December 2018 – Matt Corpos

Israel – random

December 23, 2018 Fun History Travel

#5 of 5 – for more context, see the main post Here are some random interesting things I learned about Israel: Going tribal According to the Hebrew bible there were twelve tribes of Israel, descended from the 12 sons of Jacob; of the 12, ten were lost tribes – unaccounted for after 722 BCE; the lost tribes are claimed or purported to be descendants of several groups worldwide; Mormon (Latter-day Saints) teachings hold that Native Americans and Polynesians came from…

Israel – travel tips

December 23, 2018 Travel

#4 of 5 – for more context, see the main post Before my trip I was a bit apprehensive since I’d never been to this part of the world and I also hadn’t traveled internationally for several years. But at least for the places I went (Tel Aviv, Yehud, Jaffa, Acre and Jerusalem) things were quite orderly, clean and most everyone spoke English. Getting around A small inconvenience – I encountered a bit of taxi trouble at…

Israel – religion

December 23, 2018 History Travel

#3 of 5 – for more context see the main post Home to major and minor religions For a country known for having two major religions (the population is about 75% Jewish and 20% Muslim), Israel has a surprising variety of religions. The Bahá’í religion, which values all religions and the equality of all humans, has temples and its governing body in Israel (though it is illegal for an Israeli citizen to become Bahá’í). There are about 150,000 Druze (an…

Israel – food

December 23, 2018 Food Travel

#2 of 5 – for more context see the main post Any trip to a new place requires trying new food, of course. Mediterranean restaurants abound where I live so I was familiar with a few staples: hummus, falafel and pita bread. I found the hummus in Israel to be good overall (fresh, savory and creamy) but not a standout, though to be fair I also was not seeking out any top rated hummus places. Falafel…

Israel – history

December 23, 2018 History Travel

#1 of 5 – for more context see the main post With so much history it’s hard to know where to begin … Israel and the region of Palestine are steeped in thousands of years of history, much of it ancient. The interactions (peaceful and otherwise) between peoples and cultures in that relatively small stretch of land reads like a who’s who of ancient civilizations: the Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, Persians, Romans and Ottomans to name a few.…

Israel

December 23, 2018 Food Fun History Travel

My recent business trip to Israel was a success work-wise and also for me as a cultural and history learning opportunity. I didn’t know much about Israel before my trip. After doing some reading on the 14 hour flight, meeting with people and seeing some sites – I straightened a few things out and I now have a deeper appreciation for this unique state. This is my “primer” on some things I learned and saw: History:…