ARCHIVES: MIDDLE EAST

ONCE IN THE HOLY LAND: Jerusalem, Israel
The Land of Israel, the Holy Land in entirely fascinating; the sacred land is the place where sublime aspirations and ideas have fructified. Here was achieved the summit of belief. To appreciate the Land of the Bible, you must first see. To understand this land, you must remember that the land speaks to us of the events and occurrences down through the centuries.

TEL AVIV TURNS 100: Israel
Fireworks lit up the sky and a melody echoed across the stage as some of Israel’s top performers prepared for one of Tel Aviv’s grandest nights. Cheered on by over 100,000 enthusiastic fans, Rabin Square was filled with exuberant spectators ready to partake in the celebrations of Tel Aviv's 100th Anniversary.

RUINS AND REAL LIFE: Jericho, Israel
"Do you want to drive or do you want to walk?" Saed asks, stopping the car. We have arrived at the bottom of a small mountain on the outskirts of Jericho, in Israel’s West Bank. Believed to be the oldest city in the world, Jericho is also the lowest, at 244 meters below sea level.

WALKING WHERE JESUS WALKED: Israel
Pilgrimages to the Holy land by Christian pilgrims of all races and denominations are a blessing of faith. The pious pilgrim walks in the footsteps of the prophets and disciples but above all visits the town and villages where Jesus lived and preached.

ISTANBUL, A CITY OF SURPRISES: Istanbul, Turkey
Istanbul straddles the Bosphorous, the strip of water that divides Europe and Asia. It's a city with a mixed heritage – Roman, Greek, and Turkish – and whatever happens to Turkey's claims to membership of the European Union, Istanbul will remain an ambiguous city, with a foot in both continents.

THE PATH OF FAITH IN TURKEY: Istanbul,Turkey
Turkey has a magnificent past, which is displayed throughout the land – graceful aqueducts build by the Romans, caravansaries dating back to Seljuk Empire of the 11th century, archaeological sites such as Troy, Pergamum, Ephesus, Miletas, Perga, etc. The hinterland shows glimpses of other ancient civilizations – the Hittites, the Khatti, the Phyrygians, the Lydians.... and the signs of faith.

PEARL IN THE RIVER NILE - Temples of Philae: Aswan, Egypt
We were tired after arriving in Aswan early in the morning on the overnight train from Cairo, however It was a beautiful day, and we didn’t want to waste it so we headed off to see the Temples of Philae, which lie just south of the city on an island in the river Nile.

ALJOUN CASTLE: AN ARAB-ISLAMIC TREASURE: Jordan
While many visitors come to Jordan to see the Graeco-Roman ruins at Jerash, or the pre-Roman ruins at Petra, there are many remains there from mediaeval times, too. Some are in ruins, but some are in use even today.

PYRAMID POWER: Egypt
It sometimes amazes visitors that the pyramid-building phase of Egyptian history only lasted for a relatively short time, from about 2700 to 1800 BCE, mostly during what was known as the Old Kingdom. Another surprising fact is that there are more than 100 pyramids documented in the country but only about four or five are significant tourist destinations.

THE SURREAL LIFE: My Memoirs of Saudi Arabia
How did I get to that lonely desert highway in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia? Who was I, this foreign western woman draped in a long black robe sitting on the backseat of the cab? What was I doing there? The answers I prepared in my mind for the Saudi police were simplified and well rehearsed after one year of living and working in the land of oil and sand.