West Bank: Banksy
West Bank/Israel Border Wall Iconic Banksy near Bethlehem. June 2018 I actually never heard of Banksy until I travelled to Israel. I...
Italy: Baia
December 2018 After visiting Lake Avernus [see: Lago d'Averno], one of the traditional entrances to Hades for the Romans, I took the...
Beirut: buildings and turmoil
Ottoman era French colonial hasty bomb repair War aftermath. June 2019 Beirut is old. Referred to in ancient Egyptian tablets dating to...
Portugal: Padrão dos Descobrimentos, Belém
August 2017 The monument was conceived in 1939 by Portuguese architect José Ângelo Cottinelli Telmo, and sculptor Leopoldo de Almeida, as...
Vienna: Schloss Belvedere
front back. April 2019 On my several trips to Vienna while I worked in Duhok, I stayed at the Ibis hotel close to the main train station....
Jeddah: Toqa Cafe
November 2017 [from FB post: November 17, 2017] Toqa Coffee - taste of things to come? I arrived in Jeddah late and my local friend, MN,...
Italy: mythbusting in Rome
The expectation exceeded the reality. I am happy I didn't queue for hours as I got there first thing. San Sebatian Catacombs (under...
Germany: Bavarian Alps
San Sebastian Church. September 2006 On one of my trips to Munich to visit MAP and SFP (before they married), we took a day trip into...
Costa Rica: before it was famous
December 1990 - January 1991 One of the benefits of working at New York University was its generous holiday schedule. Luckily, Brian's...
Australia: Arnhem Land
November 2004. The Dreaming In 1623, Dutch East India Company captain Willem Joosten van Colster sailed into the Gulf of Carpentaria and...
Alkaff Mansion
July 2016 Right out of Singapore's sometimes weird history, I literally stumbled across this old mansion while walking along the ...
Bahrain: Arad Fort
March 2015 Counterpoint Arad Fort is one of Bahrain's most important fortified castles. The Fort was built in the style of Islamic forts...
Philippines: Bacolod to Cebu City - by land and by sea
Mt Canlaon, Negros. Barcelona Seaport, Escalante City, Negros. securing the bus Cruising down the road, Cebu. June 2016. On the summer...
Tokyo: Asakusa
Me and Kimio, March 1986. On my little street in the Kawauchi section of Sendai, I lived a few houses down from "Convenience 52". It...
England: Arundel Castle
Bridge on the River Arun, Arundel, England. May 2013 On one of my free weekends doing the CELTA course in London, Adrian FVdR and I took...
Abha: "the mamsha"
March 2018 Something unique to Saudi Arabia is the concept of the "mamsha". A mamsha is a linear park made especially for strolling in...
Netherlands: Alkamaar
July 2017 Alkmaar has many medieval buildings that are still intact, most notably the tall tower of the Grote or Sint-Laurenskerk, where...
Sri Lanka: Anuradhapura
December 2003 King Pandukabhaya formally planned the city with gates and quarters for traders. The city at the time covered an area of...
Slovakia: Danube cruising
Danube River from Devin Castle. July 2019 [from FB post: November 5, 2019] Reflections: Over 30 years ago I had traveled "behind the...
Jordan: Aljoun Castle
July 2017 It was rebuilt as a castle in 1184 by Izz al-Din Usama, a general in the army of Saladin. The castle controlled traffic along...
