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UAE: Bastakiya, Dubai

October 2019 In the late 19th century the Sheikh of Dubai gave generous incentives to traders. In the pre-oil days, most of the city's...

Italy: Basilica Sant' Andrea, Mantua

April 2017 Mantua is one of those surprise cities in Italy that no one talks much about but is filled with incredible artistic and...

Lebanon: Brewpub, Beirut

Matt Hawkins, ex-colleague from American University of Kurdistan, was massively into craft beer making when I knew him in Duhok. It was...

Netherlands: NEMO, Amsterdam

July 2017 changeable weather Look at how lovely the weather is in this photo. In the short time it took me to walk around an inlet and...

Jordan: Roman Amphitheatre, Amman

July 2017. still rockin' in old Philly Roman Theatre of Amman is a 6,000-seat, 2nd-century Roman theatre. A famous landmark in the...

Spain: Almagro

Plaza Mayor. June 2018 During the 1950s, the Corral de Comedias was discovered and restored. The Town Hall and Plaza Mayor were also...

Alexandria, Virginia

Patton-Fowle House Waterfront City Hall Christ Church. October 2021 a far away escape In the Georgetown years, going to Alexandria was...

Morocco: Volubis

December 2019 the ends of the earth Volubilis is a partly excavated Roman city in Morocco situated near the city of Meknes, and may have...

Zimbabwe: Zambezi River Sunset

July 1998 The time spent in Victoria Falls [see: Victoria Falls] was the highlight of the trip to Southern Africa. Brian and I...

Japan: learning to be resilient

Daigo-ji, Kyoto. 2012 [from FB post: January 20, 2012] Saw a great temple (Daigo-ji) and shrine (Fushimi Inari) today.... wow, Japan...

India: Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu

On my second trip to Madurai, the brothers MP took me on a temple drive north of the Sivaganga. It was like discovering an ancient (and...

Thy Ain, Al Baha

September 2017 The village of Thee Ainor Zee Ain is a heritage site in Saudi Arabia located in the Al-Mikhwat province of the Al-Baha...

New Zealand: Queenstown

January 1993 the ground zero of youth Queenstown, New Zealand on the end of lovely lake Wakatipu overlooking the Remarkables (a mountain...

Mexico: Puerto Vallarta

City Square Cathedral October 2011 The official founding story of Las Peñas (and thus of Puerto Vallarta) is that it was founded by...

Kansai: exceptionalism

Temple guardian, Ninnoji, Kyoto. 1986 [from FB post: January 16, 2012] Just found out my neither of my mobile phones will roam in Japan. ...

Czech Republic: Plzeň

Main Square, Plzeň. July 2019 Beer Hajj Pilsner (also pilsener or simply pils) is a type of pale lager. It takes its name from the...

Bahrain: Novotel

March 2015 hotel voyeurism At one time or another everyone has become a "hotel voyeur" - stopping by to see a hotel property with no...

Oman: mosque in Salalah

March 2016 Aqeel Mosque, which was built in 1779, is the oldest mosque in Salalah. https://www.omanobserver.om/article/31638/Features/mos...

Sendai: farewell speech

Sendai YMCA. March 1987 If I ever felt conflicted in my life, it was leaving Japan. I went for a two year stint and extended almost...

China: Lama Temple, Beijing

April 1998 This was my third visit to Yonghe Temple because along with the Forbidden City, it was high on anyone's list in Beijing. The...

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Samsara

Observations of Life

"A stone with no moss" has been my motto.  My experiences and commentary from travels both near and far.  No hate, unfiltered.

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