ARCHIVES: MIDDLE EAST

KNOCKING AT HEAVEN’S DOORS:Qatar, Doha
Visiting Doha, in Qatar which claims to have taken over from Dubai as the stop-over destination choice between the northern and southern hemispheres, one discovers the Middle East just needs some seriously good PR - and the oil Sheiks are trying their hardest to achieve just that.

FEELING OLD IN BYBLOS: Lebanon
How far back in history can you actually go in your imagination? The moment you set foot in Byblos your fantasy needs to switch into overdrive. You are about to explore the oldest continually inhabited city in the world with confirmed remains dating back at least 5000 years.

A KING'S COMPASS: Egypt
I am at the temple of the Oracle of Amon, fabled throughout the ancient world. Alexander the Great stood here, so for once I'm in good company. This is where he came to seek legitimacy for his rule over Egypt. The Oracle confirmed his divinity, although exactly what was said to him he took to his grave eight years later. He did well to get here, to Siwa Oasis in Egypt's Western Desert. Others had disappeared in the attempt.

A MUSEUM FOR BEDOUIN CULTURE: Kibbutz Lahav, Israel
I always wanted to visit the Joe Alon Center - the Museum of Bedouin Culture near Kibbutz Lahav, northeastern Negev Desert (Israel). My wife and I named a date in the middle of the week, avoiding the the Shabbath (Sunday) drivers and off we went. It was a long drive to the center through an area rich in archaeology and scenic beauty with Bedouin encampments along the way.

EGYPT: Walking With The Dead
For the ancient Egyptians, the West Bank at Thebes (modern-day Luxor) was their realm of the dead, an august “City of the Dead”, no less. It was a sacred domain where the transition from this l

EXPLORING HISTORIC DAMASCUS - THE UMAYYAD MOSQUE: Damascus, Syria Many relics of the past hide in Damascus’s streets. Turn a corner here and you come across the ancient walls from which St Paul escaped from the Romans. Around another bend, you encounter an ancient Christian church or a roman column. In its time the city, one of the oldest in the world, has been a hub of trade, a Roman military base and a centre of Islam.

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.

THE SURREAL LIFE: Saudi Arabia
As I saw the police approach the taxi I was riding in with my handsome male companion on that lonely desert highway, my heart started to pound. Images of my passport with a deportation stamp “PROSITUTION” flashed thru my mind.

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.