LEBANON | Monday, 23 Feb 2015 | Views [418]
. . . YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM. Nowhere is this more true than Lebanon. As turbulent as the ancient history of the region was — Phoenician, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, et. al. — it doesn’t compare with the complexities ... Read more >
LEBANON | Sunday, 22 Feb 2015 | Views [722]
THE GREEKS CALLED IT HELIOPOLIS, THE CITY OF THE SUN. Julius Caesar expanded the name to Julia Augusta Felix Heliopolis in honor of his daughter. By any name, the World Heritage Site at Baalbek is reason enough to visit Lebanon. And ... Read more >
LEBANON | Saturday, 21 Feb 2015 | Views [401]
ANOTHER STORM BATTERED THE COAST, SNARLING TRAFFIC and throwing ocean spray over the sea walls. By the time we reached Deir al Oumara, just miles from and 3000 feet above the Mediterranean, it had changed to snow. Preparing for the worst, ... Read more >
LEBANON | Tuesday, 17 Feb 2015 | Views [397]
BYBLOS MIGHT JUST BE THE OLDEST CONTINUOUSLY INHABITED town in the world and the Monoberge Hotel is the ideal base for exploring the area. Like everything in Lebanon, it is a bit pricey, the electricity is intermittent and the wifi is rubbish ... Read more >
LEBANON | Monday, 16 Feb 2015 | Views [479]
THE WORST DRIVERS IN THE WORLD PLY THE ROADS of Lebanon. They combine Italian aggressiveness with the driving skill of the Chinese. You can be certain only that they will do something unexpected, stupid and probably suicidal. And a ... Read more >
LEBANON | Sunday, 15 Feb 2015 | Views [1119]
WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW SOMETHING — DON’T EVEN KNOW what you don’t know — it’s a good idea to go to the experts. In the case of Lebanon, that would be the National Museum of Beirut. Lebanon and its neighbors ... Read more >
LEBANON | Saturday, 14 Feb 2015 | Views [501]
THE IMMIGRATION OFFICER SEARCHED OUR PASSPORTS, page by page, for evidence of a visit to Israel which would deny us entry into Lebanon. No worries — they are in our expired passports. While there is tension between Muslims and Christians, ... Read more >
LEBANON | Saturday, 14 Feb 2015 | Photo Gallery
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CYPRUS | Friday, 13 Feb 2015 | Views [611]
SALAMIS BEHIND US AND A BLEAK WEATHER FORECAST ahead, we decided to return the car early and hole up back in Nicosia where we could enjoy the comforts of the Centrum and the amenities of Ledra Street while we mused on our time in Cyprus. Certainly ... Read more >
CYPRUS | Thursday, 12 Feb 2015 | Views [1041]
FAMAGUSTA, OR MAGUSA, THOUGH IN THE NORTH, sits near the border. Too close, actually, as it turns out. All of the hotels listed on booking.com for Famagusta are actually on the Republic side of the Green Line, something the website failed ... Read more >
CYPRUS | Monday, 9 Feb 2015 | Views [577]
THERE IS NO REASON TO HAVE A CAR IN NICOSIA, in fact, you wouldn’t want one. There is no place to park within the city walls, most of the streets are one-way, usually in the wrong direction and insurance on cars rented in the South isn’... Read more >
CYPRUS | Friday, 6 Feb 2015 | Views [1333]
TO SAY THAT UNDERSTANDING CYPRUS IS COMPLICATED is the understatement of the year. The island, which has been coveted for thousands of years for its strategic location, has had three main suitors since 1878 — Greece, Turkey and Great Britain.... Read more >
CYPRUS | Friday, 6 Feb 2015 | Photo Gallery
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CYPRUS | Wednesday, 4 Feb 2015 | Views [536]
WE COMPLETELY MISSED ANCIENT KOURION during our stay in Lemeso, concentrating instead on the Byzantine painted churches around Troodos. So we made amends on our way back from Pofos to Nicosia.
Christian Basilica
... Read more >
CYPRUS | Tuesday, 3 Feb 2015 | Views [509]
WHETHER YOU ARE TRAVELING FOR FIVE YEARS OR TWO WEEKS, it is important to take a break once in a while, a vacation from your vacation as it were. Which is how we found ourselves 40 kilometers north of Pafos, near Polis for a three-day R&... Read more >
CYPRUS | Sunday, 1 Feb 2015 | Views [757]
IT ISN’T VERY LIKELY WE WILL EVER HAVE THE CHANCE to see the Roman mosaics in Syria or Iran. But we have been fortunate to see four of the best Roman mosaics — Madaba in Jordan, Ravenna in Italy, Bardo in Tunisia and today, Pafos.
... Read more >
CYPRUS | Saturday, 31 Jan 2015 | Views [466]
WE FIRST BECAME INTERESTED IN BYZANTINE FRESCOS in Turkey and Serbia, and Cyprus, we learned, has its share, too, the “painted churches of Troodos.” This World Heritage Site consists of ten difficult to reach villages scattered in ... Read more >
CYPRUS | Thursday, 29 Jan 2015 | Views [539]
THE NEOLITHIC FOLKS WHO BUILT CHOIROKOITIA DIDN’T have an Arthur Evans to dream up a sexy name for their civilization like he did with the Minoans. What they did have was the first human settlement on Cyprus, complete with a hillside village ... Read more >
CYPRUS | Wednesday, 28 Jan 2015 | Views [410]
VISITING A COUNTRY FOR THE FIRST TIME IS ALWAYS an adventure. Especially when you know virtually nothing about the place. We were not certain if Cyprus was a country and not part of Greece. We even had to check at the airport to ... Read more >
CYPRUS | Tuesday, 27 Jan 2015 | Photo Gallery
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