It was hot as blazes, about 95 degrees, the October day I set aside to explore Muscat, Oman’s capital city.  Wiping sweat and chugging water, I ticked off just two of the city’s must-do activities before finding a shady spot to sit and consult Google Maps for my new must-do: find a beach. My 2017 trip to Oman to came to mind while reading Seth Kugel’s excellent New York Times Travel story How to Up the Spontaneity Quotient on Your Next Trip.  Like him, I firmly believe it is not the sites we see but the people we get to know on their turf that… Read More…

The great thing about holidays is the transformation of the ordinary.  Christmas pageants transform ordinary folks into Bethlehem villagers. Lights transform homes into dazzling displays. Butter, flour and powdered sugar are transformed into something delectable (and even thematic). It is a time of transformation after all, especially for Christians who celebrate the incarnation of God through the birth of Jesus. Over the years, I’ve collected photos of the various ways people around the world decorate and celebrate from Ethiopia to England.   So I was especially pleased to see in my inbox today, these holiday-themed photos from hotels in the U.S.A. who are turning the… Read More…

Several centuries ago, long before power tools, an Ethiopian king by the name of Lalibela had the big idea to build a church out of the side of a  mountain. He didn’t see the challenges, or if he did he didn’t let them get in his way. King Lalibela saw the monumental rock as a source of building material and perhaps he even drew inspiration from Christ’s promise to the disciple Peter, “Upon this rock, I shall build my church.” And so King Lalibela did build a church. Well, let me modify that. Many, many workers did the chiseling and in time, there were 11… Read More…