It’s Holy Week 2024. To commemorate the passion, suffering and death of Jesus, the Christ for many faithful, I share my experiences and a little reflection about my visit to Jerusalem in December 2022. As mentioned in an earlier post about my travel experience to what is identified as the Holy Land (the region comprising…
Tag: World Heritage Site
Forts and Castles in Ghana: The Stories Must Go On (Part 2 of 2)
Ghana is a rising tourist destination in West Africa. According to its Tourism Department, foreign tourists come to this African nation to enjoy its all-year-round tropical warm climate and the wildlife, particularly the spectacular natural parks and natural reserves. However, tourists also come to Ghana to experience the historical castles and forts along the coastal…
The Pyramids at Giza, and what we can learn about death
The Great Pyramids at Giza Complex is another highlight of the Holy Land Tour I was part of in December 2022. To describe the pyramids at the complex as “great” is an understatement methinks. They are massive. They are really, really overwhelmingly amazing. Since arriving in Cairo on 9 December, I have been anticipating this…
Forts and Castles in Ghana: The Stories Must Go On (Part 1 of 2)
My expectations about traveling to Ghana were a combination of fear and excitement. I was afraid because of the current socio-political standpoint of the nation’s legal framework against homosexuality which is found in the 2021 Promotion of Appropriate Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill of the country. The bill is set to criminalize the promotion,…
Moses supposes his toes are roses? The Sinai Experience
Finally, I have been to Egypt! I told my friends. Too excited, they anticipated stories about the Sphinx and the Pyramids but instead I recalled my Sinai experience first and thought it would also excite them. Did it excite them? Well, I think it did. From Eilat in Israel, the first Egyptian city to welcome…
En Route Jerusalem: The Bahá’í Gardens in Haifa
On the fifth day of our Holy Land Tour, we left the Northern District for Jerusalem en route the Modern City of Haifa, the Ancient City of Caesarea, and the Village of Eir Karem, our gateway to Jerusalem. For this trip, we went to see the Stella Maris Church on top of Mount Carmel. We…
Walk Like a Cosmopolitan Nabatean: Petra and Wadi Musa in Jordan
My very first encounter of Petra was based on the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton Jones, Jr., a professor of archaeology, who in 1981 was tasked to locate the ark of the covenant. In 1989, his adventures continued as he traveled to the Canyon of the Crescent Moon, leading to arguably the most stunning feature…
Mechelen, a little magical town in the Flemish region of Belgium
In 2018, I prepared myself to miles of walking, after finishing a Summer School at the Antwerp University. My plan was to exhaust all UNESCO World Heritage Sites (WHS) in the Flemish region of Belgium. However, plans usually are just there to guide your anticipation and excitement. For a strange reason, my plan of visiting…
Iceland’s parliament’s birthplace at Þingvellir (Thingvellier)
I never imagined myself visiting what many Europeans call the most isolated place in their region: Iceland. Never did I also imagine to be traveling there during a pandemic. But in June 2022, I found myself strolling around Reykjavik, eating fermented shark, and being so cozy with the Nordic summer with single digit temperature. The…
Palawan: Arguably, the Philippines’ Best Island (Part 2 of 2)
As stated in the first part of this post, the locals (particularly, the boatmen and the tour guides) analogize the stalagmites and the stalactites formations of the cave as artistic sculptures or masterpieces by renowned masters. One formation I will never forget is attributed to Da Vinci: Palawan’s Last Supper, which as our boatman in…
