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Prayers going high-tech — September’s photo shows part of the Western Wall (a.k.a. the Wailing Wall or Kotel), the last remnant of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, Israel.
A sacred site in Judaism, it is open 24 hours a day for visits by the faithful, many of whom write prayers on pieces of paper and place them in the wall.
FIRST, FAST & FURIOUS — The following is a sampling of reports received from ITN readers around the globe. ITN invites you to join our corps of reporters — just drop a card in the mail while the travel impressions are fresh in your mind. To obtain your ITN Report Cards, send a self-addressed, stamped, business-size envelope to ITN Report Cards, 2116 28th St., Sacramento, CA 95818. You will receive eight cards.
Readers who are computer savvy can click here to access access the online form. Pass along your hot travel tips!
East of Amman, Jordan’s capital, stretches the desert, a seemingly endless empty expanse of land wedged in between Syria to the north, Iraq to the east and Saudi Arabia to the south. It’s mostly flat, dotted with low-growing shrubs, bushes and cacti. There are few roads here, but there are dozens of desert tracks crisscrossing the expanse. They’ve been used for hundreds of years by pilgrims en route to Mecca and by caravans carrying goods from one trading post to another.
Some friends shake their heads, and others are envious of Moreen and me for our travels in the Middle East. They ask, as do some ITN readers, if it is safe there for travelers. I can’t offer a definite yes or no, but I believe it’s relatively safe in many Middle Eastern countries.
For example, I had planned to take a trip to Libya in April of this year. The tour was canceled, not for security issues but because Libya stopped granting tourist visas for U.S. citizens. When Libya again offers visas, I plan to go there.
(First of two parts, click here for part 2)
(First of three parts)
No one likes getting shots. Travelers are particularly averse to jabs. So why bother? Protection.
Steve, this is about the letter on “Chip & PIN” credit/debit cards on page 15 of the July ’06 issue of ITN (the best travel magazine in the world!). What’s the answer for a pair of Yanks going to London in January? What can we do? — T. Harrison Stanton, Jackson, MI
Dear Harrison, first of all, I don’t want you to worry. You are doing the right thing by arming yourself against any problems. Knowledge is power.
Düsseldorf (phone +49 [0] 211/1720 20, www.duesseldorf-tourismus.de), which means “Village on the Düssel River,” is no longer a fishing village on the right bank of the Rhine River where the Düssel joins it. It is one of Germany’s Magic Cities (www.magic.cities.de), a great commercial and administrative center and the capital of North Rhine-Westphalia.
I would like to correct a statement made in the letter titled “Uganda Wildlife,” regarding “the shooting of the tourist on Nov. 8, 2005, in Murchison Falls National Park. . . within the park boundaries” (Aug. ’06, pg. 83).
We were in Murchison Falls National Park, Oct. 30-Nov. 2, 2005, staying at the Red Chili Rest Camp. We spent some time with the owner of the camp, Steve Willis, a 40ish expat Brit who had remained in Uganda after 10 years with the British government in Kampala.