Blogs from Ashdod, South District, Israel, Middle East

The Museum of Philistine Culture is an archaeological museum in Ashdod by the southern coast in Israel. The museum is dedicated to the culture of the Philistines, the ancient people who inhabited the maritime part of Israel from the 12th century BC. It is the only museum in the world completely dedicated to the Philistine people. it held our for a few hours and were impressed by the exhibits and clear explanations. Using our own smartphones we followed a free self-guided online tour in audio and text. Several languages are available and we chose English, as did the couple who accompanied us. The Philistine people dominated the Mediterranean middle east for 6 centuries from From the 12th to 7th century BCE. Their kingdom centered in ancient Caanan with its seat of power on the southeastern Mediterranean ... read more

Geo: 31.8198, 34.6696Our second day in Israel was to spend the whole time in Jerusalem in which there are lots of things to see. We entered the Old City through the West gate and saw the tombs of the two architects who built the city walls for King Soloman. The streets are mostly marble paving stones and pedestrianised but there are also lots of steps. The narrow streets lined with all the shops in the various quarters are also fascinating. Our first stop was at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which was built on the hill of Golgotha over where Jesus was crucified and also over the site where his body was anointed after being brought down from the cross and then entombed nearby. I don't think it matters whether you are religious or not ... read more

On boarding the Prinsendam, there is something so different about her, you can overlook some of the blemishes (she was headed to dry-dock in FLL soon after our trip). You don't have the long, confusing corridors of some of the larger ships, and I have tried most major cruise lines big ships. This is not the ship to choose if you hang in the Casino all night (it's very small), or you want to dance the night away (there is no nightclub). This is a ship with itineraries that are different from the usual, with full day shore excursions, leaving you too beat to even catch the early show most nights. Only 650 passengers makes it easy to meet people, and they had many solo lunches on sea days where I met a plethora of other ... read more