By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com
We sail on to Dresden, where CroisiEurope’s MS Elbe Princess is supposed to dock for the night, and we are invited to take a 9 pm walk through Dresden’s historic city center. We are all excited and standing around, when we just sail passed. It seems that the docking spot which is reserved for us was occupied by another ship, and because it is Sunday night, there is nobody to complain to or address the issue. So we sail on to Meissen while the ship’s manager scrambles to arrange for a bus to take us back to Dresden for the morning’s excursion.
Our excursion the next morning is first by bus for an overview and then walking, and between the two, we get to see – from the outside at least – Dresden’s highlights and get a sense of its history, but this is certainly a city that deserves more time and a more immersive experience.
Most of Dresden’s city center was destroyed in World War II, but the “suburbs” survived the so-called “moral bombing” in which 25,000 out of a population of 650,000 died. But you would hardly realize it – except that our guide, Alexandr Klein, pulls out black-and-white photos of the destruction so we can compare.
It’s fairly amazing, then, that the bombing could not stamp out Dresden’s extraordinarily rich history, heritage and culture, which in so many instances, have risen literally from ashes. They have restored and reconstructed the architecture, saving the facades where possible and in many cases reusing the stones;.
It was here, August 26-27, 1813 at the Battle of Dresden that Napoleon had his last big victory in Germany. It was fought on the outskirts of the Saxon capital of Dresden, between Napoleon’s 120,000 troops and 170,000 Austrians, Prussians, and Russians under Prince Karl Philipp Schwarzenberg. Alas, victory was short lived – a week later, Napoleon was defeated at Leipzig.
Dresden is a “green city’ boasting more trees (600,000) than humans (550,0000). We drive through an enormous park – like Central Park – where among the sites is the intriguingly named German Hygiene Museum, Europe’s only science museum to focus on the human being and body within the context of the environment and society, culture and science.
We drive by the New Synagogue, built in 2002 to replace the 1840 synagogue designed by the revered architect Gottfried Semper, that was destroyed on Kristalnacht, Nov. 9-10, 1938. At its peak, Dresden had 5000 Jews; today there are 700. “Most had escaped before World War II, so we have Jewish life again.” The New Synagogue has Star of David finial from the old synagogue. “A fireman who put out the fire in 1938 saved it, then gave it to survivors after the war.”
We pass Fletcher street. “The Soviets arrived May 8 1945. 200 soldiers had died in combat; Hitler had already committed suicide. Fletcher took white flag to surrender to the Soviets. The SS shot him in the back. He was martyred,” Klein relates.
Dresden also shows its history under Soviet occupation. There is probably no sight that better encapsulates the Soviet era than “The Red Flag” mural and wall fresco, “Our Socialist Life” on the exterior of the Dresden Kulturpalast. It was the pride of GDR architecture when it opened in 1969 as a “House of Socialist Culture”. Today it is the home of the Dresden Philharmonic.
“The revolution against Soviet rule started in Dresden and Leipzig churches in 1989. It was the only successful revolution in German history. Then the Berlin Wall came down a year later.”
We get off the bus and start a delightful walking tour through this beautiful city.
We start at Frauenkirche, the Church of Our Lady. Completed in 1743, the Baroque church was considered one of the most beautiful in Europe. After it was destroyed by Allied bombing in 1945, the ruins were catalogued and stored for its reconstruction. 4,000 of the original stones were used in the rebuilding, which began after Germany’s reunification, in 1990 and reopened in 2005. Great Britain, which was responsible for the bomb that had caused so much of the devastation, sent a gold cross to place at the top.
We see the famous Fürstenzug – the Procession of Princes – a 102-meter-long portrait of the Dukes, Electors, and Kings of the house of Wettin, together with leading German figures from the arts and sciences. Commissioned in 1870, it consists of 25,000 Meissen Porcelain tiles.
Our guide, Alexandr Klein, points out Taschenberg Palace, built in the 18th century by the Saxon King, Augustus the Strong for his mistress. (Augustus “had ambitions to be like Henry VII”; a mistress was an actual official position, he tells us). There is a bridge, reminiscent of the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, connecting it to the Royal Palace. The original building burned down and was faithfully restored in 1995 and transformed into the luxurious Hotel Taschenbergpalais Kempinski Dresden, owned by the Thai royal family (rooms can cost as much as 10,000E/night). A member of Historic Hotels Worldwide since 2017, it is within the historic city center, steps away from the most renowned sights, such as Semper Opera House, Royal Palace, Zwinger, and the Frauenkirche. (Famous past guests of the Taschenbergpalais include Prince Albert II of Monaco, designer Karl Lagerfeld, and President Jacques Chirac of France, https://www.historichotels.org/hotels-resorts/hotel-taschenbergpalais-kempinski-dresden)
We walk along a Tuscan-style arcade with 22 rounded arches leading to the Court Stables.
One of my favorite parts of this delightful walking tour is strolling along Brühl’s Terrace (Brühlsche Terrasse), also known as the “Balcony of Europe.” Our guide explains that by the 19th C, Dresden already popular for European tourists. This half-mile long promenade is built on the old city ramparts and was laid out in 1738 as a private garden; it was opened to the public in 1814.
Klein points to where novelist Kurt Vonnegut, who fought with Americans in World War II, was held as a POW in the slaughterhouse district. He wrote “Slaughterhouse 5,” a science-fiction infused anti-war novel, based on his experience.
Klein leads us to the Zwinger, a magnificent early 18th-century palace and a stunning example of Baroque architecture. Inside is The Old Masters Picture Gallery with 750 paintings from the 15th to 18th centuries, among them Italian Renaissance and Baroque masterpieces by Raphael, Titian, Correggio, and Tintoretto, and Dutch and Flemish paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Dyck, and Vermeer.
Also worth visiting (we don’t have time) is the Royal Palace, which houses some of Dresden’s most important museums, including the Green Vault and the Numismatic Collection. You can also visit the State Apartment, a suite of rooms that have been faithfully restored to their original condition.
The tour gives us an overview, but I wish we had the afternoon to explore on our own.
(You can get a Dresden museum card with gives two days and free admission to the city’s must see museums and exhibitions: Old Masters Picture Gallery with Sculpture Collection until 1800; Royal Cabinet of Mathematical and Physical Instruments; Collection of Prints, Drawings and Photographs, Porcelain Collection; The Royal State Apartments of August the Strong and the Porcelain Cabinet, Coin Cabinet; New Green Vault; Renaissance Wing; Giant´s Hall of the Armoury; Turkish Chamber; Albertinum with Art from the Romantic Period to the Present Day; Lipsiusbau Exhibition Hall; Museum of Saxon Folk Art and Puppet Theatre Collection; Special Exhibitions in the Japanese Palace; Joseph Hegenbarth Archive; Hausmannsturm, 22E pp).
We ride an elevator to the hill top, and visit the Cathedral, a three-nave Gothic hall church built between 1260 and 1410 and preserved in its near-original medieval state. We buy a ticket to see inside where there are paintings by the renowned Lucas Cranach., and stained glass windows from the 13th century.
We walk around Albrechsburg, a palace built between 1471 and 1500 by Duke Albrecht of Saxony that dominates the city and the beautiful historic square.
After our brief walking tour with our guide, Brigetta, we are taken by bus to the Meissen “manufactory,” where you go room by room to see demonstrations of the remarkable artistry and craftsmanship that goes into making these porcelain treasures.
It is remarkable to realize that they have been doing this very same thing for over 300 years, the oldest porcelain manufactory in Europe, founded in 1710 by King Augustus the Strong, who put together a team of physicists, alchemists and metallurgists to come up with the new technology. There’s also a museum with some 2,000 Meissen items.
Back on the ship, we sail from Meissen through the late afternoon and overnight to Wittenberg.
We are always a stone’s throw from shore. We sail by people’s backyards and front yards, close enough to exchange greetings. Bicyclists keep pace and even go faster than boat, as they ride along a path beside the water. I see one man on horseback as the sun goes down. The scenery is beautiful, and the cruise so peaceful.
Dinner this evening is spectacular, beginning with an olive paste on toast, salmon with cheese, filet mignon, goat cheese with salad, raspberry/cream pie.
By Eric Leiberman and Sarah Falter, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com
Eric and Sarah are on a 6-month around-the-world sabbatical, joining a huge movement of young people who are choosing to live the nomadic life (at least for a time) and travel or work remotely, becoming immersed in local life and culture. They are filing these dispatches periodically. They previously reported about their month in Mexico. Here’s their report from South Korea and Vietnam:
“This is the way so many of the great meals of my life have been enjoyed. Sitting in the street, eating something out of a bowl that I’m not exactly sure what it is. And scooters going by. So delicious. I feel like an animal. Where have you been all my life?” -Anthony Bourdain eating in Vietnam (and we couldn’t agree more).
We write this second installment of our sabbatical dispatch from Phu Quoc, Vietnam (an island in the Gulf of Thailand very close to the Cambodian border). We were very stoked to make it into Asia just a couple of weeks after border re-openings, and it’s been fascinating (and at times eerie) to be some of the first tourists here.
We spent our first week traveling Asia in Seoul after Eric was denied entry into Vietnam because he accidentally mistyped the entry month on his e-visa (*Note: if you want to read Eric’s best Aaron Sorkin impression in further documenting the gripping drama of being turned away at the border, see the PS). In South Korea we saw 100% mask compliance inside and outside everywhere we went (though those smoking cigarettes on the street get a nonsensical pass hehe), and never in our lives have we seen every single person in sight staring at their smartphone! It can look dystopian at times. Sarah happily embraced the quiet, introverted culture. Eric had to fight the impulse to chat up uninterested locals.
But, we came together in our love for chilly mornings spent at the market scarfing down some impressive form of dumpling/kimchi soup while seated on heated benches, saving room for lots of lunch/dinner Korean bbq (and in Seoul you don’t lift a finger when prepping your bbq–it’s all done for you by extremely impressive waiters who manage 8+ grills at once). We also checked out a local baseball game where cheering is technically banned because of Covid (cheer in your heart), though when a team scores, their fans impulsively scream anyway. To our delight, the stadium allows BYO beer/soju and fried chicken, all conveniently sold right outside.
Our second attempt at clearing customs in Hanoi went off without a hitch (thanks to Sarah triple checking all of Eric’s documents), and being able to finally taste the forbidden fruit made it all the more sweet! We immediately felt invigorated by the delicious smells coming from every direction, and having to be on our toes when crossing the street (the rushing river of cars/scooters never stop, they just, without fail, go around you). We loved figuring out that what seems like complete and utter chaos really has a very predictable and harmonious rhythm to it.
In the food department, we quickly realized that the best meals come from street stalls with tiny plastic chairs and just one thing on the menu. The insane combination of unlimited chewy rice noodles, tangy broth, chilis, crunchy peanuts, and mountains of herbs make every dish a choose-your-own adventure of deliciousness. We could’ve been convinced that some of the street food we were eating for $1-2 came off a Michelin tasting menu – the Bun Cha and Banh Cuon were especially incredible. We also learned that the French colonial rule in Vietnam is what sparked the popularity of bread here, consumed daily by millions in Banh Mi, and re-invented with rice flour here. We’ve enjoyed the food scene endlessly, but there is also a hint of sadness in this reopening world. Many stalls/restaurants we research and can’t wait to try have no reviews the last two years, and, we come to find, have just disappeared.
Continuing on in Hanoi (our favorite city in Vietnam) we were captivated by the Hoa Lo Prison, where French colonists imprisoned and killed Vietnamese political activists in the late 1800s through the mid 1900s, and this same location is where American POWs were incarcerated during the Vietnam War. Learning about the many generations of occupation that the Vietnamese have endured brought us deeper meaning and reflection as we thought about the US’s recent departure from Afghanistan and Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine. And we also really enjoyed the Vietnamese Women’s Museum, where we learned how valued women are in the work and family unit in northern Vietnam, and that Vietnamese women even propose marriage.
With the constant beat of vehicle horns in the air in Hanoi, Eric was beginning to itch to get on a motorbike (no shock there). So, we hopped on an overnight bus north to Sa Pa and hired a motorbike guide named Kin- a pure soul, the same age as Sarah and a father of three. Kind Kin said yes to all of Eric’s crazy ideas and before we knew it we were motorbiking from Sa Pa to Ha Giang along the Chinese border (a total of about500km over 3 days) stopping at small homestays on our scenic way.
Eric did all of the driving while Sarah dutifully snapped pictures and videos from the bumpy backseat. The scenery was absolutely stunning-terraced rice paddies (which we learned are made that way for irrigation) every shade of green, heaps of green tea drying in the sun, and farmers markets where locals insist we sit down for “Happy Water”–Vietnamese moonshine–which Sarah does happily and Eric does also happily but with more responsibility because he is our forever DD. Lots of fog rolled in in the north, which made us appreciate the views when it did clear, even more.
We moved south to central Vietnam so that Sarah could realize her bootcamp potential, signing up for a multi-day jungle trekking & caving tour. The caves in Phong Nha, Vietnam, are otherworldly. In fact, the world’s largest cave is here (Hang Son Doong–first discovered by a farmer by accident just three decades ago, and so big it has its own rainforest!). We found availability on a tour of the Hang Tien cave system with the tour company Oxalis (highly recommend), so we strapped on our provided army boots, and spent the next three days walking straight through rivers and caves (fully clothed in long layers to protect against plants and insects), and then scaling rocks up and down in order to capture some incredible Vietnamese nature. Our group of 10 (5 domestic and 5 foreign travelers) bonded Birthright style during the tentside hangouts, and we were fed constantly (and deliciously) which kept us smiling 🙂 despite the unrelenting heat and humidity. (https://oxalisadventure.com/ [email protected])
After a desperate shower and laundry session we made our way to Hue, also in central Vietnam. Eric wasted no time seeking out a tailor for his absolute favorite–custom clothes. His request was so specific, that our amazing tailor Bo (we really have met people unbelievably patient with Eric here) offered to take us to the fabric market to pick one out that she didn’t carry at her shop. One scooter ride together and a couple of hours later she nailed it! Sarah also got her first custom clothing with Bo and agrees, it is really fun. Another highlight of Hue-the salt coffee. Each region of Vietnam highlights a unique version of their rich coffee, but our favorite variation is this one–salted cream that perfectly compliments the strong black coffee blend creating an almost caramel taste.
We now find ourselves on the beach in Phu Quoc, southern Vietnam. Sarah is wrapping up book number three and Eric is taking the hotel’s paddleboard about 100 times further than the buoy’s limits. The hotel seems to be approximately 10% full. Seeing as we now recognize every fellow guest were living out our White Lotus moment giving them all backstories and deciding who will get murdered (just kidding!! and watch the show White Lotus if you haven’t yet!). We continue to thrive on almost strictly street food–we went to a nightmarket the other night with a German couple from our cave tour and to Eric’s delight, found Banh Mi with steak and runny white cheese a la the Philly Cheesesteak, and sea urchin with herbs and peanuts. No food is left untried. And while Eric has been brave enough to weigh himself this week (somehow lost weight!?), Sarah continues on in ignorant bliss.
PS – So there we were..3 flights and 36 hours of travel from Mexico City to Hanoi (by way of Dallas and Tokyo). It was 11PM. We were beyond exhausted because we had to wake up at 2:30AM in Mexico City to return our rental car and get to our first flight. We slept but a wink on the planes, but the in-flight viewing of the Anthony Bourdain and Alpinist docs (both must-sees btw) sustained us and we were stoked to have touched down in Asia.
BUT NOT SO FAST the travel gods said. At immigration in Hanoi, Sarah lifted her bucket hat and mask, flashed her million dollar smile and breezed right through to the promised land. But the immigration officer looked longer at Eric’s documents. “You have to go over there,” the officer said after a few minutes of scrutinizing the documents. A lot of back-and-forth with immigration officers and airline attendants facilitated by the Google Translate app ensued, and Eric came to realize that the dates on his e-visa were wrong – it was for a May 9th entry, not April 9th. An hour of pleading for a date change on the existing visa or the issuing of a new visa on arrival fell on deaf ears. “You need to get on this plane back to Tokyo now,” the officers forcefully told him. “But my partner is on the other side,” he pleaded.
The airline officer ran to retrieve Sarah while Eric placed dead end calls to the US embassies in Vietnam, Korea and Japan. Pleading to let us book different flights to countries that were newly open to US tourists like Thailand, Singapore or Korea (instead of Japan, which was still closed, and we expected once we got there they’d tell us we needed to go all the way back to the US) didn’t work either because these countries, while open, still needed processing time for visa/Covid paperwork.
After fortunately being reunited at the boarding gate (and Sarah’s last attempt at pleas to stay), the officers forced us onto the plane for Tokyo stating our passports were now being held in the cockpit and that we’d be blacklisted from ever entering Vietnam if we didn’t board the plane NOW. We felt beyond exhausted and defeated, but quickly fired up our laptop for the 6hr redeye flight back to Tokyo to investigate our options.
Thanks to persistence and a lot of help from our travel savvy family, we were able to show proof of flights and visa documentation in Tokyo to ensure we could enter Korea and wouldn’t need to be forced all the way back to the US (and btdubs for future reference, when something like this happens, you are responsible for paying whatever the flights costs which is astronomical because of the same day booking rate; so tl;dr don’t be like Eric and always quadruple check the dates on your visas!)
by Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com
Travel is vitally important to rejuvenating one’s body and soul, not to mention providing life-enhancing, experience, new learning and new understanding; it offers a chance for bonding with loved ones, building new relationships. But to mitigate the spread and consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, travel has all but shut down around the globe, creating an unprecedented situation for the worldwide travel industry.
But eventually, it will be safe to venture out, and because travel offers a universe of possibilities, there are options that might better suit the circumstances. Travel suppliers are doing their best to accommodate, offering flexibility in making changes, eliminating cancellation fees, offering credits for future bookings. And with many offering sharp discounts and other incentives for putting deposits down on future bookings, this may well be the opportunity to fulfill that travel bucket list. Indeed, many travel companies are bringing destinations and experiences to you, virtually, to inspire and inform travel planning.
There will be phases and stages of re-entry that will parallel the progress of the coronavirus pandemic, the wider availability of testing and significantly, for antibodies, and the availability of vaccine. The stages might follow in this way: just venturing outside for a walk, run or bikeride in your immediate area; a staycation; getaways within shorter then longer driving distance; a domestic trip by air; longer-haul trips abroad and finally returning to those bucket-list travel experiences.
The situation changes frequently and planning can be for trips months from now. And be aware: once the “all-clear” is given, there will be a surging release of pent-up demand to get out and cure the burning cabin fever; to explore, discover, experience and make up for lost time by building memories for a lifetime. Putting down a deposit on a future booking not only secures a place, but also does your part to assure that the travel companies can weather these uncharted waters.
So make plans with flexible cancellations or change policies; use respected and well established tour operators and travel companies which can adapt quickly on the ground and revise itineraries as necessary and even extract you if conditions warrant, and if traveling abroad, purchase travel insurance that incorporates health coverage (your domestic health insurance does not provide much coverage) and for added protection, insurance that allows for “cancellation for any reason” (New York State just made this kind of insurance available). US Tour Operators Association is an excellent source (ustoa.com).
Conditions are constantly changing – some communities are telling AirBnB hosts not to take bookings, Florida’s Governor (who did nothing to stop Spring Breakers from frolicking on the beaches) threatened to turn back New Yorkers at the I-95 border – but there are still places that are taking guests, recognizing the extreme need for release. For example, the Southhampton Inn on Long Island is inviting guests needing respite (91 Hill Street, Southampton, NY 11968, 631-283-6500, [email protected], https://southamptoninn.com/).
If ever there was a time to rely on travel professionals who are clued in to what is happening on the ground, how to alter and change in order to address changing circumstances, this is it.
Protect your travel investment as you would any other – by seeking professional advice, says Virtuoso. A leading luxury and experiential travel network, Virtuoso has been closely monitoring the impact of coronavirus, collaborating and consulting with its travel agency members across the world as well as its preferred partners.
“It’s important to give my clients all of the facts about their trip, their destination, and the policies of their travel supplier,” says Virtuoso agency executive Amanda Klimak. “I then help them make a decision about travel based on the facts. I also recommend they speak to their personal physician to discuss the risks based on their medical history. Then I let them know I’m here to help, no matter what they decide.”
A travel advisor knows if or when airlines, hotels, cruise lines and tour operators have waived change and cancellation fees (many have): “The entire travel industry is in uncharted territory now due to coronavirus,” says Virtuoso agency executive Mary Kleen. “As travel advisors, our current role is to listen to travelers’ concerns and provide the most up-to-date options so they can make informed decisions at a minimal cost.”
To avoid losing out on future travel opportunities, Virtuoso agency executive Ange Wallace reminds her clients to start planning now. “Book 2021-2022 trips now, because everyone else is and you will have trouble finding space. Many travel companies have relaxed deposits, cancellation penalties and cancel for any reason waivers to encourage those willing to start thinking about the next window of opportunity.”
Travel insurance is always a good idea. While “cancel for any reason” (CFAR) travel insurance policies may partially cover trip cancellations and adjustments related to the coronavirus outbreak, there are some restrictions, and the policy has to be purchased within 21 days of making an initial trip deposit. Make sure you have travel insurance that will cover medical expenses should you become ill while traveling,” Klimak advises. (My go-to travel insurance is worldnomads.com)
Practice good travel hygiene. Wash your hands! As soon as you get through security at the airport, make a beeline to the restroom to scrub, Virtuoso agency executive Tania Swasbrook advises. Cash frequently changes hands, so she also recommends using credit cards that you can wipe down with a sanitizing cloth. While at it, wipe down airplane surfaces and wash your hands before and after using the restroom on the plane.
As a rule, Wallace recommends taking veranda accommodations on any cruise and requesting hotel rooms with a balcony or outside terrace so that you have access to fresh air.
Be prepared. Virtuoso agency owner Cristina Buaas refers travelers to the CDC and U.S. Department of State websites for the latest travel advisories (including health, natural disasters, crime), and Klimak recommends travelers sign up for the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP), which shares your contact information with the nearest U.S. embassy and sends travel alert notifications. The STEP app is worth downloading prior to traveling – and while you’re at it, swipe that phone with an antibacterial wipe.
Plan now, travel later. “Traveling is meant to be fun and educational,” says Wallace. “If you’re going to be worried and anxious about your trip, find something that you’ll be comfortable with and enjoy. If that means you sit out travel in the short term, that’s fine. But while you’re waiting, look forward to the recovery, because it will come, and you’ll need to be ready to jump on that trip you’ve been drooling over.”
Context Travel, which specializes in walking tours, is, in addition to new itineraries, is offering virtual travel: “As dedicated lifelong learners, we don’t see any reason why the world has to be off limits when you stay at home. We’re keen to keep our minds lively by bringing Context to you—wherever you may be—through online seminars with our scholars (seminars.contexttravel.com/), podcasts (coming soon!), and ongoing contributions to our In Context blog.”
“Now more than ever, developing a shared understanding of the world around us and recognizing our role in the broader community is critical in being a curious traveler—and a responsible global citizen. We wish you health and understanding, in any form that your travel takes. We’re all in this together.” (800-691-6036, contexttravel.com)
In the immediate term, create your own “staycation.” Find local trails to bike or hike for example Bethpage State Park which has fabulous bike trail and Jones Beach State Park which at this writing was open – being careful to maintain six-foot separation.
by Karen
Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com
Always a show of support, solidarity and respect for the Chinese and Asian community in New York City, this year’s Lunar New Year parade in Chinatown in downtown Manhattan, welcoming the Year of the Rat, took on added urgency because of the coronavirus afflicting Wuhan, China, and the recent fire that destroyed a building housing much of the collection of the Museum of Chinese in America.
People
held up signs, “Stay Strong Wuhan,” but even though there have been no
instances of the coronavirus in New York City, visits to Chinatown, normally at
peak during the Lunar New Year celebration, have declined and business has been
affected.
The
parade route went just passed 70 Mulberry Street, where on the night of Thursday,
January 16, a fire destroyed most of the 85,000 items stored there for the
Museum of Chinese in America, housed nearby in a new building on Centre Street
since 2009. The rare and cherished items preserved the rich and challenging
story of the Chinese migration to the United States through such personal
objects as textiles, restaurant menus, handwritten letters, tickets for ship’s
passage, traditional wedding dresses (cheongsam).
The building, a former school that educated generations of
immigrants, is a community center that housed a senior center, the Chen Dance
Center and several community groups, in addition to storing the museum’s artifacts
that were not on display.
Political and parade officials praised the New York Fire
Department, which had a prominent place – bagpipers and all – in the parade.
Meanwhile, fear over the virus has kept people from Chinatown
and Chinese restaurants during what should have been the busiest time of year,
the Lunar New Year celebration.
Elected officials are urging the public to take normal
precautions against illness, but not to let fears concerning coronavirus stop
them from participating in the event. “It’s really important in this
moment where everyone is understandably worried about the coronavirus, we need
to be factual, we need to be scientific, and we need to be calm,” NYC
Council Speaker Corey Johnson said.
The annual event has not only paid tribute to the
contribution the Asian community has made to the city, state and nation, but
immigration as a whole.
New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio, reading from a
proclamation, said, “As a city built by immigrations, New York is the proud
home to residents who hail from every corner of the map and speak a multitude
of languages. This unparalleled diversity is the source of our singularity and
strength and it is exemplified by our thriving population of Asian Americans
that has made invaluable contributions to the cultural, civic and economic life
of the five boroughs. On the occasion of the 21st Chinatown Lunar
New Year Parade and Festival, hosted by Beter Chinatown U.S.A. I am pleased to
recognize the indelible imprint this vital community has made on our great and
global city.
“New York is fortunate to have an abundance of organizations
devoted to advancing positive change. Established in 2001, Better Chinatown
U.S.A. is guided by its mission to improve quality of life in Manhattan’s
Chinatown and promote it as a destination of choice for our diverse residents
and visitors. Its annual Lunar New Year Parade is a much anticipated event
attracting thousands of spectators from far and wide for a pageant of traditional
lion dances, music ensembles, and dancers in colorful folk costumes, followed
by a party in Sara D. Roosevelt Park featuring Chinese food and cultural performances.”
Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez,
one of the Grand Marshals, spoke of the resilience of the Chinese community,
and how the community “contributes to the fabric of our city, our nation.”
“I’m here to say that Chinatown is open for business and we
are behind you and we will remain strong,” Velazquez said. “Last night, I was
here dining in a restaurant in Chinatown. I welcome everyone to come here and
celebrate the culture and beauty of this community.”
China’s Consul General Huang Ping said “China is doing
everything to confront the coronavirus. We have mobilized forces. We have
strong leadership, resources, are working with the international community. Be
strong China. Be strong Wuhan.”
Lt Governor Kathy Hochul, “We stand together at one family. Stay strong China. Stay strong Wuhan.”
Other dignitaries participating State Senator Brian
Kavanaugh, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, Manhattan Borough President
Gale Brewer, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams, Assemblyman David Webrin.
New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio declared the city
stands in solidarity with China and the Asian community, “no matter what is
thrown at us.” New York has the largest Chinese community outside Asia “and we
are proud of that.” The city made the Lunar New Year a school holiday and
teaches Mandarin as early as pre-K, and is actively promoting participation in
the 2020 Census.
“In China, there
are so many of loved ones, faced with coronavirus and we stand together as
community,” De Blasio said. “We celebrate New Year together – we are united,
and we celebrate this extraordinary Chinese community the largest of any city
outside of Asia.”
He also presented a
Proclamation to parade organizer Steven Ting day for his continued work on the
parade, proclaiming February 9 “Steven Ting Day.”
US Senator Charles Schumer used a bull horn as he marched in
the parade to cheer for immigration. “New Yorkers are proud people, who come
from all over the world. We fight those who oppose us.”
And on that score, the parade was also used to promote the
importance of being counted in the 2020 Census, with one group of even handing out
flyers to recruit census takers ($28/hr, flexible hours).
by Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate,
goingplacesfarandnear.com
My first look at
Badlands National Park is not anything I expected or visualized. The Pinnacles
entrance to the national park, where the Wilderness Voyageurs guides have taken
us for our first ride of the six-day “Badlands and Black Hills” bike tour of
South Dakota, is aptly named for the spires that form this otherworldly
landscape.
Badlands National Park is 244,000 acres of sharply eroded
buttes, pinnacles and spires and the largest, protected mixed grass prairie in
the United States. The Badlands Wilderness Area covers 64,000 acres, where they
are reintroducing the black-footed ferret, the most endangered land mammal in
North America. Just beyond is The Stronghold Unit, co-managed with the Oglala
Sioux Tribe where there are sites of the 1890s Ghost Dances. But as I soon
learn, Badlands National Park contains the world’s richest Oligocene epoch
fossil beds, dating 23 to 35 million years old, a period between dinosaurs and
hominids.
The name “Badlands” was
intentional, for the earliest inhabitants and settlers found the extremes of
climate and landscape extremely harsh.
The American Lakota called this place “mako sica,” or “land bad” and early French
trappers called it “les mauvaises terres a traverser,” both meaning “badlands.”
Those very same French trappers would be the first of many Europeans who would,
in time, supplant the indigenous people, as they were soon followed by
soldiers, miners looking to strike it rich with gold, cattlemen, farmers, and
homesteaders recruited from as far away as Europe.
We get our bikes which
our guides –
James Oerding and John Buehlhorn – make sure are properly fitted, and outfit us with helmet, water
bottle, Garmin. They orient us to the day’s ride – essentially biking through
the national park on the road (“Don’t stop riding as you go over the cattle
guards”; when the van comes up
alongside, tap our helmet if we need help or give a thumbs up otherwise). We will meet up at the 8.2 mile mark where there is a nature walk and the van will
be set up for lunch.
And then we are off at
our own pace down an exquisite road (the cars are not a problem). That is a
mercy because the vistas are so breathtaking, I keep stopping for photos. And
then there are unexpected sightings – like bighorn sheep.
At the 8.2 mile mark,
we gather at the van where James has set out a gourmet lunch.
There is a boardwalk
nature trail (I note the sign that warns against rattlesnakes and wonder about
the kids who are climbing the mounds with abandon). I realize I am in time for
a talk with Ranger Mark Fadrowski, who has with him original fossils and casts of
fossils collected from the Badlands for us to look at and touch. We can see
more – and even scientists working at the Fossil Prep Lab – at the Visitor
Center further along our route.
“There are
no dinosaurs here,” Ranger Fadrowski explains. “This area was underwater when
dinosaurs lived.” But these fossils – gathered from 75 million years ago and
from through 34 to 37 million years ago (there is a 30-million year gap in the
fossil record), fill in an important fossil record between dinosaurs and
hominids (that is, early man). Teeth, we learn, provide important information
about the animal – what it ate, how it lived – and the environment of the time.
The Pierre
Shale, the oldest layer when this area was under a shallow sea, is yielding
fossils from 67-75 million years ago. He shows us a fossil of a Mosasaur, giant
marine lizards, an ancestor of the Komodo dragon, and one of the biggest sea
animals.
“We don’t have fossils from the 30-million
year gap – either the sediment was not deposited or it eroded.” Indeed, we
learn that these tall spires of rock with their gorgeous striations, are
eroding at the rate of one inch each year, and will be completely
gone in another 100,000 to 500,000 years. But the erosion also exposes the
fossils.
The
environment changed from a sea to a swamp during the Chadron Formation, 34-37
million years ago. “That was caused when the Rocky Mountains formed, with a
shift in Teutonic plates. That pushed up and angled the surface so water
drained into the Gulf of Mexico.” It was formed by sediments carried by streams
and rivers flowing from the Black Hills, deposited in a hot and humid forest
flood plain.
Alligators
lived during this time. The alligator fossils found here show that the animal
hasn’t changed in 30 million years. The alligators migrated when the
environment changed, so survived.
During the
Brule Formation, 30-34 million years ago, this area was open woodlands, drier
and cooler than during the Chadron Formation; in some areas, water was hard to
find. Animals that lived here then include the Nimravid, called “a false cat”
because it seems to resemble a cat but is not related. The specimen he shows
was found by a 7-year old girl just 15 feet from the visitor center and is the
most complete skull found to date (imagine that!); there are two holes in the
skull that show it was killed by another Nimravid. Also a three-toed horse (now
extinct); and a dog.
In fact, it
turns out it is not at all unusual for visitors to the park to come upon
important fossils (there is a whole wall of photos of people and their finds
just from this year). In fact, one visitor, Jim Carney, a photographer from
Iowa, found two bones sticking up and reported the location. “They thought it
would be a single afternoon. It turned out to be a tennis-court sized field,
now known as the Pig Dig; the dig lasted 15 summers and yielded 19,000
specimens, including the “Big Pig.”
It was
found at the beginning of the Brule Formation, when the area was drying out.
“We believe it was watering hole drying up. Animals caught in the mud were prey
for other animals.”
This is a
place of Archaeotherium, Oredonts, Mesohippus, Subhyracodon, Hoplophoneus,
Metamynodon, Cricid and Paleolagus.
The Sharps
Formation, 28-30 million years ago, is where they have found Oreodont fossils.
“The name means ‘mountain teeth’ because of the shape of its teeth, not the
environment.” Fossils are identified mostly because of teeth which are most
common to survive and reveal clues about behavior and what the animal ate,
which speaks to the environment.
He shows us
the fossil of an Oviodon. “It is weird, there isn’t anything alive like it. The
closest relative is camel – like the weird cousin that no one knows how related.
It is the most commonly found fossil – which means it was probably a herd
animal.” And a Merycoidodon (“ruminating teeth”), which he describes as “a
sheep camel pig deer”.
“The
Badlands are eroding, so will reveal more fossils. Fossils are harder than
rock, so won’t erode as fast.” Interestingly, only 1% of all life is fossilized.
“We have to assume there are missing specimens.”
The
Badlands “is particularly lush for fossils – because of the types of sediment
that preserves them well.– 600,000 specimens have been collected from the
Badlands since paleontologists first started coming here in the 1840s. Just
about every major institution in the world has specimens that were originally found
here, including the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
They
provide clues to the “Golden Age of mammals – half-way between when dinosaurs
ended and today – horses, camels, deer.”
I had no
idea.
I’m so
grateful that John (elected the sweeper for today’s ride) has not rushed me
away and, in fact, waited patiently without me even realizing he was there.
I continue
on, stopping often to take photos of the extraordinary landscape with its
shapes and textures and striations. I barely miss a dead rattlesnake on the
road (I think it was dead) and am too rattled to stop and take a photo.
I get to the
Visitor Center which has superb displays and an outstanding film (must see). Again,
no one is rushing me away, so I stay for the film, “The Land of Stone &
Light”.
Native
Americans have been in this area for 12,000 years; the Lakota came from the
east around 1701 following buffalo, their culture was so dependent on buffalo.
“They would pray for the buffalos’ well being” rather than their own.”
Treaties
were signed that defined the borders, but they were broken. The white settlers
demanded more and more of the Indian land, especially after gold was discovered
in the Black Hills. (I later learn it was William Custer, the famous General of
Custer’s Last Stand, who discovered the gold.)
The buffalo
– so precious to the Lakota – were hunted nearly to extinction. The white men
put up fences for their ranches and farms, preventing the buffalo from migrating.
“What happens to the buffalo, happens to Lakota” – they were forced to cease
their traditional life, settle down and farm or ranch. Resistance led to
tragedy (Battle of Wounded Knee). (There is a photo of the Wounded Knee
Massacre at the Trading Post.)
By the turn
of the 20th century, the federal government was inviting
homesteaders to come out
and settle the West – they would get 160 acres if they could last five years on
the land. They advertised abroad, enticing immigrants to “the luscious plains
in the Dakotas.”
Lumber and
stone was rare in the Badlands, so the settlers built their shanties of sod,
called “sodbusters.”
“Living was
hard; small-scale farming couldn’t succeed. They endured blistering summers,
cruel winters, extreme wind. Many left” especially in the Great Depression. I
think how ironic.
“Before the
Lakota, before the dreams of homesteaders ended, paleontologists came here 150
years ago.” The layered landscape of the Badlands told the story of geologic
change, of climate change, that is still continuing. The Badlands are eroding
fast – at the rate of one inch per year, “so in 100,000 to 500,000 years, all
will be gone. The earth is a dynamic and changing system.”
The ecology
is complex. This is a mixed grass prairie – it may look dry, but the tangled
roots store nutrients. Animals help sustain it –the bison churn up the soil, mixing
the moisture and scattering seeds; prairie dogs are critical to the ecosystem,
too – they also stir up the soil, and the burrows they dig are used by other
animals like owl and ground squirrel. The black footed ferret lives in
abandoned burrows and also eats prairie dogs.
The farmers’
attempt to eliminate prairie dogs resulted in the near-extinction of black-foot
ferret. They have been reintroduced; also swift fox, bighorn sheep.
“The
mission of National Parks is to preserve and restore – but we can’t restore the
biggest animals that once were here – the prairie wolf and grizzly bear.”
I’m about
to leave when I stumble upon the Paleontology Lab, which is open to the public,
where we can watch as two paleontologists painstakingly work to remove sediment
from bone – their efforts magnified on a TV screen.
“I am
working on a Merycoidodon, an oreodont, which is a group of hoofed mammals
native to North America,” the sign says in response to what must be the
zillionth time a visitor asks. “Although they have no living relatives in
modern times, oreodonts are related to another native North American mammal: the
camel. Oreodonts are sheep-sized and may have resembled pigs, but with a longer
body, short limbs and with teeth adapted for grinding tough vegetation. The
skulls of Merycoidon have pits in front of the eyes, similar to those found in
modern deer which contain scent glands used for marking territory. Oreodonts
lived in herds and may at one point have been as plentiful in South Dakota as
zebras are in the African Serengeti.”
But the
paleontologists are happy to answer questions, too. One tells me she has part of an ear canal (very unusual) and ear bones.
“It’s unusual to have the upper teeth. This is a sub-adult –I can see wisdom
teeth and unerupted teeth.” She is working on a Leptomerycid – relative of
mouse deer – an animal the size of house cat.
It has
taken her 170 hours to extract teeth from rock.
“This is
the second time anyone got an upper row of teeth for this species. It may
change scientists’ understanding. We’re not sure if it is a separate species –
it has a different type of tooth crown. But having a second fossil means we can
compare.”
Just then, the
senior paleontologist, Ed Welch comes in and tells me that because teeth are used
to determine species, the work being done could prove or disprove whether this animal
is a separate species.
Welch says
it so far looks like a species that was named in 2010 based on the lower teeth.
“Now we have upper teeth and part of the skull. The difference could be
variation by ecology (for example, what it ate). It was found at same site so
would have been contemporary. We looked at several hundred jaws. This one could
be an ‘ecomorph’ – just different because of what it ate.”
The
Badlands have some of the oldest dogs ever found, and the most diversity. In
the display case is one of only eight specimens ever found – the other seven
are at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City but they are not
displayed; this is only specimen that can be viewed.“It is the oldest one of
its kind,” 33-32 million years old – and was found by a college student
from Missouri.
He says the
seven-year old girl who found the saber cat fossil that the Ranger showed, came
back this year, now 16 years old.
“We ask
visitors to leave the fossil where it is and report to us, give us photos, a
GPS, so we can locate. Some of the fossils were found right on the trail, not
even in remote areas.
Probably
the most famous – a hero around the lab – is photographer Jim
Carney of Iowa who found two bones that ended up being a big bone bed that
so far has yielded 19,000 specimens.
Judging by
wall of photos of visitors and their finds just in 2019 it would seem that
people have great odds and probability of finding important fossil. Add fossil
hunting to the hiking or biking adventure.
The fossils
collected here since the 1840s are in every major institution. While fossils of
dinosaurs and early man might get everyone excited, these fossils – the middle
of the Age of Mammals – are important to fill out that story of ecological and
evolutionary change.
“The Badlands
is in the middle of the earth’s transition from Greenhouse to Ice House – and the
fossils found here show how animals responded to the ecological change: “adapt, migrate or go extinct.”
Welch made the decision to open the paleontology lab so people
can see scientists at work. “We decided to do more than a fishbowl, to make it
a great education tool.”
The Fossil Preparation Lab in the Ben Reifel Visitor Center is typically open from 9 am – 4:30 pm daily from the second week in June through the third week in September.
During our
ride through the Badlands National Park, I spot the major animals that are
resident here: bighorn sheep; American bison, pronghorn (also called antelope),
mule deer and black-tail prairie dog. The one I miss is a coyote (yet to come).
We have 12
miles further to bike to our accommodation for the night, the Circle View Guest
Ranch, which proves to be an amazing experience in itself.
Wilderness Voyageurs started out as a
rafting adventures company 50 years ago, but has developed into a wide-ranging
outdoors company with an extensive catalog of biking, rafting, fishing and outdoor adventures throughout the US and
even Cuba, many guided and self-guided bike itineraries built around rail
trails like the Eric Canal in New York, Great Allegheny Passage in
Pennsylvania, and Katy Trail in Missouri.
There are still a few spots left on
Wilderness Voyageurs’Quintessential
West Cuba Bike Tour departing onMarch 21.
by Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate,
goingplacesfarandnear.com
Philadelphia is a jewel box of unique and spectacular, even life-enhancing attractions, a trove of national treasures of history, heritage, culture that glitters particularly during the holidays. The holiday splendor is eye-catching and warms the heart, but any visitor still has to make time to experience first-hand at least some of these iconic places. I manage to bookend my holiday merrymaking with a mix of art (Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens) with history (Independence Hall) with heritage (National Museum of American Jewish History) with science and enlightenment (Philly is the hometown of one of our most enlightened inventors, Ben Franklin), and so I end this visit with the Franklin Institute and can’t wait to come back.
Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens
You get a taste of what to expect in Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens (PMG) as you enter the South Street neighborhood. The creator, Isaiah Zagar, who has lived in the neighborhood since moving there with his wife, Julia, in the late 1960s when it was derelict and blighted, turned trash and broken walls into sparkling mosaic art. Otherwise forbidding narrow alleyways and whole sides of buildings twinkle with the pieces of broken mirrors and glass and humor (you can’t help but smile). But nothing prepares you for the awe you feel when you walk out of the two indoor galleries into the Magic Gardens.
Here is a riot of
handmade tiles, bottles, bicycle wheels, mirrors, international folk art,
recreated into walls, pathways, stairways, layers and levels. There is so much
to explore and discover – not just visually, but emotionally. Woven into the
art are Zagar’s profound, personal sayings, expressions, thoughts, feelings: “I
build this sanctuary to be inhabited by my ideas and my fantasies.” “Imagery
which refuses to stabilize.” “The complexity of various problems. Rewind it.”
It’s called Magic Gardens
even though there are no plants, flowers or trees. But you aren’t here long
before you realize how it nonetheless is a living organic thing, where broken
and discarded trash and objects considered valueless or past their useful life,
get new life, purpose, meaning. And value.
The “magic” is how the objects
are re-animated – an expression of creativity, infusion of imagination. ”The
Garden” grows organically, as if living organism.
“It is one man’s vision,
process, style,” Elisabeth Carter (Lis), a Magic Gardens guide, tells me. “He had
assistants. Most of the smaller figurines and sculpture were made by Mexican
folk artists and couple of local artists, especially the Aguilar family. Others
helped make some of the tiles – including First Lady Michelle Obama (there is a
letter that she sent to the Gardens).
“It is still a work in
progress – new pieces are added – plus it is outdoors, so weather (snow/ice) is
factor. We have a full-time preservation team of thee who maintain, repair, and
document new folk art.
“He’s interested in how
things wear, fade, and change over time – things are constantly changing, new
things added – like a breathing animal.
Zagar brings the art
form of mosaic to a whole different dimension. “Zagar is known for mosaics. He uses things
that others think are trash or have no value. He is inspired by the Hindu God
Shiva – the god of destruction and transformation.”
Zagar, who is 80 years
old now, studied art at the Pratt Institute, Lis says, “but painting wasn’t
fulfilling. He Is bipolar; he used mosaics as mental health therapy. Small,
broken pieces of tile people were throwing away, he found satisfying to build
into something positive and beautiful.”
Lis points me to a small
sculpture which is a self-portrait, depicting the artist with three arms.
There must be thousands
and thousands of objects here. You first see what is in front of you as a
whole, but then your eye goes to sections, narrower and narrower, until you
spend time searching and discovering individual objects. And what you see, what you experience would
always be different – with light, time of day, weather affecting the colors and
textures.
You have to walk through
at least twice: the first time is very sensory, overload. The second time, you
can focus more. You walk through an alley of art, curved paths, you see things
differently from every angle, every step. Like a Japanese Garden, you cannot see
the whole thing at once, and you don’t know what to expect beyond. It’s a carnival of art, a riot of color, texture, shapes and
subjects that dazzle the eye and the brain and stir the heart.
“Zagar has devoted
himself to beautifying the South Street neighborhood since the late 1960s, when
he moved to the area with his wife, Julia. The couple helped spur the
revitalization of the area by renovating derelict buildings and adding
colorful mosaics on both private and public walls. The Zagars, teamed with
other artists and activists, transformed the neighborhood into a prosperous
artistic haven and successfully led protests against the addition of a new
highway that would have eliminated South Street. This period of artistic
rebirth was coined the ‘South Street Renaissance.’ After the street was saved,
Zagar continued creating mosaic murals, resulting in hundreds of public
artworks over the next five decades.
“In 1991, Zagar started
working on the vacant lots located near his studio at 1020 South Street. He
first mosaicked the buildings on either side of the property, then spent years
sculpting multi-layer walls out of found objects. In 2004, the
Boston-based owner of the lots discovered Zagar’s installation and decided to
sell the land, calling for the work to be dismantled. Unwilling to witness the
destruction of the now-beloved neighborhood art environment, the community
rushed to support the artist. His creation, newly titled Philadelphia’s Magic
Gardens, quickly became incorporated as a nonprofit organization with the
intention of preserving the artwork at the PMG site and throughout the
South Street region. Zagar was then able to develop the site even further;
excavating tunnels and grottos.”
Philadelphia Magic
Gardens opened to the public in 2008, giving visitors the opportunity to
participate in tours, art activities, hands-on interpretive experiences,
workshops, concerts, exhibitions, and more.
Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens is open
Wednesday-Monday, 11 am – 6 pm, closed Tuesdays. (1020 South Street,
Philadelphia, PA 19147, 215-733-0390, www.phillymagicgardens.org)
I continue my walk to
the Franklin Institute, all the while coming upon the fantastic public art
throughout the city – magnificent murals that decorate buildings, that reflect
and speak to that particular neighborhood and inspire with their beauty and
their message. No doubt a public art movement inspired by Isaiah Zagar.
There is also
Philadelphia’s “Museum Without Walls” of sculptures and art work throughout the
city (an audio tour is available, www.museumwithoutwallsaudio.org, 215-399-9000).
Franklin Institute
As you enter Franklin
Institute. beneath a giant moon there is a sensational lighted statue of
America’s first scientist and Philadelphia’s Favorite Founding Father, Ben
Franklin, who inspired the institute’s founding in 1824. During the course of a
few hours, I travel to outer space in search of life; walk through a human
heart; tangle in neurons of the human brain; visit one of the earliest steam
engines; and try to unravel the mystery (to me, anyway) of electricity.
“If you wish to make an
apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe,” Carl Sagan said,
the quote opening the movie in the Fels Planetarium, one of the first ever
built, that dates from 1933.
Founded in honor of America’s first scientist,
Benjamin Franklin, The Franklin Institute is one of the oldest and premier
centers of science education and development in the country. Today, the
Institute continues its dedication to public education and fostering a passion
for science by offering new and exciting access to science and technology in
ways that would dazzle and delight its namesake.
Everything about the Franklin Institute is
designed to engage, immerse, interact.
I climb through a heart at Franklin Institute (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.comClimbing through a heart at Franklin Institute (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
This is exemplified in the special exhibition on
view through April 12, 2020, the world-premiere exhibition of “The Worst Case
Scenario Survival Experience,”
based on the best-selling survival handbook series. The exhibit
showcases strategies of survival and elements of escape in the form of a
hands-on, minds-on logical series of immersive challenges providing the
essential instructions for surviving unexpected but possible real-life
scenarios with countless moments of excitement and levity throughout.
Learn
how to jump from a moving train car, pick a lock, escape from quicksand,
survive an avalanche, and more in the thirteen challenges that fill the
Survival Gymnasium, which offers step by step instructions, expert advice, and
the training to build the worst-case survival skills.
Tools
for extreme survival, including counterintuitive uses for everyday items are on
display, plus graphics that share how to identify anxiety and fear within the
body and uncover how stress, physical exhaustion, and disorientation can make
an activity, like surviving, more challenging.
Samuel Vaughan Merrick and William H. Keating founded The
Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania for the Promotion of the
Mechanic Arts in 1824. The Franklin
Institute science museum opened to the public on January 1, 1934, calling
itself a “Wonderland of Science,” and was one of the first museums in
the nation to offer a hands-on approach to learning about the physical world. It
has been expanded over the years to contain more than 400,000 square feet of
exhibit space, two auditoriums, and the Tuttleman IMAX
Theater – becoming the most
visited museum in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a top-five tourist destination
in the City of Philadelphia, and one of the leading science centers in the
country.
Learn hands-on about machines and technology, like a steam locomotive at Franklin Institute, Philadelphia (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com.
The Institute also operates the Fels Planetarium, the second oldest planetarium
in the Western Hemisphere. The Institute is home to the Benjamin
Franklin National Memorial, which was fully restored in 2010 and
which is open free to the public. It is one of just a handful of national
memorials in the custody of a private institution.
The
new 53,000-square-foot Nicholas and Athena Karabots Pavilion which opened in
June 2014, houses a STEM education and conference center, a climate-controlled
traveling exhibition gallery, and (an amazing) new permanent exhibit Your Brain, in which
visitors can explore neuroscience and their own senses.
Franklin Institute, 222 North 20th
St., 215-448-1200, www.fi.edu.
Staying at The Roost
East Market apartment hotel really enabled us to be part of the city, most
of what we wanted to see within walking distance. It’s not hyperbole to say the
comfort of a fully-equipped, gorgeously furnished apartment meets luxury
amenities of a boutique hotel. All of the apartments feature
full-size kitchens with cookware and utensils (I especially love not having to
go out for breakfast) and king size beds. A third-floor is
devoted to guest amenities including a well-equipped 24-hour fitness center,
magnificent and comfortable lounge areas and library, a huge demo kitchen, a
private screening room, an outside, 20-meter heated lap pool, barbecue area,
landscaped terrace, community vegetable garden;
and bike-share program. There is also 24-hour front desk and concierge,
security (you need your card to access the elevator and public areas); and
direct access to a parking garage. They
even arrange dog-walking and grocery delivery services. (The Roost East Market, 1199 Ludlow
Street Philadelphia, PA 19107, 844-697-6678, https://myroost.com/philadelphia/east-market/).
A Visit Philly Overnight Hotel Package includes overnight free parking and perks, and is bookable at Greater Philadelphia’s official visitor website, visitphilly.com, 800-537-7676 where you can explore things to do, upcoming events, themed itineraries and hotel packages.
by
Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com
Philadelphia is a jewel box of unique and spectacular, even life-enhancing attractions, a trove of national treasures of history, heritage, culture that glitters particularly during the holidays. The holiday splendor is eye-catching and warms the heart, but any visitor still has to make time to experience first-hand at least some of these iconic places. I manage to bookend my holiday merrymaking with a mix of art (Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia Magic Gardens) with history (Independence Hall) with heritage (National Museum of American Jewish History) with science and enlightenment (Philly is the hometown of one of our most enlightened inventors, Ben Franklin, and so I end this visit with the Franklin Institute.
Independence Hall
I’m out of The Roost
East Market apartment hotel at 8:30 am for a delightful 15 minute walk down
Market Street to the Independence Hall Visitor Center to get a timed ticket for
a tour of Independence Hall. They start distributing tickets at 8:30 am and I
get a ticket for the first tour, 9:20 am (the ticket is free; you can pay $1
for advance reservations online, www.nps.gov/inde/planyourvisit/independencehalltickets.htm). That gives me enough time to watch a short
film in the Visitor Center and visit the “Great Essentials” exhibit of original
printed copies of the three founding documents signed here at Independence
Hall: the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation and
Constitution. Another interesting artifact: the Syng
inkstand, believed to be the silver inkstand in which the 56 Founding Fathers
dipped their quills to “mutually pledge their lives, their fortunes and
their sacred honor” in the cause of independence.
We gather in a room and
learn that we have come from throughout the United States and the world.
“Government as we recognize it, was invented inside Independence Hall,” the
Ranger tells us.
The building, in
Georgian style architecture which manifested symmetry and order, is on the
original site; the foundation was laid in 1732, the year George Washington was
born. The founders, Ben Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, would have called the
building the Pennsylvania State House. All three branches of colonial
government were housed here.
“Delegates representing
13 diverse colonies, speaking with a variety of accents, met here, who would
have been more familiar with London than Philadelphia. What united them was how
disturbed they were how the King and Parliament was treating the colonists. It
was the end of the French & Indian War (The Seven Years War), which gave
the British victory and control over most of North America, but the Crown
imposed new taxes to pay for the war.
We are ushered into a
room that would have served as Pennsylvania’s highest court.
“The Magna Carta spelled
out the rights of British citizens – no man above law; trial by jury of peers;
attorneys would be gathered at one table and colonists could gather and watch
the trial. Colonists inherited numerous rights.” But grievances grew – taxation
without representation – and the colonists saw their rights being whittled away
by the British crown.
We enter the very room
where the Continental Congress brought together delegates from 13 free and
independent states. “We don’t know for sure but we think they were probably
seated by geographic area.” As they gathered to consider their grievances with
the crown, shots were fired at Lexington and at Concord, “the shots heard ‘round
the world.” The War for Independence officially began.
July 8 1776, the bell in
the steeple announced the first reading of Independence. (You can see the
Liberty Bell with its famous crack now housed in its own pavilion.)
The visit, coming at
such an auspicious time in American history, is like going back to ground zero
of the founding:
At the start, colonists
were deeply divided. The delegates met for a year before Thomas Jefferson
penned the words, “All men are created equal endowed by their Creator with
certain inalienable rights, to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”
“That was one of the
most profound and inspiring statements in human history. That government
derives just power from the consent of the governed,” he said.
The War for Independence
lasted eight years – France and Spain aided; the Dutch provided financial
support. But the War for Independence also was a civil war that divided
communities and even families. Ben Franklin’s own son, Sir William, was the
Royal Governor of New Jersey, and remained a loyalist. He left America for
England. (You can also visit the marvelous Ben Franklin Museum, housed below
where his house would have been.)
The powerful words, “All
men created equal” presented a paradox, even to the Founding Fathers, many of
whom were slave owners from states where the economy derived from slavery.
Despite Abigail Adams’ exhortation to husband John Adams to “Remember the
ladies,” women’s rights were not even a consideration. “The Declaration is a
document of promise,” the Ranger reflects. “Lincoln mentioned the Declaration
of Independence in his Gettysburg Address; suffragettes Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton; Frederick Douglass & Martin Luther King Jr. all drew on the
Declaration. We are exhausted from becoming independent, but work had just
begun.”
The Articles of
Confederation which set up the United States’ first government “was more like
treaty of 13 independent countries, with 13 armies, 13 currencies. In less than
four months, it was replaced with a central government under the Constitution.”
We see the chair used by
George Washington, which has carved into it a rising sun. James Madison and Alexander Hamilton argued and debated
over making of three co-equal branches of government; they compromised over
representation of large and small states; compromised over the power and
function of the presidency.
“George Washington
called it the ‘miracle in Philadelphia.’ But they knew they could not predict
the future. So the Constitution was designed to change, with provision to amend
it.”
The tour takes about a
half-hour, and I am trying to pack a lot into one day. I decide to forgo a tour
of Congress Hall and the Liberty Bell to race over to the National Museum of
American Jewish History because I spot a banner showcasing the special exhibit,
“Notorious RBG” which is only on view through Jan. 12. Supreme Court Justice
Ruth Bader Ginsburg is one of my heroes.
Notorious RBG at NMAJH
“Notorious RBG: The
Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” at the National Museum of American
Jewish History (NMAJH) is the first-ever
museum retrospective of the Supreme Court Justice-turned-pop-culture-icon. The
special exhibition traces a career that traveled from trailblazer to
pop-culture icon, exploring the roots of her precedent-setting role on the
nation’s highest court, as well as her varied roles as a student, life partner,
mother, change-making lawyer, judge, and women’s rights pioneer.
Take a photo with “Notorious RBG”, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg after seeing the exhibit at the National Museum of American Jewish History, Philadelphia.
Even though I had seen
the excellent “Notorious RBG” documentary and the superb “On the Basis of Sex”
film (written by her nephew) which formed the basis of the exhibit (photos,
home movies), there was still so much to learn, and the artifacts, and
explanations.
The second woman—and
the first Jewish woman—to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Ginsburg
acquired the “Notorious RBG” moniker after a series of fiery, record-breaking
dissents she gave from the Supreme Court bench in 2013 around the Voting Rights
Act. Then-NYU law student Shana Knizhnik was inspired to create the Notorious RBG tumblr,
referencing rap star Notorious B.I.G. (In homage to Notorious B.I.G., the
exhibition section titles are inspired by his lyrics.)
Based on the New
York Times best-selling book of the same name by Knizhnik and Irin
Carmon, the visually rich and entertaining exhibition explores RBG’s legacy
through archival photographs and documents, historical artifacts, contemporary
art, media stations, and gallery interactives. It presents not only the
Justice’s writings, opinions, and interviews, but also the whimsical yet
powerful world of Notorious RBG memes, fan art, and parody – from a cartoon
action figure named Wrath Hover Ginsbot to renderings of the Justice’s likeness
on t-shirts, nail decals, and even as tattoos. (Clearly, Justice Ginsburg has
always had a sense of humor, which was at the essence of her long-time
relationship with her husband, Marty).
NMAJH’s location on Independence Mall provides an ideal backdrop for exploring Justice Ginsburg’s story and the circumstances that brought her to the Court. It places the Justice’s story at the very location where the United States was founded and the US Constitution established the Supreme Court. In fact, just diagonally across from NMAJH is the National Constitution Center (constitutioncenter.org).
Established in 1976, the National Museum of
American Jewish History is the only museum in the nation dedicated exclusively
to exploring and interpreting the American Jewish experience, going back 360
years. NMAJH, a Smithsonian Affiliate,
was originally founded by the members of historic Congregation Mikveh Israel,
which was established in 1740 and known as the “Synagogue of the American
Revolution”.
The National Museum of American
Jews is a revelation to me – beginning with why it is “National”: it is the
only museum of its kind in the nation. That’s why.
I have seen parts of the story in
other venues – notably Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island
(www.tourosynagogue.org), the Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida;
Ellis Island and the Jewish Museum in New York City– but none presented such a
comprehensive unfolding of the epic Jewish experience in America that dates
back nearly as far as the Puritans in Plymouth (though Jews first settled in
the New World since Columbus).
Its exhibits and galleries, the
artifacts and commentary brilliantly presented to express complex concepts –
the sweep of history, in effect – but taken down to very personal levels of a
person, with a face, a name and a genealogy.
It comes down to legitimacy – much as the museums
which speak to the Jewish people’s history in Israel – and the illegitimate
notion of the United States founded as a Christian nation. Non-Christians were
part of this country’s founding and the Founders, who were humanists,
globalists and men of the Enlightenment – among them George Washington, Thomas
Jefferson and Ben Franklin – were not only tolerant of other religions but
open-minded about philosophies. But what is painfully clear are the strains of
anti-Semitism and racism that have persisted throughout American history
despite George Washington’s assurances to the Touro congregation (“To Bigotry
No Sanction,”), despite the Bill of Rights and the Naturalization Act of 1790
which bar the establishment of religion, an issue as relevant as today’s
headlines.
There are four floors which wrap around a huge atrium,
each floor devoted to a different era and theme. The displays, including
multi-media , interactive stations, and artifacts, are well presented to convey
complex, even nuanced concepts, intertwining real people with places,
historical events and cultural movements. In some instances, it is the sheer
numbers that impress: “Foundations of Freedom: 1654-1880” (Do most Americans
realize that Jews were already settled in the New World colonies from 1654?);
“Innovation & Expansion” is part of the timeline of Jews in America
usually ignored entirely, but Jews were very much a part of the Westward
expansion and the march to the Industrial Revolution; “Dreams of Freedom:
1880-1945”, chronicling the migration of millions of immigrants who came to the
United States beginning in the late 19th century who profoundly reshaped the
American Jewish community and the nation as a whole; and Choices and Challenges of
Freedom: 1945 – Today.
NMAJH , 101 South Independence Mall East at the corner of Fifth and Market Streets, www.NMAJH.org 215.923.3811.
Next: More
Philadelphia Treasures: Magic Gardens, Franklin Institute
A Visit Philly Overnight Hotel Package includes
overnight free parking and perks, and is bookable at Greater
Philadelphia’s official visitor website, visitphilly.com, 800-537-7676 where you can explore things to do, upcoming
events, themed itineraries and hotel packages.
by
Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com
Philadelphia is a jewel box of unique and spectacular, even life-enhancing attractions, a trove of national treasures of history, heritage, culture that glitters particularly during the holidays. The holiday splendor is eye-catching and warms the heart, but any visitor still has to make time to experience first-hand at least some of these iconic places. I manage to bookend my holiday merrymaking with a mix of art (Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia Magic Gardens) with history (Independence Hall) with heritage (National Museum of American Jewish History) with science and enlightenment (Philly is the hometown of one of our most enlightened inventors, Ben Franklin, and so I end this visit with the Franklin Institute.
We spare no time once we drop our luggage
at The Roost East Market, park the car in the garage, but grab an Uber to race
over to The Barnes Foundation. The Barnes Collection is one of the world’s
greatest collections of impressionist, post-impressionist, and early modernist
paintings, with especially rich holdings in Renoir, Cézanne, Matisse, and
Picasso. Assembled by Dr. Albert C. Barnes between 1912 and 1951, the
collection also includes important examples of African art, Native American
pottery and jewelry, Pennsylvania German furniture, American avant-garde
painting, and wrought-iron metalwork. In fact, we are told, Dr. Barnes has the
greatest collection of Renoir anywhere – 181 of them acquired by Dr. Barnes
between 1921 and 1942 that you actually see (as opposed to museums that keep
most of their collections in storage). Plus 69 by Paul Cézanne; 59 by Henri Matisse; 46 by Pablo Picasso;
21 by Chaim Soutine; 18 by Henri Rousseau and the list goes on and on, as
you walk from gallery to gallery to gallery.
The building complex is new, but the
gallery rooms re-create the rooms and how Dr. Barnes displayed his art,
intentionally juxtaposing masterworks by Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse and
Pablo Picasso next to ordinary household objects – a door hinge, a spatula, a
yarn spinner; a French medieval sculpture displayed with a Navajo textile;
African folk art with Modigliani and Cubists. Dr. Barnes called these dense
groupings of objects from different cultures, time periods and media his
“ensembles.” He meticulously crafted the ensembles to draw out visual similarities
– even the source of inspiration. He meant them as teaching tools, essential to
the educational program Dr. Barnes developed in the 1920s.
“He believed you could
as likely learn about how to do surgery wandering through a hospital as art
wandering through a gallery – you have to be taught how to see, what to look
for,” a docent explains. “He wanted people to appreciate how culture influences
art.” She adds, “He wasn’t an artist himself.” In fact, she relates, 10 years
ago, Central High School (Dr. Barnes grew up in a working class family in
Philadelphia), came across his school books. “He got A’s in everything but
art.”
A very recognizable Van Gogh, “The Postman,”, on view at The Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
At the Barnes, you experience these
masterworks in the most intimate manner, as if visiting a home (albeit a
mansion). We are exceptionally lucky to visit when the museum is not at all
crowded (actually we are there until closing) – I even get to have some of the
art completely to myself. It is very comfortable to view – many of the rooms
(and they seem to go on forever, one after another) are small and there is
seating in each one, with guides to the artwork at hand. But you should try to
take a docent tour. At one point, the docent pulls up a photo of Henry
Matisse, sitting on the very bench and gazing at his own painting in that very
room.
In every room, you are astonished to see art that is amazingly familiar – because they are so famous: Georges Seurat’s “Models” (the basis for “Sunday in the Park with George”); Vincent Van Gogh’s “The Postman”; Paul Cezanne’s “The Card Players”; Edouard Manet “Laundry”; Pablo Picasso “Acrobat and Young Harlequin”, and a plethora of Renoirs – so many, you get a sugar high. Every gallery takes your breath away, and for that moment, the art, the masterpiece, is yours.
And then there are the surprises – the art and artists you “meet” for
the first time. I fall in love with a Van Gogh country scene I have never seen
before.
There is a wonderful painting of Dr. Albert Barnes (1872-1951) by
Giorgio de Chirico (1926), which makes you wonder more about who he was to have
assembled such an astonishing collection. Dr. Barnes was born and raised in
working-class Philadelphia, earned a medical degree from the University of
Pennsylvania and went on to study chemistry in Germany. After starting his own
business and making a fortune in pharmaceuticals, he began collecting art.
“Dr. Barnes believed that art had the power to improve minds and
transform lives,” the notes read. “In 1922, he established the Barnes
Foundation as a school for learning how to see and appreciate art. He had a
gallery built in Merion, a suburb of Philadelphia, to house his growing
collection. He held classes in the gallery so that students could learn
directly from the artworks.”
In 2012, the collection was moved to Philadelphia, to a building
designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architecture. The collection gallery
replicates the original gallery building in Merion.
The Barnes Foundation, 2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19130, 215-278-7000, www.barnesfoundation.org.
From here, we go to a family gathering at the mega-popular Zahav Restaurant (the Uber driver can’t believe we are getting in there since lines are usually around the block), an award-winning restaurant which elevates Israeli cuisine to gourmet status. The small plates menu is designed for diners to sample the variety of cultural influences on Israeli cuisine, from Eastern Europe to North Africa, from Persia to the Mediterranean. “Creamy, nutty hummuses, sizzling skewers of meat grilled over hardwood charcoal, and laffa breadar, the soul of Zahav, baked to order in a wood-fired Taboon.” (237 Saint James Place, 215-625-8800, zahavrestaurant.com).
My
holiday happenings (see:
Holiday Happenings Give
Visitors to Philadelphia Even More to Enjoy) are bookended by visits to several of Philadelphia’s
incomparable sites and attractions. Next: Independence Hall (you need to get a timed
ticket, either walk up for free or in advance online for $1 fee, www.nps.gov/inde/planyourvisit/independencehalltickets.htm); a fabulous exhibit
devoted to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Notorious RBG) at
the National Museum of American
Jewish History, located within the Independence Hall area
(thru Jan. 12, at 5th & Market, mnajh.org, 215-923-3811); Philadelphia Magic Gardens (doesn’t
need any holiday embellishments, 1020 South St., 215-733-0390, phillymagicgardens.org);and Franklin
Institute (222 North 20th St., 215-448-1200, www.fi.edu), before having to pull myself away from Philadelphia.
Staying at The Roost
East Market apartment hotel really enabled us to be part of the city, most
of what we wanted to see within walking distance. It’s not hyperbole to say the
comfort of a fully-equipped, gorgeously furnished apartment meets luxury
amenities of a boutique hotel. All of the apartments feature
full-size kitchens with cookware and utensils (I especially love not having to
go out for breakfast) and king size beds. A third-floor is
devoted to guest amenities including a well-equipped 24-hour fitness center,
magnificent and comfortable lounge areas and library, a huge demo kitchen, a
private screening room, an outside, 20-meter heated lap pool, barbecue area,
landscaped terrace, community vegetable garden;
and bike-share program. There is also 24-hour front desk and concierge,
security (you need your card to access the elevator and public areas); and
direct access to a parking garage. They
even arrange dog-walking and grocery delivery services. (The Roost East Market, 1199 Ludlow
Street Philadelphia, PA 19107, 844-697-6678, https://myroost.com/philadelphia/east-market/).
A Visit Philly Overnight Hotel Package includes
overnight free parking and perks, and is bookable at Greater
Philadelphia’s official visitor website, visitphilly.com, 800-537-7676 where you can explore things to do, upcoming
events, themed itineraries and hotel packages.
The
sun has yet to rise as we settle ourselves in the first-class compartment of
the train from Marrakesh to Fez on our mad-dash on the Global Scavenger Hunt
that will bring us through Morocco to Gibraltar, Spain and Portugal for the
most difficult leg of the 23-day around-the-world mystery tour. The train pulls
out of the modern train station exactly on time. The 6 ½-hour journey flies by
as we roll through Morocco’s countryside and villages – farms and rolling hills
on both sides.
The
compartment seats six people very comfortably. During the course of the trip,
people come and go and we engage in very pleasant conversations. A stop or two
away from Fez, two fellows come in to the compartment the conversation that
ends with the one fellow saying he knows a guide for us to hire to take us
through the Medina – the massive gated city of thousands of alleyways which we
have been strongly advised to explore with a guide. Sure enough, by the time we
get off the train, the guide has arrived. And there is a taxi as well.
We make our way to the Riad el Yacout, a guesthouse, where we are greeted by Hadisha, a young woman who is the daughter of the owner, recently returned after spending eight years studying in Madrid, China and the United States. I can easily imagine her running a huge hotel chain at some point.
The riad (which is a traditional two-story house where the rooms are built around a courtyard) is absolutely enchanting. The riad was once the home of Professor Laharchi who taught philosophy at the famous Al Qaraouvine university. Built in 1347, the house passed generation to generation until 2000 when her father bought it.
He
spent five years restoring it as a 33-room guesthouse (it is actually three
houses that have been linked, with a pool; and there are plans to build a third
floor and add a rooftop pool). The mosaics, decoration, furnishings are
exquisite – all the rooms set around the most magnificent interior courtyard.
The design, facing inward, is meant to maximize family interactions. The riad
has already attracted important people – two years after opening, in 2007, Bono
stayed for six weeks; Queen Noor of Jordan also stayed here (Riad El Yacout, 9
Derb Guebbas, Batha, Medina, Fez).
Hadisha
strongly advises us against using the guy from the train and instead hiring an
approved guide and driver from the tourism office. We only have the afternoon
and evening here to see Fez, and even Bill Chalmers, our Global Scavenger Hunt
leader, has told us to hire a guide to go through the Medina – the largest,
with some 11,000 alleyways with no addresses.
The
price seems fair and we only have the afternoon, and it proves a great way to
see Fez in such a brief time.
It is interesting that two other GSH teams who are also staying at the Riad and come after us (they went on a balloon ride in Marrakesh, one of the scavenges before catching the train to Fez), happened to meet and hire the same guide we were introduced to by the guy on the train (turns out the second guy on the train was his son, who I spot while walking in the Medina – what are the chances? Actually it is less coincide and more a scam – the fellows get on the train a stop or two before Fez, find a seat in the first-class compartment and begin the grift. If you are keeping count, altogether four of our Global Scavenger Hunt teams all had either met the guide (us), or used the guide or the son. And everybody was satisfied.
Even
though we realize that only four teams out of the original 10 have a chance of
winning the Global Scavenger Hunt and the title, “Worlds Best Travelers,” we
still pursue the challenges, albeit at a more relaxed, less frenzied pace,
because they basically bring us to the places we would or should visit, places
or experiences we never would have thought of, and give us a much more
immersive, interesting and connected experience.
Fez el-Jdid, the Jewish Quarter
My
teammate, Margo, and I set out with our guide, Hamid, the fellow sent from the
tourist office (having told the fellow from the train we made other plans). At
our first stop, at the golden doors to the palace (and this is before he makes
the connection between “New York,” and likely Jewish person)– he relates how Jews made refugees when expelled from Spain and
Portugal in 1492 were invited by the sultan to settle in Fez in order to
develop the city, and settle the nomadic Berbers. The sultan gave them land
adjacent to the palace and promised protection. To show appreciation, the
Jewish community created ornate brass doors for the palace with the Star of
David surrounded by the Islamic star.
The
Mellah of Fez dates back to 1438, the oldest Jewish Quarter in Morocco, though
very few Jewish people live here today, most having moved to Casablanca, France
or Israel; there are some 80 Jews left in Fez, but live in the new city, Ville
Nouvelle.
Hamid
tells us that this community continued even into World War II, when the Sultan
gave Jews citizenship and protected them from the Nazis. Indeed, Morocco’s
Jewish population peaked in the 1940s but since the 1950s and 1960s, following
the establishment of Israel, shrank to fewer than 5,000 today.
He
leads us through winding narrow alleyways to the Ibn Danan synagogue. The synagogue was restored in 1998-99 with the
help of UNESCO, American Jews and American Express). From the top floor, you
can see the Jewish cemetery.
Nearby
is al Fassiyine Synagogue, which a
plaque notes, “belongs to the Jews (Beldiyine)
Toshabirg, native Jews who lived in Fez before the arrival of the Megorashimns,
the expelled Jews from Spain in 1492. The building, covering 170 sq meters was
built in the 17th century. It includes a small entrance hall which
leads to a prayer hall housing some furnished rooms on the mezzanine level. It
has been used successively as a workshop for carpets and then a gym. Despite
these different uses and the degradation of its state, it still keeps its
original aspect.”
The synagogue was restored in 2010-2011 through
the efforts of Simon Levy, former general secretary of the Judeo-Moroccan
Heritage Foundation, the Jewish community of Fez, Jacques Toledano Foundation
and the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Germany.
The reopening on February 13, 2013, was presided over by
Morocco’s Islamist Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane inaugurated the reopening
of the historic synagogue in which he conveyed the wish of Morocco’s King
Muhammad VI that all the country’s synagogues be refurbished and serve as
centers for cultural dialogue.
Hamid
tells me that an adviser to the King and the ex-minister of Tourism were both
Jewish.
The tourism minister had a lot to do with putting Morocco on the map as an international tourist destination. The king, who studied at Harvard, in 2000 set a goal of 10 million tourists. “Morocco has no oil or gold. It had no highway or airport and didn’t exist except for hashish,” Hamid says. “The king opened Morocco to foreign companies, giving them five years duty-free. They were drawn by a peaceful country, a gateway to Africa. Foreign investors rebuilt the road to Marrakesh, turning it into an international city for the wealthy, like Europe.” Fez also seems to be benefiting – there is lots of restoration and new construction, at Riad el Yacout where we are staying.
As
we weave through the alleyways, he shows us the indentation on the doorposts of
houses where a mezuzah would have been placed, now the home of Muslims (what
Jews remain in Fez live in the new city, Ville Nouvelle).
Zellige, Traditional Tile Making
Since
we have a driver, we also visit a traditional tile factory, set on a hilltop
overlooking the Medina.
Fez was the Moroccan birthplace of the beautiful tile work known as zellige. Introduced to the area by Moors fleeing Andalusia, tiles were initially chiseled into small pieces to create mosaic-like geometric patterns. The decorative and highly skilled tile work had become especially popular by the 14th century.
We
go through various workshops and watch the various artisans as they chisel the
pieces and set them into their patterns that we see in the stunning buildings
of the Medina and the riad where we are staying. The colors come from natural
material – mint for green, indigo for blue, saffron for yellow.
The
tiles are different, Hamid explains. “Every other city uses terracotta; Fez has
volcanic clay). They use olive pits as well as old furniture to fire up the
kilns that heat the tiles.
Fez is Morocco’s third largest city, with a population of
1,275,000 – half of them in the Medina. It was under the French from 1912-1956.
It was Morocco’s capital for 300 years
before the French moved the capital to Rabat, on the ocean. The most remarkable part of the scene from
the hilltop is how every roof of this ancient place has a satellite dish –
Hamid says they were given for free by Al Jazeera. “Even a Bedouin tent in the
desert will have a satellite dish.”
The driver drops us at one of the many gates into Fez el-Bali, the Medina (which means walled city) and we follow a route that takes us through the Medina. It is described as the world’s largest car-free urban space – 11,000 alleyways and no addresses – and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (since 1983). The Medina is the oldest walled city, dating from 900 AD, and the largest in the Arab world. We find ourselves walking through 1,200 years and losing all sense of time or place – except when jarred back to the 21st century by the motorcycles coming through. It is one of the holiest places for Islam (Jerusalem and Mecca being the other two). There are some 272 mosques.
He points out how the homes are simple on the outside, with
heavy doors (to keep out pirates); they are two-stories high, but very, very
tall. The buildings are designed so if pirates came, they could pour hot water
down. Hamid warns that an outsider can only go into the Medina during the day.
“It’s not safe in the evening, not even for us.” Hamid says he was born in the
Medina and lived here for 35 years, but moved to the New City to send his
children to school. “Here, they first teach crafts; if they have more than 10
or 11 kids, they may send them to school.”
He tries to explain that women – the mother of the house – is
the family’s bank; that the artifacts like carpets and ceramics are its
financial security, “like diamonds and gold. If the family needs something, they
sell something.”; a mule was like a Mercedes.”A carpet to sell is like an ATM;
a wife who is an artist is like insurance.” He explains that the people of the
Medina have no health care, no insurance and pay no taxes. “It’s like the 8th
century.. If a wife doesn’t save money, the family is in trouble. Once a year,
they will show off it they have a real wife at the Ramadan holiday. The mother
chooses a wife for her son; a daughter goes off to live with the husband’s
family. “A mother who has 8 sons is like a Queen, insurance guaranteed. If a
family has no sons, they will adopt a nephew as a son. That system from the 9th
century is still in practice in the Medina.”
Garbage is still collected by donkey; the sewage system is
Roman. The French introduced a water system and electricity – up until then,
they used candles and oil lamps. Homes still don’t have refrigerator.
An important stop is al Qaraquiyine (Karaouine) mosque, university and library, founded in 859 by Fatima al-Fihri, a woman who had fled her homeland of Tunesia. The madrasa became one of the leading spiritual and educational centers of the Muslim world. It was incorporated into Morocco’s modern state university system in 1963. It is considered the oldest existing, continually operating institution of higher education in the world. Hamid tells us that the university spans 5 hectares.
I later learn that in addition to being Muslim, prospective students of the Qarawiyyin are required to have memorized the Qur’an, medieval Islamic texts and Maliki law, and have a very good command of Classical Arabic. And while most assume the university is open only to men, women have been admitted into the university since the 1940s.
The
libraries contain important documents dating from c. 780 A.D. including the
Al-Muwatta of Malik written on gazelle parchment. The libraries may soon be
open to the public.
Fez was founded in 789 A.D. by Moulay Idriss II, the son of the
founder of modern Morocco, according to Journey Beyond Travel. It wasn’t until
817-18 A.D., when around 800 refugee families from Cordoba in Spain settled in
Fez, followed a few years later by over 2,000 families from Tunisia, that Fez
really began to grow. Apparently, settlements fought each other for over 300
years, until the arrival of the Almoravid empire in 1070 A.D. installed
stability peace.
The city took form under Almoravid rule when the walls which still form the outline of today’s Fez El-Bali were erected. By 1170 A.D., Fez was the largest city in the world with a population of 200,000. Fez was an important trading hub, serving Africa and Europe, the gold route from Timbuktu, and because of its tanneries with a reputation for making leather shields.
When the Merenids took control of Morocco in 1250 A.D., they
made Fez their capital. This is when Fez el-Jdid, the “new” city where the
Jewish Quarter is, was built with wider streets, gardens, and administrative
centers. This is also when Fez became established as a cultural and
intellectual hub and the “Fassi” style, a mix of Andalusian and Almohad
traditions, began. One of the best examples of this architecture is the Medersa Bou Inania with its green-tiled
minaret.
“Today, Fez is known as the ‘Athens of Africa’ and the “Mecca of
the West” for its history and role as the spiritual and learning capital of
Morocco.” (www.journeybeyondtravel.com/morocco/fez)
We see the beautiful tile work of the mausoleum of Zaouia Moulay Idris, built in the Alawi architectural style, beginning in 1717 while Moulay Ismail was alive and finished in 1824. It is an important pilgrimage site, and one of the many sites that are closed to non-Muslims.
One of these is the Widows Coop, where women weave carpets and scarves. Hamid explains that women who are divorced or widowed have little opportunity to remarry, and in the past, had few opportunities to earn a living besides prostitution. The Widows Coop gives these women a means for self-sufficiency. “Ladies with golden fingers.”
The final stop is the Chouwara tannery which has absolutely exquisite leather items for sale, and a fantastic view from its roof down to the vats of dyes. We learn that they use lime, salt and pigeon droppings to make the ammonia to tan the leather; the skins soak for a week, then are put into a wheel and turned every day for two weeks, then bleached for a week, then washed for three hours, then put into a vat to dye.
The shop is exquisite (even after getting this glimpse of how the sausage is made) – I have never felt such soft leather. Margo, who protested shopping, falls under the spell of a jacket, but it needs some tailoring. They take measurements and promise to deliver the jacket that evening. Sure enough, a completely custom jacket is delivered to the riad. It is stunning.
Leaving, we drive alongside the walls of the Medina and pass by the famous Bab Boujeloud known as the “Blue Gate”.
(As
I reflect on this guided tour, I am disappointed because as can be expected, we
spent most of our concentrated time at the tile factory, the weavers, the
carpet makers and the tannery – all designed to have us spend money, but did
not get to properly see the Blue Gate, which I “grab” as we are driving or
Medersa Bou Inania, two of the Medina’s most important sites. I have trouble
reconstructing what we saw.)
Back
at Riad el Yacout, we meet up with the other two teams and discover that all of
us have followed pretty much the same itinerary.
We have a fantastic dinner at the riad – chicken tagine and chicken couscous – the food and the atmosphere sheer perfection. (Rian el Yacout, 9 Derb Goebbas Batha, Fes Medina 30200, Morocco, [email protected], www.riadelyacoutFes.com).
We
still have to get from Morocco to Gibraltar to Seville to Porto by Friday on
this most challenging, Par 6 leg of the Global Scavenger Hunt, our “final exam.”
I
have been unable to figure it out online. It turns out we need to take a ferry
to the Spanish city of Algeciras, and then get a
cab to the border of Gibraltar (my mistake was trying to input Tangier to
Gibraltar). But there are two ferries and two different ports. Which one?
The other two Global Scavenger Hunt teams who are staying in the riad (they were the ones who found it) seem very sure of knowing which train to take and say they will figure out which ferry when we get to Tangier, so, after a fantastic breakfast set out early for us, at 8 am, served in the gorgeous courtyard, we pile into cabs for the $1.50 ride to the train station.
We
purchase ticket for the 10 am (first class) train to Tangier Ville. The 4 ½
hour trip is very pleasant, rolling passed lovely
landscape, farms, towns and villages, stopping perhaps six times to pick up
passengers. A cart of refreshments comes by (tea costs something like 6 cents).
The Global Scavenger Hunt is an annual travel
program that has been operated for the past 15 years by Bill and Pamela
Chalmers, GreatEscape Adventures, 310-281-7809, GlobalScavengerHunt.com.
Presiding over some of the most interesting fruits and vegetables where we sample dragonfruit, rambutan, a mangosteen, a longan.(c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Monday,
April 15, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam
It
is shortly before 4 pm in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam, by the time we
have received our book of scavenges from the Global Scavenger Hunt ringmaster
(as he likes to be called), Bill Chalmers, who has ranked Vietnam a “Par 3” in
difficulty (on a scale of 1-6), strategized what scavenges we will undertake,
and head out of the Manchester Hotel, a five-star historic property, toward Ben
Thank Market, one of the scavenges on the list.
Built
in 1870 by the French who colonized Vietnam for 100 years, it is where then and
now, you can find locals and tourists alike, with row after row after row
chock-a-block full of almost everything imaginable. (be prepared to bargain
aggressively; the shopkeepers are even more aggressive). I come away with a few
things I can’t bear to pass up, when Margo realizes a second scavenge we can accomplish:
tasting three separate fruits (there is heavy emphasis on “experience”
scavenges that involve food, and Vietnam, Bill says, is one of the great food
places in the world).
Dragon fruit at the Ben Thanh Market, Saigon, Vietnam (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
We find a fruit stand and sure enough, there are fruits I have never seen before, including one, called dragon fruit, which looks like it was devined by JK Rowling for Harry Potter; the others we sample: rambutan, a mangosteen, a longan. We are standing around these ladies, asking them to cut open the various fruits so we can sample them to complete the scavenge (photos!).
We ask locals for directions to our next stop: the Water Puppet Show of Vietnam at the Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theater, getting lost along the way and simply amazed at the rush and crush of mopeds (mainly) and cars, and the range of what people carry on them without a second thought. Also amazed we are able to function having departed Vancouver for Vietnam at 2 am for a 14-hour flight to Taipei, followed by an hour lag time before a 3-hour connection to Saigon. But we forge on (the secret to avoiding being taken down by jet lag is to stay up until bedtime). This is also on the scavenger list.
Scene from Water Puppet Theater, a marvelous display of traditional Vietnamese culture at Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre, Saigon, Vietnam (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
The
performance proves fairly amazing – the puppets actually emerge out of water;
water is their platform. There is musical accompaniment on traditional
instruments and the musicians also become the characters and narrators and sing.
This is quite an outstanding cultural performance – the artistry and
imaginativeness of the puppets (who swim, fish, race boats, dance, catch frogs
anddo al sorts of things,is amazing. These seem to be folk characters, and the
music is traditional. It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand Vietnamese. (www.goldendragonwaterpuppet.com).
From
there, we hit another scavenge, going to the Saigon Skydeck on the 49th
floor of the Bitesco Financial Tower, which affords beautiful scenes of Saigon,
which you appreciate as a very modern city. Many of the buildings below are
decorated in colored lights.
Back
at the Hotel Majestic, we go up to the 8th floor M Club, a rooftop
bar, where there is a band playing. The open-air views of the Saigon River and
the skyline are just magnificent. Margo orders a “Majestic 1925” which is Bourbon,
infused orange, sweet vermouth, Campari, orange bitte, orange zest, and smoked –
the whole process done on a table brought to us, as a crowd gathers to watch
the mixocologist light a torch to generate the smoke. Quite a scene.
We
will continue doing scavenges tomorrow in Ho Chi Minh City, before heading out
to who-knows-where-in-the-world to continue our 23-day Global Scavenger Hunt.
The grand prize is bragging rights as World’s Best Traveler (and a free trip
next year to defend the title).
