Tag: travel

travel

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A quick look around Milan Piazza del Duomo

Take a quick look around Milan famous main square, Piazza del Duomo, with its Duomo Cathedral, Victor Emmanuel II statue, and Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. Milan is a perfect stop on a European vacation trip.

Look for our in-person and virtual lectures and events you might want to attend:  EVENTS

Read useful tips for traveling to Milan, Italy: Milan Tips

Interested in Jewish history around the world? Meet Irene Shaland and her books, lectures, and magazine articles.

Are you an adventurer? Meet Alex Shaland, the author of “Suburbanites on Safari.”

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Do you want to fly for free around the world year after year?

Passengers exiting airplane

Where to? Kenya? Nepal? Easter Island? No problem: Use your mileage!    Fly to almost anywhere for free? Do you think this is impossible? Absolutely not. Alex and I have been flying for free for over twenty years. Well, almost for free: we do have to pay airline and airport taxes. And this is how we did it…..

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Finding Home away from Home – in Africa

Nairobi Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, Kenya

We were travelling all day: through the exotic strangeness of the Zanzibar Stone Town to the Nairobi airport’s thick mess of people and suitcases, sickening smells and deafening noises. Then again, through the traffic and dust and darkness of Nairobi streets, until all of sudden, like a mirage in the wilderness, we saw a brilliantly lit Jewish star. “Are you meeting with Barbara?” a voice asked. We were.

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What does it take to preserve Jewish identity if you are a Chinese Jew?

Irene Shaland and Mr. Jin at Jewish Cemetery in Kaifeng, China

October 2012, Again – Kaifeng, China. We are at the oldest Jewish burial place in China – with Mr. Jin in front of his life-long project, his family memorial. Our new friend dedicated his life savings and his entire life to create this marble memorial book which presents – engraved in English on one side and in Chinese on another – the 900-year story of Mr. Jin’s family within the context of Chinese history.

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History of Confucian Synagogue in Kaifeng, China

Irene Shaland in Kayfeng, China

We visited this synagogue in Kaifeng in October 2012. On the photo you can see how  Irene hurriedly writes, Esther, a Founder and Director of the Kaifeng Jewish History Memorial Center, tells the story of her forebears. On the wall, is the 18th- century rendering of Kaifeng synagogue.  For anyone who visited the Forbidden City in Beijing and at least a temple or two elsewhere in China, the synagogue rendering reminds of the country’s typical residential or religious compounds.

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