Blogs from Israel, Middle East - page 8

In just about every place you visit in Israel, there is a church, reportedly stating that this is where a certain event took place in the life of Jesus. Whether it is true or not, the commercialisation and "christianisation" (read Catholicism, generally) of sites really spoils what was probably a lovely serene place. This mountain is no exception. While there was a lovely garden and little pews set up where small congregations were singing or worshipping, the views over the Sea of Galilee were quite commanding and seemed to be more interesting than the church and its surrounds. Nevertheless there are a few photos of the church. The current church was built in about 1936-38 near the ruins of a 4th Century Byzantine-era church. Part of its ruins are still visible. It was said that part ... read more

Di nuovo in Israele, dove ho lasciato per ultime alcune gemme nascoste nel deserto del Negev e poco piu' in la'. MITZPE RAMON: Questo piccolo villaggio sorge sul ciglio di un grande cratere che si e' formato quando, nel corso dei millenni, l'acqua di un antico mare si e' ritirata. Arrivando da Eilat a Sud, l'autobus passa a caricare e scaricare giovani militari di leva che prestano servizio nelle numerosi basi sparse nell' inospitale ed isolato deserto del Negev, lontane da sguardi indiscreti; la strada sale gradualmente fino ad arrivare ad una ampia valle contornata da quello che in termini scientifici viene definito "circo d' erosione" ma che viene piu' semplicemente chiamato il "gran canyon" d'Israele: il Makhtesh Ramon. Qualche tornante e si arriva sul suo bordo dove l'altopiano continua poi indisturbato come niente fosse; qualche ... read more

Da un po di tempo non esistono fine settimana per il popolo palestinese, eterno perdente nella lotta contro Israele e piu' in generale contro tutta l'opinione pubblica mondiale; troppo complessi i problemi e troppo stratificate le conseguenze per poterne trarre un giudizio saggio ed equilibrato, inutile chiedere ai rispettivi protagonisti un'opinione imparziale e distaccata dai propri interessi, e non saro' di certo io qui ad ipotizzarne una soluzione: troppo superiori gli israeliani e troppo grande il cuore dei palestinesi per affrontare quest' impresa. Inutile anche fare una breve introduzione alla questione perche', come qualcuno mi ha fatto notare in questi giorni (sta a voi capire se israeliano o palestinese...), la storia non puo' essere raccontata a partire da una certa data ma deve sempre essere narrata dall'inizio e quindi, trattandosi nello specifico di una storia particolarmen ... read more

. Holon - Third in a series of experiential, off the beaten path tours to encounter and appreciate other important religious communities in Israel led by licenced tour guide Rina Yellin. The city of Holon is located south of Tel Aviv. (See our blogs "Day around the Carmel in Israel - January 2016" and "Day tour of Minorities in the Galil - April 2016" for the two previous tours with Rina.) Our Samaritan (Shomronim) Holon tour began with a visit to the Samaritans during their Sukkot holiday. We started in the house of Benyamim Tsedaka, an elder and head of the Israelite Samaritan Information Institute ( www.israelite-samaritans.com ). As we walked in we were confronted with a beautifully decorated sukkah in the middle of the living room and greeted by Binyamim who said "call me Ben ... read more

After 15 hours in the air we finally arrived back in Israel very tired but pleased to be home. We had visited San Francisco, flown via Houston to Quito, toured the Galapagos Islands by yacht with flights from Quito and back, flown via Houston to a Cabo San Lucas resort at the southern tip of the Baja peninsula in Mexico, and now we made it home again via San Franciso long haul. Including indirect connections, our total flight distance was over 27,000 miles / 40,000 km - farther than once around the world. The next day we would start to reflect on our experiences of the past 21 days ! There was one positive side-effect of our travel weariness and jetlag after the 9-10 hour timezone shift. A couple of days later we celebrated the ... read more