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JAKARTA
NATIONAL MUSEUM OLD WING WITH ELEPHANT SCULPTURE SYNOPSIS: About a day in Jakarta. About a visit to the National Museum and a sermon at the oldest cathedral in town. For forty five minutes I was...
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Day 11: COBBLESTONES AND CROWDS
Cobblestone Road SYNOPSIS: TRINIDAD. A CITY OF COBBLESTONES AND CROWDS. What makes Trinidad such a charming city is not just its narrow alleys, colorful colonial homes, churches, and plazas, but the...
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Day 21 – BARACOA TOWN
Museum Cave Exterior SYNOPSIS: ABOUT THE FAMED ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM. MEETING ALEXANDRO. A POLITICAL DISCUSSION AT THE MARCO POLO. It was a low key day. Once in a while you need that: hair, laundry,...
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XINJIANG PROVINCE
TANK AT THE TRAIN STATION SYNOPSIS: A fortified province. About security and “the situation” in Xinjiang. About this trip, a museum visit, a hot pot dinner, and a difficult decision for my host,...
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CHIN SHIH HUANG DI
FOR SALE SYNOPSIS: Pits and Mausoleum. About changes in 15 and 45 years. No terrorists in Shaanxi Province? There must be no terrorists in Shaanxi Province. I guess, they all live in Xinjiang...
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LITTLE PEOPLE
TOMB FIGURES ON DISPLAY SYNOPSIS: From overbearing crowds above ground to “little people” crowds below ground. About Jin Di’s remote tomb. There hasn’t been a major museum I visited in my life, that...
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DAY 38 – DEAD AND EMPTY
SYNOPSIS: A trip to ghost town Yörük Köyü, a visit to the disappointing City Museum, and more walking through Safranbolu. Safranbolu used to be dead and empty before the restoration initiative in the...
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DAY 40 -ATATÜRK
SYNOPSIS: A visit to Atatürk’s tomb and why he would be in big trouble in today’s world. A visit at the Anatolian museum and why it was worth a look. The day after the snow storm in Ankara. Legions of...
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DAY 45 – GIOTTO GALORE
SYNOPSIS: I explored the UNESCO open air museum of Goreme which sports an astonishing array of churches from the 10th to 12th centuries. Saying good bye to Cappadocia. I hiked up the 2 km from Goreme...
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DAY 51 – TRABZON TRISTE
SYNOPSIS: Trabzon – what else is there to do? About a church and a villa, nothing else was open. Despite reconciling with my hotel, Trabzon still leaves a lot to be desired. The first bad news of...
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DAY 53 – LOOSE ENDS
SYNOPSIS: A few loose ends on Trabzon since there is nothing to report while waiting for hours at the airport to get from Trabzon to Istanbul to the next destination: Denizli, hub for Pamukkale. The...
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DAY 57 – SELCUK
SYNOPSIS: A small town with layers of history: About a martyrium, a phallic statue, storks, and a bored salesman named Ali. For as small as Selcuk is, it boasts a lot of interesting sites that should...
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DAY 62 – HALF TIME
SYNOPSIS – And that’s all there is, yes this is short! After spending the hours of the day once more at the post office and then in two superb Istanbuli museums (The Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art...
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DAY 65 – SAMARRA
SYNOPSIS: About the Baghdad Museum, the spiral minaret at Samarra and about our group. NOTE: Posting pictures is currently impossible. We have no wifi and I have to share two lobby computers with the...
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DAY 88 – RAINY DAY
SYNOPSIS: Three museums in one day. From ultra-modern deep down to ancient layers; from roof tops to tunnels. As the clouds gathered over Jerusalem, I changed my plans from doing another day trip to...
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DAY 91 – TEMPLE MOUNT
SYNOPSIS: A windmill, an old neighborhood and a visit of the Davidson Center, an open-air archaeological museum at the South-West corner of the Temple Mount. A windmill overlooking Jerusalem? Yes,...
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DAY 93 – MUSEUM DAY
SYNOPSIS: A failed visit to the Knesset, a visit of the Bible Museum, the Israel Museum, as well as the Shrine of the Book. If we had our act together, we would have known that the Knesset is open...
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DAY 101 – GALILEE
SYNOPSIS: A trip around the Sea of Galilee: From the Town of Jesus to a Kibbutz to the Golan Heights. If you are a dedicated Christian pilgrim to the Holy Land you should probably consider walking...
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DAY 102 – CAESAREA
SYNOPSIS: A visit of the ancient port town of Caesarea. Old and new don’t harmonize very often, but in Caesarea restaurants, bars, galleries and shops have been integrated into an outdoor...
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DAY 106 – TEL AVIV 2
SYNOPSIS: A visit to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and a stroll through Neve Tzedek. David and I had a full day touring the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and the neighborhood known as Neve Tzedek. But to make...
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DAY 108 – JAFFA 2
SYNOPSIS: The house museum of Ilana Goor in Jaffa. Transit to Jerusalem. Whether it is the Isabel Gardner Museum in Boston or the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, I fall for people’s “house...
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DAY 110 – YAD VASHEM
SYNOPSIS: A visit to the Holocaust Memorial and to Mount Herzl, in Jerusalem. Yad Vashem – Memorial and Name – is a 45-acre site providing a memorial and name to the 6 million Jewish victims of the...
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DAY 4 – NUKUS AND AROUND
SYNOPSIS: ABOUT A CEMETERY, A DEAD CITY AND GOVERNMENT-CENSORED ART COLLECTED WITH GOVERNMENT FUNDS. Now the ignorance was on me. After all the “Uz-what’s” I had heard from people when asking about...
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DAY 16 – TASHKENT AGAIN
SYNOPSIS: A VISIT AT THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS AND A VISIT AT THE INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF TASHKENT. ABOUT MY EXPERIENCES AS A TOURIST AND ABOUT WHAT MORE LIKELY GOES ON IN REALITY. I can’t even...
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DAY 20 – KABUL EXPLORED
SYNOPSIS: THE OFFICIAL AFGHANISTAN TOUR STARTED TODAY WITH NEIL BUXTON’S ARRIVAL: KABUL FROM THE TV HILL, THE LANDMINE MUSEUM, AND THE BAZAAR, FOR STARTERS. I figured it would be a kind gesture to...
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DAY 35 – WOMEN’S AFFAIRS I
SYNOPSIS: THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN’S AFFAIRS – THE OFFICIAL AND THE UNOFFICIAL STORY ABOUT WOMEN’S RIGHTS. The National Archives are located in a stately mansion and organized...
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DAY 36 – LOVE AND HOPE
SYNOPSIS: ABOUT THE LONG OVERDUE VISIT TO THE KABUL MUSEUM, THE NATIONAL GALLERY, THE SULTANI MUSEUM , THE ZOO, AND ABOUT MEETING THE DONORS OF THE GARDEN OF LOVE AND HOPE. The final two days are...
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DAY 4 – ETERNAL PEACE
Synopsis: A visit of the Cemetery Du Pere Lachaise, the Grand Mosque of Paris and the Orangerie. Another rainy day. Balancing camera and umbrella, I slipped and stumbled across the age-old, wet...
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DAY 41 – CULTURE
SYNOPSIS: A visit of the Municipal Museum. Friday prayers at the Dyingere Mosque. A visit of one of the manuscript libraries in town. Buying and bartering. Just like anywhere else in Mali,...
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DAY 45 – NATIONAL MUSEUM
SYNOPSIS: About the changes in the Sahel over the last month. About a visit of the National Park and Museum of Bamako. And about my final hotel and my rainbow departure. 40 days ago I looked out of...
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UENO
SYNOPSIS: What happens when you don’t know what you are doing. Exploring one of the cultural hot spots in Tokyo. From Museums to Temples and Shrines. A few contemplations on oddities, people’s...
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HIROSHIMA
SYNOPSIS: About the obligatory visit to the Peace Museum and Peace Park in Hiroshima. A few comparative thoughts about Hiroshima and Dresden. Hiroshima conjures up one single thing: The A-Bomb....
View ArticleIWAMI GINAZN
SYNOPSIS: About one of the largest silver mining areas in the world and what you can see of it today. About rain and an incredible landscape at the North-Western coast of the Honsho Island of Japan....
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YASHIMA
SYNOPSIS: About a visit to the Shikoku Mura, an outdoor museum preserving historical structures from around Shikoku. About one of 88 holy temples and a pilgrim tradition which makes Shikoku famous....
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NOGUCHI
SYNOPSIS: About a visit at the Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum in Mure. Transit to Matsuyama. You are supposed to reserve 2 months ahead of time, a confirmation letter (the old fashioned snail-mail...
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MIKIMOTO
SYNOPSIS: About the origin of the cultivated pearl industry on Mikimoto Pearl Island in the town of Toba. First Japan turns out to once be the largest silver producer in the world, now it turns out...
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NAGOYA
SYNOPSIS: There are cultural sites in Nagoya, not just shopping — a castle, a garden, a museum, and a famous craft center, but no theater this time of the year. About Nagoya’s cultural side. By...
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MEIJI MURA
SYNOPSIS: The world of the Meiji Restoration as it presents itself in a vast open-air museum. From a prison to the doctor’s office; from a sake brewery to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Imperial Hotel (no...
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OPEN AIR MUSEUM
SYNOPSIS: About a unique and powerful way to experience sculpture and nature. About the first open-air art museum of Japan. Did I really need to see Picasso, Moore, Rodin and other contemporary...
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KAWAGUCHIKO
SYNOPSIS: Procrastination — why? About an embarrassing admission. Where the hell is Mount Fuji anyhow? About the “Musical Forest” and the inclusion of the handicapped population into daily life....
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KAMIKATSURA
SYNOPSIS: About Nara archaeology at Nara Palace Site. Transit to Kyoto where I will be living in a kitchen…! About the downfalls of booking accommodations from afar. If you have nothing but time...
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KINKAKUJI +
SYNOPSIS: About the most famous of all temples, the Kinkakuji, and a few others, and about Japanese Manga. Ninja Museum was a note I had scribbled on my map. All I remembered was that it was about...
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MON CULTURE
About one of the distinct and ancient ethnic groups in Myanmar. A day in transit back to Yangon. About safety and security or the lack thereof. I did not learn much from the displays at the neon-lit...
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THE GRAND MOSQUE
SEATED MEN IN THE MOSQUE SYNOPSIS: A visit of the Grand Mosque and the Aceh History Museum. And a hip Coffee Shop. Meeting a few locals and two fellow travelers. Manifesting a ride for tomorrow....
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TSUNAMI
BOAT ON THE HOUSE SYNOPSIS: About the Tsunami Museum which tells a horrible story pretty badly. About two personal Tsunami stories. And about two Boats that speak volumes. Finally, about the good...
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UBUD II
ET ON BIKE SYNOPSIS: Moving from first rate to third rate homestay. Museum Marathon on the back of Joman’s motorbike. About a young doctor and a handsome stylist. I had kept extending my stay at...
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EXCURSIONS II
NEWLY WED + ET SYNOPSIS: On and off the beaten path around Ubud. Exploring some more of the cultural sites with lazy Marde. The other side of the story of Ubud; talking to some locals. Getting...
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TRANSIT JAVA
BOY LEAVING MOSQUE SYNOPSIS: About a dusty Sultan’s palace. Visiting the Mega Mosque in Samarinda. Retour from the jungle to Balikpapan. Arrival in the metropolis of Surabaya. Within 45 minutes of...
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IT TAKES A VILLAGE
ET AND PATER RAMONE SYNOPSIS: Another day of explorations in Sumba. About a very late wedding celebration, about funerary practices early and delayed and about a unique cultural center. People had...
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LANZHOU
MY LITTLE ENTOURAGE SYNOPSIS: About a visit to the well-worth provincial museum. About trying to act like a local. About a dust storm. I have visited three provincial (and that is not in the sense...
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