Travel 22 articles

Last winter I had the pleasure of visiting the Dutch-influenced Caribbean island of Aruba. It is situated about 15 miles off the northern coast of Venezuela, but belongs to the group...

Ancient cars rolled down the few newly paved streets. Sparking restaurants awaited a sudden rush of curious American tourists in Old Havana’s center, while the rest of the city was stuck...

Bordered by Georgia (the one Stalin came from, not the one Scarlett O’Hara came from), Azerbaijan, Turkey and Iran, and located between the Black and Caspian Seas, the former Soviet republic...

I grew up with vastly conflicting images of Russia. It was the place my maternal grandfather fled to avoid conscription into the Czar’s army. A czar whom my paternal great-grandparents mourned...

Some people strive to summit a big mountain. Others try to move them. For one group of Jewish travelers, a 10-day journey to East Africa achieved both. This past February, I...

The phone rang at home last fall and a voice said “Is this Ashley Farnell?”“Yes,” I replied.“Ashley Farnell the kosher chef?” again I replied “yes”, now wondering if this is some...

Deep in the heart of Barcelona’s Old City, street signs with Catalan names such as Carrer de Montjuic, Jewish Mountain Street, speak of a Jewish presence. Certain walls contain barely decipherable...

As afternoon arrives in Jerusalem, the sun gently infuses the city walls with their legendary golden color. Among a group of 40 English speakers on a lookout platform in the ancient...

Although the Romans stole ancient Israel’s greatest treasures with the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, the richest collection of Jewish artifacts, archaeological finds and works of art still resides in Jerusalem....

In summer, fig trees bear their succulent fruit. In the fall, boughs of olives suggest the impending harvest. By winter, citrons hang heavy with their magnificent scent. And by spring, flowers...