On Wings and Prayers

How is it that this Blog is different from other Blogs? . . . .Today's blog is about travel - to the Holy Land on the anniversary an earlier embarkation. Past visits to the Holy Land have allowed the Time Traveller to meet friends and gain rare invitations to family events full of fun and significance. On this journey I was blessed with the chance to join a "Sedar" - the celebratory dinner of Passover - in a house in Tel Aviv-Jafo.

I have also discovered that my most "want to do" sport - paragliding - is practiced just a short distance from the beach house. With the combination of good weather and holidays the beach was thick with sports including kayaking and surfing.

In Pain and out of time

The Time Traveller has suffered a minor medical emergency upon distant shores - leading to new adventures in hospitals with people speaking every language imaginable - except English. But a translator was found and the pain of constant dislocation in time was relieved with several days of quiet sanctuary in the small apartment by the sea where I could lie under the influence of strong painkillers and listen to the sound of stormy waves upon the Beach.

Desparately seeking amusements to releive the pain I thought I saw a cat'tain at the helm of the snail boat.

Israel is a country that will handle the coming energy challenges with comparitive ease. Sunshine is everywhere most of the year and heating nor cooling is as serious an issue as it is in Canada.

Houses typically have solar water heating and hear and there a new phenomenon of the "electric vehicle" - which is mostly these neat little electric scooters which work great in the more or less flat geography of the coastal plain.

Random Views

In this Blog we take a journey to the gym:

First. In southern Israel an architect managed to sneak some humor into a decorative element. Is it loads of fun? - or stones of pun? Actually, it's a "Snail Boat" built of limestone.

These fish spotted me having a cinnamon bun at a cafe near where i used to work.

The nearby market is filled with everything practical and colourful.

This is an experimental video upload of some battery driven toys in the market. Good luck!

Stay tuned Sport's Fans - More later!

Waking by the Sea

Someone asked me to explain my reference to waking up naked on a Tel Aviv Beach:
. . . A theme of the Blog is "Time Travel" - a reference to a movie now in the theatres called "The Time Traveller's Wife" - a story about a man who - because of a genetic flaw - finds himself transported through space and time - appearing without any clothes. Often he is chased - beaten up - or thrown in jail. The other side of the story is his wife who is faces the prospect of her husband suddenly disappearing at any moment only to return at some unknown moment - so she faces stress and uncertainty. In this parallel I am called the "Time Traveller". It is quite a good movie - a metaphor for how some people are faced with the prospect of loved one's coming and going from their lives - and for the transient nature of our lives in every age.

And now we return to the day's Blog . . . .

Microns to Meters. Such is the range of size of plastic floating in the Sea and washing upon the beach. How, exactly, can anything which eats or breathes in the sea survive? . . . unless life has learned to eat and breath plastic?



In a land with a history of super heroes - the children in this new land learn of history through video games like this one.



The beaches of Tel Aviv are alive with a new young Skywalkers.



The brief architectural history of Tel Aviv is being protected and turned into something new - adding depth to this dynamic and emerging City.



Hare Krishna Sand-Dancers were leading an aerobic exercise session at sunset by the Beach today.



And then the sun was set and I watched a movie in the Holy land about Zeus, Titans and thunderbolts.

Swept Away and Thrown Upon a Beach

The last thing I remember was looking out the window of the bedroom in Luxor . . . and next I find myself standing naked on a Tel Aviv Beach. Fortunately, it was in the middle of a party and no one really noticed. The last time I was here was only a year ago but there are now new buildings, new highway intersections, busier stores, more people. In Ashkelon the economy appears to be booming and new restaurants have filled the strip mall close to the new marina.


A new apartment building close to the sea was mostly vacant a year ago - now it is almost fully rented. This Time Traveller was able to find shelter in small apartment with a view of the sea.



Until this strange genetic defect takes me to another place and time I will take the opportunity to visit former work colleagues, eat healthy Israeli breakfasts, work out at Holmes Gym beside the US Embassy, and end my days with a short walk to a favorite internet cafe a couple blocks from the sea on Allenby street. As I walked the path between gym and internet I notice how formerly derelict buildings have been restored and returned to active use, roads have been repaired and people are looking fit and happy.

Pastimes of my Youth

The best knowledge comes from doing – and gathering knowledge is one of the Time Traveller's favourite pastimes. As the Time Traveller grows older - with each passing minute - I remember the simpler times of my youth when I might work in the apple orchards or the factories of southern Ontario. Here in Luxor I can recreate those days with work in the sugar cane fields near the apartment.

Sugar cane is harvested to achieve maximum employment in Egypt. Every single stalk is manually cut by hand, trimmed of its green top - stripped of dead brown leaves - and stacked for loading onto wagons to the trains. It required a team of 20 men more than a week to harvest 15 acres of cane behind our apartment. The regular men make 30 LE per day ( about $6.00 CDN). I worked for the glory!

Everything Old is New Again

If history tends to return places to their historical median, then the recent development in Luxor might be the process of returning Luxor to its past glory. Luxor was the preferred capital for pharaohs of the Middle and New Kingdoms. Now, much later, parts of a much later city are now being torn down to make new buildings, new roads, and new vistas to behold the ancient temples.



Sometimes more recent treasures are revealed - The excavation of the Road of the Sphinxes has set free a beautiful old apartment building from amidst a mess of modern brick and cement. There are still a few of these buildings in downtown Luxor – dating from the 1930s and the era of British rule.

Simple Cool - Part 2

I am solving the challenge of living in heat without a lot of electricity- one step at a time. These simple cotton-canvas curtains have been a favorite of mine since moving to Egypt. At just a little over $1 per square meter and with the addition of a little sewing - one can do anything with them. In our case these curtains intercept many thousands of watts of solar energy - before it can hit the side of our apartment - and they make the balcony a pleasant shaded place.

I remember on my last trip to New York City I saw how the giant banners in front of the Museums and Art Galleries were perforated with "Airways" that let strong breezes pass through - so I sketch out a similar pattern on the canvas and take them to the sewing guy a few blocks away. Last night the design was proven successful by a strong breeze.

Keeping Cool - Step One

Priority One - cooling!
From a store near the train station – I selected a “Saharawi” evaporative air cooler – 150 watts of electricity will give me the equivalent of 1500 watts of regular compressor driven air conditioning. In the year of our Lord 2010, electricity remains weak on the west bank of Luxor. I have isolated the apartment’s electric system and will soon take delivery of a quiet generator to keep the apartment priorities working whenever electricity fails: Priorities include: refrigerator, air cooler, computers. The hot water heater works at night – when electricity works OK.



After paying for the air cooler, we took the unit from beneath several layers of boxes in a warehouse down a back alley. Then me and the delivery driver drove the 15 kilometres to the West Bank. Then we assembled the frame that will hold the cooler unit. It will sit on the balcony until the electrician connects the power.
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Shipwrecks and New Beginnings

Luxor Egypt, early 2010. For unexpected reasons I am stuck with a 220 m2 apartment overlooking sugar cane fields, banana plantations, and boats on the Nile. The skyline of Modern Luxor is expanding on the east side of the river - casting an orange sodium glow across the water to light up the 8th century culture here on the west bank. There isn’t much chance of selling this apartment soon – so, I will fix it up and make it ready for guests!