Thai lottery tickets at the Chiang Mai Gate market in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Though gambling is in myriad forms is ubiquitous across Thailand, the only two legalized forms in the country are horse racing and the Thai Lottery. The lottery was legalized in 1974 and … Read more
Egg sellers serve customers at the Chiang Mai Gate market each morning in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Unlike in the U.S., eggs are not refrigerated in Thailand. I’ve witnessed this all over the developing world, and in many developed countries as well. For example, eggs in the UK are generally not refrigerated. That made me wonder, … Read more
I slipped off my shoes and stepped over the threshold of the Barbur Gallery. Tucked into the backstreets of a residential neighborhood, with a community garden at its side, it hardly seemed like a hotbed of political activity. This avant-garde gallery, the first of its kind in Jerusalem, hosts film screenings, plays, Israeli art showings, … Read more
In 1969, excavations below the present day street level in the Jewish Quarter of Old City of Jerusalem revealed what appeared to be an ancient Roman road and a row of Corinthian columns. To determine its significance, researchers turned to the Madaba Map, a floor mosaic in the church of Saint George at Madaba, Jordan. … Read more
I was mesmerized as we drove along the shores of the Dead Sea in Israel. I had swum in its waters, but only at a spa where Dead Sea waters were piped in. Just like the stories I’d long heard, it was impossible to sink in its super-salty water. But I longed to dip my … Read more
