Don’t go to Chichen Itza…you can’t walk up the Pyramid anymore…it’s crowded with locals selling junk…it’s hot and there’s no cover…blah blah blah. Of course I ignored all of that and joined the masses in a pilgrimage to the ruins of this member of both UNESCO and new member of the 2007 New Seven WondersContinue reading “A visit to Chac the Rain God @ Chichen Itza”
Author Archives: farflungistan
Flowers are out along Park Ave NYC
38 rose blossoms crawling with insects bring an early spring to Park Ave NYC thanks to the Public Art fund and artist Will Ryman. The towering pink and red roses adored with crawling bug sculptures stand 3′-22 feet tall along the wintry grey portion of Park Ave. between 57th and 67th Streets. The roses buds themselves weigh up to 2500Continue reading “Flowers are out along Park Ave NYC”
Egypt’s baksheesh industry..will it survive?
The people who are benefiting the least Mubarak leaving office sooner than later are his police forces and political allies. They are the ones who ask for the baksheesh even if they don’t do anything helpful or even help someone cross the street safely in Downtown Cairo. Some took to the streets and were takingContinue reading “Egypt’s baksheesh industry..will it survive?”
The Howls of the Rebel River in Hama Syria
The highlight of the city of Hama is by no doubt the norias or “wheels of pots”. Seventeen now remain standing and occasionally running above the Nahr al-Assi, aka Rebel River. Many know it as being the Orontes River. It’s presently the job of the office of Antiquities in Hama to make sure that theseContinue reading “The Howls of the Rebel River in Hama Syria”
The quiet town of Palmyra
The bus rolled into Tadmor, or as most know it as Palmyra, a little over 3 hours after it left the Harasta Pullman terminal in Damascus. Taking local buses is always fun and tricky if you don’t speak or understand the native language. The final destination wasn’t Palmyra and even if it was the busContinue reading “The quiet town of Palmyra”
Cairo and it’s baksheesh and sheesha
It’s hot and almost too hot, smoggy and as always, the streets are filled with cars, horse and buggies and motorbikes. Taking the camera out and trying to capture what it’s like to walk around Cairo is the last thing I think about doing. Just want to get around without loosing a body partContinue reading “Cairo and it’s baksheesh and sheesha”
Old Cairo: Coptic Hanging Churches and the Oldest Mosque in Africa
Old Cairo is where most major religions of the country and continent meet. The AmrIbn el-Aas Mosque and the Hanging Church reside in this part of town and have been neighbors for almost for almost 1400 years. They are both amazing structures to view and can’t be missed on a trip to Cairo.
Not so Dead Cities of Syria
Imagine having a UNESCO Heritage site all to yourself? This is what I found late in the day when I got a ride out to see Al Basa and Sejilla from Hama, Syria. The two sites aren’t officially recognized by UNESCO but are both protected by the Syrian Antiquity law and listed under the categoryContinue reading “Not so Dead Cities of Syria”
Hama and it’s great Beehives
We were at a crossroads in Syria and needed to figure out whether the next stop should be the ancient city of Hama aka Hamah (Epiphania) or Homs aka Hims, Syria? We then turned to the help of the internet. We checked out some somewhat reliable travel forums, did some quick Google searches, read a little and decidedContinue reading “Hama and it’s great Beehives”
Farflungistan 