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
The timing couldn’t have been worse. A day before I arrived in Jerusalem to attend the Travel Blog Exchange Conference (TBEX), my right knee went out. I have no idea what caused it. My knee had acted up like this once before. One day I was fine, the next I couldn’t climb stairs. That time, … Read more
When I posted on Facebook that I had seen the Western Wall in Jerusalem, my friend Judie messaged me right back. “I hope you put a prayer into a crack in the wall.” I had no idea what she was talking about, so I turned to my guide. “If you write a prayer on a … Read more
