Tag Archives: history

The Most Fascinating Place in Hawaii? The Leper Colony of Kalaupapa

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The island of Molokai is an unspoiled paradise — the last Hawaiian island that has held out against cruise ships and mass tourism — but for 100 years to more than 8,000 people, it was a prison.

On the north shore of the island is a secluded peninsula surrounded by high sea cliffs on three sides and an impassable coastline on the fourth. In the 1800s Hansen’s disease, commonly known as leprosy, became more prevalent. And as there was no cure, countries around the world created specific colonies for the ill people to live in. It was on this spot in Molokai in 1866 that King Kamehameha V created Kalaupapa.

Related: Molokai, the Last Truly Unspoiled Island in Hawaii

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Requiem for History: A Look Back At The Biblical City of Nimrud, Iraq, Destroyed by ISIS

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Straight out of Nimrud

Straight out of Nimrud.

Earlier this Week, ISIS destroyed at 1400 year-old monastery in Mosul, Iraq, but last year they did their most damage – razing the oldest monastery in the country, Mar Behnam and several others – as well as looting the ancient Assyrian towns of Ninevah and Nimrud, cornerstones of human history.

I visited the biblical city of Nimrud in 2011 and it was palpably magical—made even more so because so few people were ever able visit the site—first due to Saddam Hussein’s government and then due to war.

Built in 1274 B.C., it was made the capital of the Assyrian empire in 883 B.C. and a  5 mile long wall was constructed, surrounding the city and palace. Huge Lamassu, large winged beasts with the body of an ox or lion and the heads of men, lined the palace entry and inside were carved scenes of life painted in many colors. Interestingly, along the outer walls, inscriptions were carved including:

  • “The palace of cedar, cypress, juniper, boxwood, mulberry, pistachio wood, and tamarisk, for my royal dwelling and for my lordly pleasure for all time, I founded therein. Beasts of the mountains and of the seas, of white limestone and alabaster I fashioned and set them up on its gates.”
  • “Silver, gold, lead, copper and iron, the spoil of my hand from the lands which I had brought under my sway, in great quantities I took and placed therein.”
  • “Many of the captives I have taken and burned in a fire. Many I took alive; from some I cut off their hands to the wrists, from others I cut off their noses, ears and fingers; I put out the eyes of many of the soldiers. I burned their young men, women and children to death.”
  • “I flayed the nobles as many as rebelled; and [I] spread their skins out on the piles.”

And now, it’s gone.

The pictures after the jump are all what once was, and what has now, reportedly been razed to the ground.

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Rare Images of Art From Iraq’s Oldest Monastery, Destroyed by ISIS

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Yesterday, ISIS destroyed St. Elijah’s, a 1400-year-old Christian monastery just outside of Mosul – part of their mission to obliterate history and anything that doesn’t fit into their warped version of Islam. Back in 2011, I actually visited St. Elijah’s monastery – and one that was even older, the 1700-year-old Mar Behnam Monastery and Convent – a Syriac Catholic compound also containing a chapel and two shrines and was filled with priceless artworks.

Shrine of Saint Behnam and Saint Sarah in Iraq.

The shrines of the Christian martyrs, Behnam (left) and his sister Sarah (right), mark where the brother and sister died and had stood in various forms on this hill since the 4th century.

There had been a shrine on the hill outside of Beth Khdeda (near Mosul) since the 4th century, built by the pagan Assyrian king Senchareb as a penance for killing his son Behnam and daughter Sarah after they converted to Christianity… until March 2015, when ISIS leveled the place to the ground.

destruction of Mar Behnam

Both shrines – Mar Behnam and Marth Sarah, were blown up by ISIS on March 19, 2015.

The pictures below are all that’s left of what was once was an integral chapter in human history. Inside the chapel and shrines were examples of art and architecture rarely seen anywhere else in the world – carvings that seamlessly blended Muslim and Christian designs and one of the few Middle Eastern examples of Uigher inscriptions, left by Mongol traders and pilgrims as they made their way from China to Europe on trade routes. The walls and artwork were living history – and contained pieces from almost every century since it was built.

The buildings are now gone and the art destroyed or presumably sold off to shady people who may house them in a back room of their many mansions (yes, my imagination is getting away with me, but it’s my website!),  but looking at these photographs should remind us that Iraq has been, up until recently, the cradle of civilization. It was a religiously tolerant place where Muslims, Christians, Yazidis and even Jews lived side by side until it erupted into chaos.

ALL ART AND ARCHITECTURE PICS AFTER THE JUMP!

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Wadi Rum: Walking Through Lawrence of Arabia’s Jordan

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“No man can live his life and emerge unchanged. He will carry, however faint, the imprint of the desert, the brand which marks the nomad; and he will have within him the yearning to return, weak or insistent according to his nature. For this cruel land can cast a spell which no temperate clime can match.” –T.E. Lawrence

Traveling in Lawrence of Arabia’s Footsteps in Jordan

Photo: Silvia/Flickr

Tucked away in the southern desert of Jordan is Wadi Rum, a vast valley cut into the sandstone and granite cliffs near Aqaba. Also referred to as the Valley of the Moon, Wadi Rum has been inhabited since prehistoric times — and has cast its spell on travelers throughout the ages.

The British officer T.E. Lawrence, later known as Lawrence of Arabia, passed through the area several times during the Arab Revolt of 1917, and described Wadi Rum as “vast, echoing, and god-like” — and it is. Spanning 280 square miles, Wadi Rum is full of silent history. The rocks in the Khaz’ali Canyon are covered in petroglyphs in Thamudic, the most ancient Arabian script, from the fourth century B.C. The sand dunes are marred only by camel footprints (and the occasional SUV track). It is the only place on earth I have been that can shock you with its open, silent emptiness.

Related: Traveling Back in Time With the Bedouin of Jordan

To truly experience Wadi Rum, spend the night in the privateCaptain’s Camp — a smaller version of the larger Captain’s Camp nearby — which will set you back $130 a night.

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Photo: Captain’s Camp, Wadi Rum/Facebook

At night, the staff there prepares lamb and vegetables, slow-cooked for hours in a zarb — a traditional underground oven covered by sand — and then, around a fire, a musician sings under the stars. You can either sleep in a tent, or do what my crew and I did: simply pass out on the pillows surrounding the fire after stargazing for hours.

Spending the night with the bedouin of Wadi Rum is a magical experience. You are fully unplugged, there is no electricity or cell service, and there is no sound… other than what you yourself make. It makes you realize that in this noisy, frenetic world, the sound never heard is actual silence. It is as if Wadi Rum is Nature’s cathedral, outdoing any splendor man has created.

Related: Go Now: The New Seventh Wonder of the World — That’s Empty

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The (EMPTY) Seventh Wonder of the World You Need to See NOW

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The problem with the Seven Wonders of the World is… they are usually packed with tourists. They are on almost everyone’s bucket list, they are insanely beautiful, and oftentimes, despite being inanimate objects, they have their own public relations and marketing teams. Which makes for huge crowds (think the Colosseum in Rome) and, if you’re like me, panic attacks.

Go Now: The New Seventh Wonder of the World — That’s Empty.

Normally, Petra would be packed with tourists. I basically had my own private tour of the place — something only people like Prince Charles or Cher get. 

While most people think of Petra as being the Treasury — the huge, imposing facade that was featured in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade — it is so much more.

Related: Travel Back in Time With the Bedouin of Jordan 

According to my friend Abdullah Al Wahsh, “Petra is 50 square kilometers. Even if you spent eight hours a day for three days straight, you still wouldn’t see it all.”

Established by the Nabataeans in 312 B.C., near the biblical Mount Hor in Wadi Araba, the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba, it was the crux of an ancient trading route — and perfectly hidden.

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You have to go through miles of paths like this to get into the city.

“Because it’s in a canyon — and you had to go  through the canyon to get there, from far away, no one could see it. For a long time, people thought it was mythical,” Abdullah said. “They picked this site for protection — and access to water. The site has an intricate system of canals and irrigation.”

Related: How to Go Full Local in Jordan 

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Inside one of the homes, looking out at the mountains and at Andrew, my cameraman. 

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Petra, Jordan: Go. NOW. It’s Beautiful. It’s Safe. And Right Now, it’s Empty

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The problem with the Seven Wonders of the World is… they are usually packed with tourists. They are on almost everyone’s bucket list, they are insanely beautiful, and oftentimes, despite being inanimate objects, they have their own public relations and marketing teams. Which makes for huge crowds (think the Colosseum in Rome) and, if you’re like me, panic attacks.

Go Now: The New Seventh Wonder of the World — That’s Empty.

Normally, Petra would be packed with tourists. I basically had my own private tour of the place — something only people like Prince Charles or Cher get. 

While most people think of Petra as being the Treasury — the huge, imposing facade that was featured in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade — it is so much more.

Related: Travel Back in Time With the Bedouin of Jordan 

According to my friend Abdullah Al Wahsh, “Petra is 50 square kilometers. Even if you spent eight hours a day for three days straight, you still wouldn’t see it all.”

Established by the Nabataeans in 312 B.C., near the biblical Mount Hor in Wadi Araba, the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba, it was the crux of an ancient trading route — and perfectly hidden.

image

You have to go through miles of paths like this to get into the city.

“Because it’s in a canyon — and you had to go  through the canyon to get there, from far away, no one could see it. For a long time, people thought it was mythical,” Abdullah said. “They picked this site for protection — and access to water. The site has an intricate system of canals and irrigation.”

Related: How to Go Full Local in Jordan 

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5 Reasons to Hit Puerto Rico – RIGHT NOW

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I’ll admit it: I was a little late to the Puerto Rico game. Thankfully, due to Snowmageddon this year, I finally cottoned on to our cousin in the Caribbean. Now that I’ve drunk the Kool-Aid, I’m bound and determined to get everyone there — if only so that when people ask me, “Where should I go for a quick, easy, cheap getaway?” (this happens all the time) I can point them to this article.

Here are five reasons you really should go now.

1. It’s cheap and easy.

WATCH: Top 5 Reasons to Go to Puerto Rico Now

Most major airlines fly there, including JetBlue, and the price of a ticket can be up to $200 cheaper than a flight to Miami. Bonus: If you live on the East Coast, it’s quick. From JFK airport, for example, it’s only three and a half hours to San Juan, which is just slightly longer than a flight to Miami.

Related: How to Go Full Local in Puerto Rico

2. You can vacation like J.Lo at half the price.

The hotels in San Juan are some of the chicest I’ve ever seen. Jennifer Lopez stayed at Hotel El Convento — the Chateau Marmont of the Caribbean, located in the heart of the Old City — which has weekend rates starting at less than $500 a night. If you want to bump up the price a bit, check out theCondado Vanderbilt. The recently refurbished hotel was built in 1912 by Frederick William Vanderbilt in a Spanish revival style, and has been the height of luxury ever since. Rates start at around $300 a night — expensive, but still a fraction of the cost of a luxury hotel in Miami.

3. History, history, history!

While the beach is nice, it’s even nicer that if you need a break, there’s actually something else to do. Puerto Rico’s forts and cathedrals date back to the 16th century, when Spain ruled the island.

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The Ancient Oasis Towns of Oman: A Star Wars Geek/Explorer’s Dream

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In this day and age, it’s difficult for a traveler to feel like he or she is really truly exploring anymore. With the reach of the Internet and the opening of borders around the world, it can feel as if everything has already been laid bare… which is why Oman is so special. The country has only  been “open” for 40 years, and the sultan, while modernizing the country, has insisted that any new construction fit in with the old.

But there is old, and then there is ancient. While driving through the mostly arid country, every once in a while you will hit a wadi — a valley that hides an oasis. Most of the wadis are similar — there are fresh pools and a town nearby.

And then there is Birkat Al-Mawz. It’s a tiny little town with mud houses in the Wadi al-Muaydin, which lies on the edge of Jebel Akhdar. The town is a peek into what life was like more than 500 years ago. You can roam through the ruins and explore at your leisure. (Just be careful, the houses are literally falling down. Two years ago, a block of four came crashing down at the feet of a group of German tourists, sending one to the hospital.)

Related: Heaven on Earth: The Hidden Oasis of the Arabian Desert

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The houses are built on top of each other — from the living room of one house, you can see into the kitchen of another — with air ducts that acted like air conditioning and construction that reminds one of something out of Star Wars. Inside are painted wooden beams and empty windows where carved shutters used to be.

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“Many of the old doors and shutters have been looted,” said Qais, my guide. “No one knew how valuable they were until they were gone.”

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