We visited and spent some time in Jerusalem…we explored Jerusalem differently than either of has in the past. We have visited the Jewish section of the old city several times, but thought we would venture into different areas this time.
We started near the Tower of David and entered through the Jaffa gate this time (and no, it was not to check out all the new stores and shopping nearby).
We decided to climb up and walk around the walls of the old city along the ramparts. This was a very interesting and different perspective of the city that many do not know about for some reason. It gives you a view of the history and people not possible any other way.
We specifically chose to walk around the Christian and Muslim sections which we have never visited previously…it was a really interesting view in how many live in the old city…
We ate some local sweet baklava in the Muslim market (shuk) 🙂
And also entered the holy Christian church where Jesus was crucified known Sepulchre:
Looking outside the walls from the ramparts, I felt the pre-1967 line has disappeared…
From my point of view, there has been much more renovation and restoration than I remembered from the last time I visited Jerusalem.
When we left the old city, I noticed many new hotels being built and the tourism is growing much further than before…unfortunately the Waldolf Astoria is not quite open yet for those who are so inclined…
Overall, it was a great experience visiting Jerusalem…it is always amazing and rewarding. On the way back, we made a stop in Abu Gosh for dinner on the way back to have some good falafel and spicy hummus. 🙂
You can also check out my other entries from Israel:
A combined post from visiting Caesarea Israel as well as when I used to live in Caesarea.
We have been relaxing for a few days in familiar territory. It has been a good choice while travelling so much. We met with some old friends and visited some new places like the Tel Aviv Art Museum. Overall, we have spent most of our time in Caesarea which is where we lived a few years ago. I thought I would share some perspective on this Israeli city which is not well known outside in the US or EU…
Caesarea is a pretty interesting location and history on the coast of Israel. It was built by King Herod during the early Roman Empire and today, it is the only city in Israel that is managed by a private company (created by the Rothschilds) and not the government.
It hosts the only golf club in Israel:
Over the past 2000 years, it was conquered and ruled by many different organizations. The most notable was the fact it was a port city in the Roman Empire:
a Byzantine capital and tombs:
and of course taken over during an Arab conquest in the 7th century and then later captured/reclaimed/lost again by the Crusaders.
Several more changes occurred in the following centuries. Lots of the city is small, but completely populated in and around the historical ruins of the Caesarea Harbor.
Many areas have been renovated and restored, while many are still unexcavated – like the ancient aqueduct.
Some homes even have exposed ruins while others have been excavated and exposed for everyone to see around the city.
This is actually known as the bird mosaic due to fantastic murals that existed in a ancient mansion outside the city walls.
When we lived here a few years ago, I loved running along the aqueduct and along the Mediterranean ocean.
There was actually two aqueducts and neither are fully excavated. It is an amazing experience to wake up early and run along the ocean with the dogs and there is not a single person in sight…what a way to start the day. Our dogs used to go crazy when we let them run loose across the sand and head to the ocean…
Today we ran near the port and the ancient coliseum which faces the sea. Did you also know there is a fully automatic shooting range in Caesarea Israel as well?
The city is one of the wealthiest in Israel and many famous people live (more on that later)…but I found it interesting that one of the poorest Arab villages is adjacent to Caesarea. It is named Jisr az-Zarqa.
If you can look closely, there are camels near the own home…compared to the Mercedes and BMWs on the other side…
There are some natural sand dunes that are maintained that people walk over daily to go to the store or to work in Caesarea as there are no simple road or convenient connections between the two habitats.
You can hear the daily call to prayers when you live in the northern sections of Caesarea.
A definite different experience than living in the US…
Some people wonder if people actually have bomb shelters in their houses in Israel? Yes, they do and we had one and were prepared.
In 2009, there was a serious escalation of conflict from the North and South…and even had one air raid siren go off in Caesarea that made us go into our shelter.
We went down into a lower level room that is isolated under the house.
They are called ” miklat” (Hebrew for bomb shelter) where we were well prepared with a camping toilet, plenty of water, canned food, reading material and two mattresses. Oh, and plenty of pet food and wine!
You can also check out my other entries from Israel:
Stay tuned for more updates, I will add them here over time!
By the way, are you travelling and need a visa? Check out iVisa which is my choice when planning and booking my business and personal travel with my family!
Definitely have enjoyed the cold and the heat…getting away from the Puget Sound clouds and rain…now it is time for something different. A little more history, some different culture, some different perspectives…
Phase 1 was all about getting away and clearing the mind. I now want to build on that a little. I think will call this phase 2:
Where are we going, you will have to wait and see. The adventure continues…
When travelling around the world, the Windows Phone 8 has been a true friend. For a small international data roaming fee, it works almost everywhere to look up flight status, research where to go eat or find the directions to walk someplace. Within seconds, you always have a camera to capture a sight or find out if you are headed to the right subway station.
When you don’t wireless or Internet solution in your hotel, you have a simple one with WP8 as you can snap a picture, post on Facebook or write a simple blog with one of the many WP8 apps available. Why pay $20 for an Internet daily connection when you can do it simply and easily from your phone in 5 minutes over 3G?
The best feature in the Nokia Lumia 920 is the city maps. You can download large city maps in advance, and you don’t need a data connection of determine your location or the directions on which to find your destination. We used it in every city to find a different running path.
It is a gem and saved our time and hassle in many ways. It is great when walking around with others and they rely on you with your Windows Phone to show them the way since they don’t have a seamless solution like the Nokia maps. It is also great when you can use it to help your local tour guide to find the right directions to your destination. I just keep telling them…Windows Phone 8 is what every guide needs…
Headed north back to the USA for a few days to escape the summer sun of South America 😉
We spent our last day in Chile touring the southern Colchagua wine valley which is about 100 miles south of Santiago at the foot of the Andes mountains. You can see my introduction to Chile blog posting if you missed it.
We started with a private home tour and tasting at Vina Bisquertt which is one of the oldest families producing wine in Chile. We enjoyed some of their favorite varietals and also were able to secure a bottle of their limited vintage to bring home.
We had a nice lunch in downtown Santa Cruz and then went to a unique private tour of the Viu Manent winery.
Here we rode in a horse drawn carriage around the property to learn of the history and approaches the vineyard uses to maintain their 80-100 year old Cabernet vines. They showed us how they grafted new malbec vines on to older sauvignon blanc vines to accelerate the production and rapid growth of new lines.
The Chileans appear to be experimenting enormously with different techniques and methods to produce the most competitive priced high quality wine to attract the world to their wines. They are very sensitive to how much oak they use and almost spurn the thought of a wine being matured more than 12 months in a barrel.
Last, before heading back to Santiago, we visited the fantastic museum (Museo Colchagua) in Santa Cruz. This was the best museum we have seen in Chile that documented the history of the region all way back to the prehistoric fossils:
…to the modern mine disaster rescue that occurred in Chile a few years ago, It was really a well done exhibit that told the entire story. Highly recommended.
If interested, on another trip, I posted a blog on a visit to a South African winery.
Did you miss the first posting when we arrived on the Island? You may want to check it out first.
It is very easy to get around the island whether you take a tour or rent a car for the day. Almost every spot on the island can be reached in less than 20 minutes. It is very small, dry and dirty. You definitely have to plan your water and bathrooms carefully as it most places, there is neither. The most gorgeous spots are naturally on the high hills over the island. Some are actually dormant volcanoes.
Personally, I think this is where the alien UFO took off from…
The birdman races are depicted on numerous petroglyphs around the southern part of the island where villagers gathered annually in special homes built out of slate at the top of the mountain to watch the birdman competition. This is where the extreme competitive warriors would swim to the Moto Nui island to find the very first bird egg where the Gull birds migrated and nested every year. Who ever found the first egg and make it back across the swift waters and up the treacherous cliff became “king” for a year.
There are tons of wild horses on the island. More horses than actual people! They are quite tame and you can easily walk up to them and pet them sometimes.
The highlight of the island is clearly the quarry at Ranu Raraku. This is where all the statues come from and there is dozens of statues in various stages of excavation, carving and transport.
It is almost comical and unreal to see so many poking their heads out of the side of the mountain.
The coastline and views are amazing…
and yes, I ran a 10K along the coast of Easter Island of course 😊
I must it is a little rocky and you need trail shoes for sure!
Running around the world is always fun. Some of my other favorite spots:
Easter Island (proper name is Isla de Pascua) is actually called Easter Island as the island was discovered by a modern (Dutch) seafarer (Captain Rogovan) on Easter. Currently, only 6,000 people live on the island and it is visited by 60,000 tourists every year. 10% of them come from the 6 cruise ships that stop every year.
We were invaded by the Germans today…
Our guide was a direct decedents of the tribes (Rapa Nui) and his grandmother actually lived in a cave 100 years ago when the conditions of the island were very tough and a ship with supplies only arrived once per year.
It is limited by the limited number of flights (approximately 12) each week which is also the primary source of food and supplies for the residents. Food and gasoline can be very expensive, but the positive is the residents do not have to pay and taxes to the Chilean government. Very similar situation to the arrangement Puerto Rico has with the United States.
The history of the statues is quite interesting. They were built to represent the elders or leaders of each village and face inward toward the stone foundation based homes that were actually shaped like upside down ships. Their style and size evolved slightly over time to represent stronger and more powerful leadership.
Near the modern village…
The most modern statues had the red colored lava placed on top to represent their hair. These were excavated out of different quarries than the quarries the statues were carved out of.
The red lava quarry…
Unfortunately, by the mid 1800s, a French explorer found only one statute remained standing. It is not clear what caused all the statues to fall. Was it an earthquake? Tsunami? Civil war and conflict between the villages? Nobody is sure, but most, if not all statues were recovered and reconstructed by companies that donate people, technology and money to recreate the historical experience.
There were actually one set of seven statues that faced the sea and these are thought to represent the seven sailors that found this island for the Rapa Nui and established the colony.
And, yes, there is a beach for people who like to swim or have a picnic near a monument of statues with red lava hair on top. We relaxed under the shade of a palm tree and read for the afternoon. 😊
You will also want to see the additional exploration in the next Easter Island blog post I did later in the week.
We flew around a lot in South America and it was a different experience than we face in the USA. First, get used to very long lines in the airport or go through immigration. These can be frustrating and time consuming, but you just have to deal with it. You don’t have to take off your shoes, remove your belt, take out your laptop. It is simple from that aspect. But they do check your passport like 3 times at different stages for some reason….Don’t expect your favorite snacks, food or drinks on the flight that you are accustomed to with American based airlines. It is totally hit and miss. The best bet is to always pack your desired drink or water in your carry on.
Yep – going through security is a non-issue if you multiple bottles of water…open, full…it never matters. You can even carry bottles of wine through sometimes. Yep – in Santiago, I boarded with 2 full bottles of wine in my backpack. Not a single question or a dirty look. I guess I cannot complain – now I don’t have to find an open store to have a glass of wine when we land in Easter Island tonight 🙂
A view from our hotel restaurant enjoying a seafood chowder and salad after our morning tour around some of the nearby historical ruins…more to come tomorrow!
…and when we had a pisco sour at the bar before we when into town for dinner, the local chicken joined us for the free mixed nuts:
Próspero Año Nuevo! (No more fiscal cliffs in 2013!)
We are celebrating the end of the year in Santiago, Chile with the local downtown crowd and enjoying a great meal and great weather in the southern hemisphere.
We are staying at the Intercontinental Hotel in the business area of downtown Santiago in the club tower. Great hotel and great location. Excellent concierge service when everything is shut down for the new year.
The club tower is especially interesting as it is covered in foliage to be GREEN.
Since it is was new year’s today, we toured around the city a little more to see some areas that we missed previously (like the jockey club):
It was great to quickly sightsee when there is almost zero traffic and no people out on the streets. We started with a nice 10K run along the river to kick off 2013 (at 8AM, we met a fair number of people still celebrating)
…then we went to the city center where the Spanish conqueror built a fortress to fend off the local Indians unsuccessfully…
It is interesting to see how many friendly dogs exist in Santiago.
They are all homeless. They are all wild with no owners. They are all fed and taken care of by the entire population. They are always at home and extremely friendly.
The subway was completely empty. It almost felt like a movie scene about to explode into action…
But similar to what you see in many countries, there is quite some artwork in each station. station:
What a different feeling after being in the United States for 4 decades during the holidays. It is indeed a strange and unusual feeling of being away from work for almost 4 weeks now. It is hard to describe, but it is an amazing experience to live. It is invigorating and refreshing beyond belief. Tomorrow, we fly to Easter Island!
Oh, and if interested, running around the world is always fun. Some of my other favorite spots:
We relaxed and toured around Santiago a little more today…visiting the artistic areas in town where famous poets, actors, artists, etc. have and continue to live:
We also visited the Presidential Palace:
…along with a nice climb up into the National Forest park above Santiago:
The views and pics were not as good today…mist and haze covered the city when looking across the mountains. Some say it is caused from the copper mines…that sounds scary…
Later, we ventured south for some wine tasting and lunch at one of the older large wineries in Chile: De Martino. We had a fantastic private lunch conjured by a top chef from the area and toured around the vineyard:
They also showed us their new creation of fermenting and bottling wine made in clay pots with no preservatives — very similar to the ancient techniques used thousands of years ago. The wine is actually chilled and is quite interesting…it just will not last more than 1 year in the bottle. A new trend to drink wine faster after being bottled I guess… 🙂
David Cross Travel Blog 