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10 tips for riding the Dubai Metro in the UAE

When we arrived in Dubai we were struck by how modern the transportation system was but after two months in Southeast Asia we could have used these tips for riding the Dubai Metro. Asia had been hot and sticky and we really wanted to go someplace…
Street vendor selling herbs in Jerusalem muslim quarter

Jerusalem, it’s complicated

Jerusalem is the most difficult city to decipher on earth. That’s not just us saying it. Try finding it on Google Maps. For security reasons high-resolution satellite pictures are not available, reducing the city to a fuzzy haze. This complexity…
Burj Khalifa dubai skyline

Atop the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world

As a building geek I had to stop in Dubai to see the Burj Khalifa, at 163 floors it is by far the tallest building in the world; about 1 1/2 times as tall as the Empire State Building in New York. It boasts many superlatives, including…
rocky statue petra
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The “other” Petra and more on a visit to Jordan

We knew the night would be a little different than expected when at check-in Mahmoud cheerfully informed us, “I’ve upgraded you to a cave.” That was our introduction to staying at a Bedouin camp on our visit to Jordan. We had visions of…
Security wall in Israel Banksy mural

A glimpse behind the security wall in Israel

Whenever there is a wall dividing one group from another it provides an irresistible canvas to artists, both political and otherwise. After seeing the murals on the "peace walls" in Belfast and the surviving sections of the Berlin…
Unique Places to stay Little petra Bedouin camp
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7 unique places to stay in the world

From a kitschy throwback hotel in North Korea to a nudist B&B in Portugal, we found a few unique places to stay in the world. Here are some of our favorites: 1) Little Petra Bedouin Camp, Jordan The Little Petra Bedouin Camp…
Food in Israel Yehuda Mehane Market Jerusalem challah bread
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The surprising food in Israel

When we arrived in Israel we expected to stuff ourselves with Middle Eastern treats such as falafel and hummus, what we didn't expect was some of the tastiest fruit and sweetest pastries of our journey. Israel has managed to create vast produce…
Bali beach trash
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Drowning in a sea of plastic

One of the more sobering aspects of our journey has been the environmental abuse we’ve seen, sometimes in the least likely places. Although we've traveled all over the world and written about some incredible sights, the story that resonated…
Via Dolorosa sign

In the footsteps of Christ on the Via Dolorosa

The Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem is the traditional path that Jesus walked on the way to his crucifixion. Following the fourteen Stations of the Cross up the hill towards Mount Cavalry is a pilgrimage for Christians worldwide who descend in droves…
Arab flatbread
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Our daily bread in Doha

From Michael in Doha, Qatar ~ Regular readers of this blog know about my carb fetish. It probably stems from when I was a little boy and my Sicilian immigrant grandfather owned a bread bakery on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village. Since then…
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Don’t drink from the toilet!—and other odd signs around the world

We've come across some unusual signs in our journey. Some funny signs caution people about not doing things that would seem to be self-evident. Like the sign posted above. It's in the bathrooms at the Adelaide Airport in Australia. Not that…