Category Travel

Feeling at home in Ecuador

photo - The Jewish Community Centre of Quito is a magnificent building containing two synagogues, its architecture reminiscent of Old Jerusalem

The Jewish Community Centre of Quito is a magnificent building containing two synagogues, its architecture reminiscent of Old Jerusalem. (photo by Lauren Kramer) It was Friday night in Quito, Ecuador, and, as dusk fell, my husband and I approached the…

A physical, emotional hike

photo - Arlene Doyle, right, was joined for part of her adventure by her friend, Jennifer Williamson

Arlene Doyle, right, was joined for part of her adventure by her friend, Jennifer Williamson. (photo from Arlene Doyle) In early February, Arlene Doyle, a 53-year-old massage therapist and writer based in Ottawa and Perth, Ont., set off on the…

Jewish tourists in Romania

photo - The Choral Temple in Bucharest

The Choral Temple in Bucharest. (photo from Wikimedia Commons) We spent two weeks in Romania in the late summer of 2015, also visiting Bulgaria. We took this trip partly because it was an area of vibrant Jewish life from Roman days…

Consider an African safari

photo - In Livingstone, Zambia, visitors on the Jewish tour will see a church that used to be a synagogue. The Jewish population peaked in the late 1950s, to some 1,000 community members

In Livingstone, Zambia, visitors on the Jewish tour will see a church that used to be a synagogue. The Jewish population peaked in the late 1950s, to some 1,000 community members. (photo by Rebecca Shapiro) “This guy came to stay,…

Tower of David a must-see

photo - A scene from Migdal David’s The Night Spectacular: the Queen of Sheba with her entourage

A scene from Migdal David’s The Night Spectacular: the Queen of Sheba with her entourage. (photo by Amit Geron) While growing up in the United States, my friends and I never seemed to tire of asking each other, “Who is…

Where David fought Goliath

photo - The author, Sybil Kaplan and Prof. Yosef Garfinkel at the opening of the exhibit In the Valley of David and Goliath, now at Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem

The author, Sybil Kaplan and Prof. Yosef Garfinkel at the opening of the exhibit In the Valley of David and Goliath, now at Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem. (photo by Barry A. Kaplan) “As the Philistine moved closer to attack…

Jerusalem’s French aspects

photo - Salt print of Adolphe Crémieux, December 1856, by Nadar (1820-1910), from the J. Paul Getty Museum

Salt print of Adolphe Crémieux, December 1856, by Nadar (1820-1910), from the J. Paul Getty Museum. (photo from Wikimedia Commons) While Jerusalem’s French connection thankfully lacks the violence and crime of the 1971 movie by the same name, both the…

The old town that Jan built

photo - Zamosc town hall

 Zamosc town hall. (photo by Tomasz Zugaj) If you were rolling in money, what would you do with it? Would you build a town for yourself? That’s what Jan Zamoyski did. As you approach the town’s main square, you might be…

Trip to India reveals much

photo - Inside of Kadavumbagam Synagogue of Mattancherry, Cochin, facing what’s left of the women’s gallery

Inside of Kadavumbagam Synagogue of Mattancherry, Cochin, facing what’s left of the women’s gallery. (photo by Deborah Rubin Fields) In enormous and populous India, anonymity does not exist. And social or group orientation counts – in a big way. Ironically,…

A fun family weekend away

photo - At the Hands On Children’s Museu, children learn many things, including just how large a bald eagle’s nest isr)

At the Hands On Children’s Museu, children learn many things, including just how large a bald eagle’s nest is. (photo by Lauren Kramer) Most small Jewish communities decrease in size over the summer, but not Olympia, Wash. The city’s Jewish…