Beach holidays are not our specialty. For the most part, American travelers do not cross the Atlantic ocean to lie on a beach. However, many do work a couple of R&R days into otherwise busy cultural itineraries. In any case, while much of the US is still suffering the epic winter of 2015, we offer this brief, mental escape to gentler climes.
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Paradise Beach, Corfu, Greece
If you’ve traveled in the Middle East no doubt you have seen the hamsa, a talisman in the shape of an open hand. The name is related to the word for ‘five’ in Hebrew (hamesh) and Arabic (khamsa). Five fingers on the hand raised in a “STOP, in the Naaame of Love” or “Talk to the HAND” gesture make a powerful defense against evil-eye generated mischief and also bring good luck.
Beautiful, stylized hands are everywhere in the Middle East and North Africa, especially in Israel, adorning homes and bodies. Hamsas often include extra protective elements in the palm, like an eye, bits of scripture or fish (believed to be immune to the evil eye).
Hamsa origins are deep and murky. Magically protective hands have been found in ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian artefacts. And what about all those hands in prehistoric cave paintings? In Sephardic Jewish tradition, the symbol may begin in Medieval Kabbalah, where it represented the hand of God.
40,000-year-old hamsas? from a cave in Indonesia
The hamsa may also be called the hand of Fatima (daughter of Mohammad), the hand of Miriam (sister of Moses) and the hand of Mary (mother of Jesus) and is sometimes associated with the Five Pillars of Islam and the five books of the Torah. By association with the hand, the number five is considered powerful.
If you have a rabbit foot dangling from your key chain, add a hamsa for good measure. Better yet, convert to hamsa 100% and boycott the rabbit foot industry.
Please don’t take my foot.
Since the US embargo took effect in 1962, no American cars or car parts have been imported to Cuba and Cuban government regulations have restricted the purchase of new cars imported from other countries. For 50 years talented and creative mechanics have kept classic American models (Yank Tanks) rolling down the roads of Cuba. Many are in mint condition but even the clunky ones are lovely to behold. If you’re into classic cars, or beautifully designed objects of any sort, this is paradise.
Click for information on tours to Cuba for Americans. Continue reading
This site is located on the northern coast of our mystery country. It’s one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited places. It changed hands as a major port from Phoenicians to Greeks to Romans to various Muslim dynasties to Crusaders to Ottomans, and for a time, was one of the two most populous cities in the country. Today, the 12-century fortress of the Knights Hospitaller, known as the Knights’ Halls, is a popular attraction. The founder of the Baha’i faith spent the last years of his life here and his shrine is the most important place of pilgrimage for the Baha’i faithful. The city is also full of lovely old mosques, churches and synagogues.
Can you name that country? What about the site?
See below for answers.
Gobekli Tepe is an archaeological site in southeastern Turkey, about 12km from the city of Sanliurfa. It’s somewhat off the standard tourist track and, frankly, a bit too close to Syria for comfort right now, but it’s such an extraordinary place, it’s worth pondering and perhaps adding to your list of places to visit in a more peaceful future.
When first discovered in 1994 by German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt, Gobekli Tepe rocked the archaeological world, and continues to do so.
The theory has (had?) been that agriculture set civilization in motion. Previously nomadic, hunter-gatherers settled in permanent communities in order to plant crops and domesticate animals. With the settled, communal lifestyle and reliable food sources came more leisure time and division of labor. Art and organized religion were byproducts of this new situation. Religion inspired monumental building, which required the kind of planning, specialized skill and large labor force only available in cities.
Gobekli Tepe turns that theory on its head. The earliest phases of this temple complex were built before the advent of agriculture and there is no sign of a permanent settlement nearby. All evidence suggests that it was exclusively a religious sanctuary. So, perhaps it was a spiritual impulse, rather than a physical need, that set humans on the path toward civilization.
The hilltop complex consists of several layers from different periods between the 10th and 8th millenniums BCE and is only partially excavated to date. (That’s 7,000 years before the Giza Pyramids!) In the oldest layer, pillars are embedded in walls encircling 2 central pillars. There are 20 such spaces. The pillars are limestone, ranging from 10-20 feet tall and weighing up to 16 tons. They were likely brought from a quarry more than a mile distant. The pillars are capped, like a T, perhaps representing the human form. Some of the pillars have human arms carved into them. Many have relief carvings of animals and painted symbols. They would have been carved with flint tools.
Particularly mysterious is the fact that sometime after 8,000 BCE, the whole sanctuary was purposefully buried. Many tons of ancient garbage – flint debris from tool making, and animal bones – was hauled up the hill and dumped into the temples to cover them completely.
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi
Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Muscat, Oman
Baha’i Gardens and Shrine, Haifa, Israel
Bin Ali tomb, near Mirbat, Dhofar, Oman
Chora Museum, Istanbul, Turkey
Russian Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalene, Jerusalem, Israel
Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, Israel
Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem, Israel, photo by Noam Chen, courtesy of the Israel Ministry of Tourism
Sultanahmet Mosque (Blue Mosque), Istanbul, Turkey
Qasr Amra, Jordan
This site stands alone on the banks of a massive man-made lake. Although hundreds of kilometers from the nearest city, it’s one of the top attractions in the country. The great temple, with its four colossal statues of the king was built on the southern border of our mystery country to intimidate would-be invaders. A somewhat more demure temple for the queen stands next door.
Can you name that country? What about the site?
See below for answers.
Across the Muslim world, stories and anecdotes attributed to or about Nasreddin Hodja are as much a part of the collective consciousness as the Grimm’s Fairy Tales in Europe and North America.
Nasreddin was probably a real man who lived in Turkey in the 13th century. Some sources say he was born in Turkey, others that he moved there from Iran. In any case, it seems agreed that he lived and worked as a judge and teacher in Aksehir, near the city of Konya in central Turkey. He is known for his sly wit, appreciation of the absurd, optimism and genial nature. The honorific Hodja refers to a wise teacher. Continue reading
A magnificent 5th-century BCE Temple of Poseidon commands the end of a windswept promontory, 200 feet above the sea. It’s a dramatic and evocative place, well worth the pretty drive from the capital city, less than an hour along the Saronic Gulf. It’s a popular spot for locals and tourists alike to watch the sunset.
Can you name that country? What about the site?
See below for answers
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