Bellevue, WA—World Spree Travel’s 10-night Amazing Vietnam trip is a good deal anytime, but early birds who plan ahead will find that September/October prices are a real steal, ranging from $1,799 to $1,899. This covers round-trip international air, including taxes ad fuel surcharges; all transportation and transfers in Vietnam; luxurious hotel accommodations; an overnight cruise on gorgeous Halong Bay; daily American buffet breakfasts; four other delicious meals; private sightseeing tours and entrance fees; professional, English-speaking tour guides; baggage handling; (and no scheduled shopping traps, the company insists).
But price and value are not the only attractions. This exotic country, lapped by the warm waters of the South China Sea, has some of the friendliest people on the planet , a beautiful landscape and a rich history dating back 5,000 years. Over the centuries it was occupied by China and France, both of which left influences in its culture, architecture and cuisine.
The tour takes in the charming capital, Hanoi, with its parks, tree-lined avenues, French-colonial buildings and mementos of Ho Chi Minh. It includes an overnight cruise on a deluxe little cruise ship on Halong Bay, famous for its spectacular seascape of limestone peaks and islands. There’s a glimpse of Danang and China Beach on the way to Hoi An, an old port town with photogenic architecture and atmospheric riverside restaurants that’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Then to Hue, the former imperial capital on the Perfume River, known for the impressive Citadel with it pavilions and palaces. And, finally, a flight to the bustling city of Saigon, officially known as Ho Chi Minh City, with its French-colonial landmarks and wartime headquarters of the South Vietnam government.
Optional excursions include a tour of Hanoi’s Old Quarter and the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” prison; a cyclo tour of Hue, with dinner at the Imperial Citadel; a dragon-boat cruise on the Perfume River; a cruise to the scenic Mekong Delta; a trip to the fascinating underground Cu Chi Tunnels; and, to take advantage of China Airlines’ stopover in Taipei, a 3-day/2-night package—4-star hotel, breakfasts, transfers—that allows time to see Taipei’s world-class museum and enjoy some fabulous Chinese cuisine.
All prices are per person, double occupancy, and are subject to availability. There is no extra charge for credit cards. For more information about the Amazing Vietnam tour, visit www.worldspree.com, click “Destinations,” then “Vietnam,” or call toll-free 1-866-652-5656.
World Spree Travel, which started ten years ago as China Spree with tours of China, is a tour operator which boasts “5-star trips at 3-star prices.” Based in Bellevue, Washington, World Spree has expanded throughout Asia and now operates tours to China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bali and, yes, Peru. Japan and Sri Lanka are coming soon. Note that 70% of World Spree’s tour participants are repeat clients who value well-planned trips at a reasonable price.
In celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, today, President Obama is designating three new national monuments honoring our country’s civil rights history and taking new steps to promote diversity in our national parks and other public lands. Building on the Administration’s commitment to protecting places that are culturally and historically significant and that reflect the story of all Americans, today’s designations will protect historic sites in Alabama and South Carolina that played an important role in American history stretching from the Civil War to the civil rights movement.
In addition, President Obama is taking new steps to promote diversity and inclusivity in our nation’s system of national parks, national forests, monuments and other public lands and waters, directing agencies including the Department of the Interior, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to work to ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to experience our great outdoors and engage in decisions about how our public lands and waters are managed, and to prioritize building a more inclusive Federal workforce that is reflective of the diversity of our Nation.
Also, President Obama took action to expand two national monuments: expanding the existing California Coastal National Monument by 6,230 acres; and expanding the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in California and Oregon.
New Civil Rights Monuments
The new monuments are the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument, Freedom Riders National Monument and Reconstruction Era National Monument.
Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument: The Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument will protect the historic A.G. Gaston Motel in Birmingham, Alabama, which served at one point as the headquarters for the civil rights campaign led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that helped lead to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The monument will also tell the stories associated with other nearby Birmingham historic sites, including the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church– which was the site of a bombing in 1963; and Kelly Ingram Park, where Birmingham Public Safety Commissioner Bull Connor turned hoses and dogs on young civil rights protesters.
Freedom Riders National Monument: The Freedom Riders National Monument is located in Anniston, Alabama and contains two sites that help underscore the Freedom Riders’ importance to the civil rights movement. The monument includes the Greyhound Bus Station where a racially integrated bus of Freedom Riders attempting to test desegregation was attacked in the spring of 1961, and the site where the same bus was firebombed and burned some minutes later.
Reconstruction Era National Monument: Located in coastal South Carolina, the newReconstruction Era National Monument encompasses four sites throughout Beaufort County that tell the vibrant story of the robust community developed by freed former African American slaves in the Reconstruction Era South. This designation includes the Brick Baptist Church and Darrah Hall at the existing Penn Center on St. Helena Island as well as the Old Firehouse in downtown Beaufort and parts of Camp Saxton in Port Royal where the Emancipation Proclamation was read on New Year’s Day in 1863. These sites establish the first unit of the National Park System focused on telling the story of Reconstruction.
Protection for these sites is strongly supported by the local communities, elected officials, and a wide variety of stakeholders including civil rights organizations, environmental justice groups and historic preservation groups. Each designation was also supported by legislation introduced by members of the Alabama and South Carolina delegations.
“These monuments preserve the vibrant history of the Reconstruction Era and its role in redefining freedom,” President Obama stated. “They tell the important stories of the citizens who helped launch the civil rights movement in Birmingham and the Freedom Riders whose bravery raised national awareness of segregation and violence. These stories are part of our shared history. From designating Stonewall National Monument, our country’s first national monument honoring the LGBT movement, to recognizing the movement for women’s equality through the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument, I have sought to build a more inclusive National Park System and ensure that our national parks, monuments and public lands are fully reflective of our nation’s diverse history and culture.”
Promoting Diversity and Inclusivity in Managing Our Public Lands and Water
In addition, President Obama is taking new steps to promote diversity and inclusivity in our nation’s system of national parks, national forests, monuments and other public lands and waters. Today, President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum directing the agencies charged with managing the vast majority of America’s public lands and waters – the Department of the Interior, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – to work to ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to experience our great outdoors and engage in decisions about how our public lands and waters are managed. The Memorandum also directs agencies to prioritize building a more inclusive Federal workforce that is reflective of the diversity of our Nation.
Expansion of National Monuments Protecting Natural Resources in California and Oregon
In addition to the new designations honoring African American history, today, President Obama is expanding two existing national monuments to protect critical biodiversity, important historic and natural resources and vital wildlife habitat in California and Oregon.
Expansion of California Coastal National Monument: Today, President Obama is expanding the existing California Coastal National Monument by 6,230 acres to include six additional coastal sites proposed for protection in legislation introduced by members of the California Congressional delegation in 2015. The monument was originally designated in 2000 by President Bill Clinton and expanded by President Obama in 2014 to include Point-Arena-Stornetta in Mendocino County. Today’s expansion will protect incredible coastal natural resources, scenic views, and areas of cultural and historical significance, including sites that provide insight into the Native peoples who first lived along California’s coast and places still important to local tribes today.
Expansion of Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument: Located in southwest Oregon and northern California, the current Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument protects the significant biodiversity at the intersection of three distinct bioregions, including wildlife habitat for nearly 200 species of birds. Drawing from two different reports compiled by the scientific community as well as a legislation introduced in the Senate in 2015, today’s expansion will protect more than 42,000 additional acres of public land in Oregon and approximately 5,000 acres in California to increase vital habitat connectivity, watershed protection, and landscape-scale resilience for the area’s unique biological values, particularly in the face of growing impacts from climate change.
“Over the last 8 years, I have sought to work with local communities, Tribal governments, businesses, sportsmen, members of Congress and others to protect the most important public lands for the benefit of future generations,” President Obama stated. “Today’s actions will help ensure that more of our country’s history will be preserved and celebrated, and that more of our outdoors will be protected for all to experience and enjoy.”
Ruth Behar, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Michigan is leading a tour, March 1-5, 2017, focused on the first public Celebration of Jewish Culture in Cuba, a landmark event bringing together art, theater, music, dance, and literature. The trip will highlight all the ways that Jewish Cuban heritage is alive and vibrant and open to the world.
“The story of the Jews in Cuba is like no other Jewish story. Jews arrived on the island at the beginning of the 20th century, mostly from Turkey and Poland, and brought with them the strong Sephardic and Yiddish cultural traditions,” she says. “These Jewish immigrants couldn’t help but succumb to the stunning vitality of Cuban culture and so they created a unique fusion of Jewish and Cuban culture. In recent years, a Jewish cultural rebirth has taken place in Cuba that has received a boost thanks to the many bridges being extended between Cuba and the United States. With the outpouring of enthusiasm for Jewish Cuban culture, this is an ideal moment to go and celebrate how Cuba became a refuge and a home for the Jewish people.
“Learn about the culture of Cuba, meet the Cuban people, interact with members of the Jewish community, and get to know the Jewish Cuban heritage and the vibrant ways in which that heritage is being interpreted by a new generation. You will experience the eclectic architecture of Havana and learn about the Jewish presence in the city, dine at the most charming home restaurants, and enjoy musical concerts of Klezmer, Sephardic, jazz and Jewish-Cuban fusion music.”
Highlights include:
Greeting from Adela Dworin, president of the Jewish Community of Cuba and David Prinstein, vice-president of the Jewish Community of Cuba, Patronato Synagogue. Known as the Patronato, Cuba’s major Jewish community center was designed by famed architect Aquiles Capablanca and founded in 1953. It maintains its beautiful facade with the symbols of the twelve tribes of Israel and a modernist arch rising to the heavens. In recent years, the Patronato has become a crossroads for Jews from all over the world.
The group will meet with Adela Dworin, president of the Jewish community of Cuba, and David Prinstein, vice president of the Jewish community of Cuba, who will provide a welcome for the first public Celebration of Jewish Culture in Cuba, followed by a performance of Jewish and Cuban dancing as well as a musical concert of Sephardic music and dance at the Patronato Synagogue, and a dessert buffet from Ashkenazi and Sephardic traditions in Cuba.
Havana in a Grand Manner at the Cafe Jazz Miramar: A Jewish-Cuban Jazz concert with Ernan Lopez Nussa and invited friends who will play an exciting mix of Jewish and Cuban jazz standards at a new club with a superb sound system and a relaxed atmosphere that has become a hot spot of Havana’s jazz scene.
Walking Tour of La Habana Vieja and its four plazas with a special focus on the old Jewish neighborhood, featuring visits to the Adath Israel Synogogue and at the kosher butcher shop, ending at the Callejon de los Peluqueros and meet Papito, a hair stylist and cultural activist who has spurred the revitalization of the area.
Presentation by Ayleen Robaina, a specialist in architectural preservation who works with the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana, Palacio del Segundo Cabo, who will speak about the intersection of Jewish history and architecture in La Habana Vieja. This event will take place at the recently restored Palacio del Segundo Cabo, originally the Royal Post Office of the Spanish Crown dating from 1772.
Poetry and Handmade Books at Espacio Altamira: Cuban-American poet Richard Blanco will perform a special poem written in honor of the Celebration of Jewish Culture, to be followed by a presentation of handmade books also specially prepared for the occasion by book artist Rolando Estévez and his independent imprint El Fortín. This event will take place at the Espacio Altamira, a gallery conceived by artists Yamilé Pardo Menéndez and Edel Bordón Mirabal.
Concert of Jewish-Cuban Musical Fusion at Fabrica de Arte Cubano: Sephardic music with Harmonic Motion’s Myriam Eli and Joe Zeytoonian, and Klezmer music with Frank London and other musicians.
These events will take place at the Fabrica de Arte Cubano (FAC), a thriving arts space housed in a defunct cooking oil factory that includes art galleries, a dance space, a cinema, and several independent bars and small eateries. Founded by X Alfonso, a respected musician from a musical family, this is one of the most exciting large-scale art collectives in Cuba.
Poems, Testimonies, and Stories of Jewish Heritage, with Cuban writers and members of the Jewish Cuban community & La Camerata Romeu: This literary presentation and performance will be followed by a chamber music concert by the world renowned Camerata Romeu of classical Jewish and Cuban music. The events will take place in La Habana Vieja at the Convento de San Francisco, a former basilica and monastery built at the end of the sixteenth century, now an art space and concert hall.
A performance of Hatuey, a theatrical opera based on the work of Yiddish-Cuban writer, Usher Penn, produced by Michael Posnick (theater scholar) with Frank London (composer) and Elise Thoron (libretist) with the collaboration of Cuban actors, musicians, singers, and dancers from La Opera de La Calle. The group will attend the gala opening of the production and then stay afterwards for an after-party with the creators, cast, and musicians.
On Saturday morning, guests have the option to attend Shabbat Services with the Jewish community at any of the three Havana synagogues (Patronato Synagogue or Centro Hebreo Sefaradi or Adath Israel) or take a guided city tour of Modern Havana.
Afternoon visit to the workshop on Sephardic music and dance with Myriam Eli and Joe Zeytoonian and on Klezmer music with Frank London and Klezmatics, Centro Hebreo Sefaradi, Calle 17, corner of Calle E.
Farewell dinner and special concert with Amadito Valdes, one of the remaining original musicians from the Buena Vista Social Club, and his band at Club Habana.
The five day/four night long tour program, taking place March 1 -5, 2017, includes transfers, Cuba visa, local transportation, guides, four nights accommodations, two lunches, four dinners, three museum visits, all concerts and events in the itinerary ($3795 with accommodations at Hotel Melia Cohiba; $3670 with accommodations at Hotel Capri; single supplement $750).
Ruth Behar, the event organizer, is a Cuban-born cultural anthropologist and writer who brings an intimate knowledge of the Jewish community and the world of Cuban arts and letters through more than twenty-five years of return visits and engagement with her compatriots. Ruth is the editor of the pioneering anthology, Bridges to Cuba, author of An Island Called Home and Traveling Heavy, and director of the film, Adio Kerida, about the Sephardic presence in Cuba. Her novel, Lucky Broken Girl, about her Cuban-Jewish immigrant childhood in New York, is forthcoming with Penguin Random House. Ruth has formed close ties with the Jewish community of Cuba and is proud to be working with the community to create the first international Celebration of Jewish Culture in Cuba.
Cuba Tours and Travel is a full-service Miami-based travel agency with 15 years of experience offering expert-driven cultural travel to Cuba. The tour company is licensed by the US and Cuba and are fully insured. “Most importantly, we have an abiding love for Cuban art and culture and have strong connections to the cultural institutions on the island.
For more information contact [email protected] or call 888 225-6439 Ext. 804.
UNESCO World Heritage Site, Rapa Nui National Park (photo credit: Zegrahm Expeditions)
NEW YORK—Members of the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA) offer travelers ease of access to UNESCO World Heritage Sites around the globe. From well-known sites such as Stonehenge and Victoria Falls, to unparalleled access to places like Iran’s historic cities of Pasargadae and Persepolis, USTOA members continue to recognize the importance of these sites and include them in packaged travel options for travelers across the world. UNESCO showcases and protects the world’s most cherished cultural and natural wonders while adding new World Heritage Sites to the prestigious list each year. This year’s World Heritage Committee decision to add 24 culturally significant sites brings the list total to 1,031 sites throughout 163 countries.
“By including UNESCO World Heritage Sites in their itineraries, USTOA members offer travelers a exceptional way to experience some of the world’s most fascinating and bucket list worthy sites,” said USTOA President and CEO Terry Dale. “Each year our members are excited to learn about new inductions and look for ways to include them in future expeditions.”
Following is a sample of USTOA member tour operators offering a chance to explore UNESCO World Heritage Sites around the globe.
Rapa Nui, better known as Easter Island, is home to an impressive cultural landscape and intriguing Polynesian history. Zegrahm Expeditions offers explorers a 20-day journey from Tahiti to Easter Island to experience Rapa Nui National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, during its “Tahiti to Easter Island: Marquesas, Tuamotus & Pitcairns” trip. Travelers discover the shrines and ancient figures, known as moai, built by the Polynesian society who settled on Rapa Nui around 300 AD. This tropical vacation also offers stunning views of volcanoes and the chance to snorkel amid vibrant reefs. Available November 5, 2017 from $19,980 per person.
Alexander + Roberts is bringing travelers to Iran for unparalleled access to 11 of Iran’s 19 UNESCO World Heritage Sites during the “Persian Moments Private” itinerary. During this 13-day private tour, guests will visit the only bazaar in the world recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site, as well as discover Pasargadae and Persepolis, cities of the Achaemenid Empire. Available in 2017 and 2018.
Guests on African Travel Inc.’s 10-day “Southern Explorer” tour will hike alongside the mighty Victoria Falls, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Other highlights include dining in the home of a local Capetonian family, discovering breathtaking scenery at the Cape of Good Hope and searching for the “Big Five.” Available throughout 2016, prices start at $3,895 per person.
Adventures by Disney’s“Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos Family Vacation” visits three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Angkor Archeological Park, the world’s largest religious monument; Luang Prabang, a town with rich architectural and artistic heritage; and Hoi An, an ancient trading port. Starting at $5,599 per person and available June through August 2016 with more departures in December, the adventure is rounded out by a Tuk-Tuk Temple Treasure Hunt, cooking class and an interactive experience with a Tai-Chi Master.
During Globus’“The Best of Southern England” seven-day tour, guests get the chance to visit some of the most recognizable UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Stonehenge, the City of Bath, Westminster Palace, Westminster Abbey and Saint Margaret’s Church. Historical and beautiful, this trip starts at $1,549 per person land only.
For further inspirations or to search for dream travel itineraries and destinations, visit www.ustoa.com/dream.
Representing more than $13.5 billion in revenue, the member companies of U.S. Tour Operators Association provide tours, packages and custom arrangements that allow nearly 8 million travelers annually unparalleled access, insider knowledge, peace-of-mind, value and freedom to enjoy destinations and experiences across the entire globe. Each member company has met the travel industry’s highest standards, including participation in the USTOA’s Travelers Assistance Program, which protects consumer payments up to $1 million if the company goes out of business. As a voice for the tour operator industry for more than 40 years, USTOA also provides education and assistance for consumers and travel agents.
‘India: My Second Home’ Kosher Itinerary Departs January 10, 2017
A local Jewish woman explains how mezuzot (encased Hebrew parchments) are common in Diaspora communities throughout India
NEW YORK, NY – Pacific Delight Tours is teaming up with Rabbi Marvin Tokayer and the Foundation for Remote Jewish Communities (FRJC) to create a series of specialized Kosher Jewish interest tours. The program will launch with the India: My Second Home tour and will be expanded throughout Asia and other enticing global destinations where travelers can meet and learn about lesser known, yet thriving Jewish Diaspora communities.
“In addition to an interest in viewing history Through Jewish Eyes™ with an insight into the fascinating remote Diaspora communities, travelers who observe kashrut (kosher guidelines) have specific dietary requirements which are not satisfied by typical tour programs,” said Rabbi Tokayer. “In order to keep kosher in distant places, we arrange visits to Jewish Community Centers with first-class kosher restaurants. Additionally, in places where there is no synagogue, Hindu and Buddhist vegetarian restaurants allow us to keep kosher as these restaurants serve no “life” – no meat, poultry, fish, eggs or even milk. They allow us to keep kosher while experiencing some unique local cuisine.”
Dr. Katz poses with members of India’s Jewish Community
Led Dr. Nathan Katz, a leading authority and award-winning author on Indian Jewish life, India: My Second Home is a two-week deluxe tour with opportunities to meet and interact with India’s diverse Jewish communities in Kochi (Cochin), Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay), New Delhi and Agra. The program departs on January 10, 2017.
The program visits many “must-see” sights, including the iconic Taj Mahal, Elephanta Caves and other UNESCO World Heritage sites. Travelers will learn new traditions at Shabbat services and dinners in Mumbai and New Delhi, tour Kochi and Kolkata’s historic synagogues with local members of the Jewish community and experience Kerala’s scenic backwaters by boat while exploring rural Jewish settlements. Guests will also enjoy a scenic rickshaw ride through Old Delhi along with cultural music and dance performances.
“India is known for its antiquity and modern high-tech, its spirituality and Bollywood swagger, its bustling cities and pristine nature – a cultural kaleidoscope at the center of the world’s largest democracy. But what’s typically not known is India’s long history as one of the most hospitable homes in the Jewish Diaspora,” said Dr. Katz. “For centuries, Jews found a haven in which their traditions flourished. So too, they’ve been among India’s great mystics, taken center stage in Bollywood, served as mayor of major cities and produced the country’s greatest military hero, General J. F. R. ‘Jack’ Jacob, and most celebrated patron saint of 17th century Indian poetry, Sarmad Kashani.”
“India is fascinating not only for its sacred cow, the Taj Mahal and Hinduism, but it is also home to the least known and most benevolent Jewish Diaspora, including a Jewish kingdom established in the 5th century. Jews have lived in India for well over 2,000 years without a trace of anti-Semitism. I was surprised to learn so much about Jewish history of which I was previously unaware during the creation of this program,” noted Charmaine Lau, Operations Manager at Pacific Delight Tours. “This is truly a fascinating experience and we are very excited to work with Rabbi Tokayer and the Foundation on similar programs throughout China and global destinations.”
Pacific Delight’s kosher tours utilize deluxe hotels such as Mumbai’s five-star Taj Mahal Tower overlooking the Gateway of India and Arabian Sea. Other accommodations may include the Vivanta by Taj-Malabar Hotel in Kochi, the Oberoi Grand Kolkata Hotel, Taj Mahal Hotel in New Delhi and Agra’s ITC Mughal Hotel (hotels may be substituted with similar class accommodations at the discretion of Pacific Delight and the Foundation for Remote Jewish Communities).
The fully-escorted tour is available from $7,195 per person, based on double occupancy. Rates include deluxe accommodations, all meals (kosher or strictly vegetarian), all intra-India flights, the services of an English-speaking escort and local guides including acclaimed scholar Dr. Katz, enticing cultural events and personalized photos/travel blog of the trip. All taxes and gratuities are included so there is no need to tip drivers, escorts, guides or hotel staff.
International airfare and visa processing fees are not included and can be arranged by Pacific Delight Tours based on competitive market rates at the time of booking.
Dr. Katz is distinguished Professor, Emeritus, at Florida International University where he was director of Jewish Studies and founding director of the Program in the Study of Spirituality. He has written 15 books, including The Last Jews of Cochin and Who Are the Jews of India? A Fulbright scholar who has spent more than eight years in South Asia, Dr. Katz was delegate to the 1990 Tibetan-Jewish dialogue hosted by the Dalai Lama, which was chronicled in the bestselling book, The Jew in the Lotus.
The tour cost includes a $900 per person tax-deductible donation to Rabbi Tokayer’s FRJC, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit educational charity that is devoted to preserving and promoting the endangered Jewish communities on the periphery of the Diaspora. Since its inception in 2003, FRJC has distributed nearly $1 million for Jewish libraries, scholarships and sustainable farming projects. Learn more at www.frjc.org.
Consult your local travel agent to book, contact Pacific Delight Tours at 800-221-7179 or visit www.PacificDelightTours.com for more information.
The Jewish Vienna Walking Tour is led by a small group of historians, visiting key sites in Vienna, including: the City Temple, Holocaust Memorial, and neighborhoods of notable Jewish residents like Theodor Hertzl.
Docents from the Context network around the world share their insight and views on some of the greatest Jewish Heritage sites in the world, including their favorite synagogues and critical Holocaust Memorials that you must visit if you consider yourself an informed world citizen. See: Holocaust Memorials Around the World and Jewish Synagogues Across the World
Founded by National Geographic writer Paul Bennett and designer Lani Bevacqua, Context Travel is a network of English-speaking scholars and professionals, including art historians, writers, architects and gastronomes, who organize and lead walking seminars in thirty-seven (37) world cities, including: Florence, Rome, Venice, Naples, Milan, Paris, London, Dublin, Edinburgh, Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, D.C., Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Cartagena, Istanbul, Athens, Beijing, Shanghai, Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Amsterdam, Milan, Dublin, Tokyo, Kyoto, Hong Kong, Vancouver, Montreal, Melbourne, and Sydney. A certified B Corporation, Context Travel was named one of the fastest-growing American companies in 2011 by Inc Magazine. Travel + Leisure has called Context one of the top European tour companies for its innovative approach to travel and the depth of its programs. To learn more about Context, visit the website at: www.contexttravel.com.
MOSCOW, RUSSIA — Limmud FSU, based in Tel Aviv, Israel, in partnership with the Shem Olam Institute and the Nativ organization, has just opened a photographic survey of the life of Elie Wiesel, at the Israeli Cultural Center in Moscow. The exhibition will run until the end of September.
An array of VIPs participated in the opening August 25, including Russian Chief Rabbi Avraham Shayevich; Russian Jewish Congress President Yuri Kenner; Israel’s Minister of Immigrant Absorption Sofa Landver; Conference of European Rabbis President Pinchas Goldschmidt; Euro-Asian Jewish Congress Secretary General Mikhail Chlenov; Israeli-Russian Business Council Chairman Dr. Temur Ben Yehuda; Prof. Ilya Altman, representing the Claims Conference in the FSU; American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s representative in Moscow, Alik Nadan; and the founder and chairman of Limmud FSU, Chaim Chesler.
Wiesel was a leading supporter of the movement to free Soviet Jewry and in 1966 wrote a highly influential book on the struggle. “It’s fitting that Elie Wiesel was honored in Moscow by the very people he helped free 50 years after writing ‘The Jews of Silence,'” said Chesler. “His memory will serve as an inspiration and a symbol of our triumph.”
Dr. Yoel Rappel, the founder and director of the Elie Wiesel Archive at Boston University, curated the exhibition, which showcases milestones in Wiesel’s life, from his youth before and during the Holocaust to his work as a novelist, journalist, Jewish leader and Nobel Prize winner.
“When I asked Wiesel how the struggle for Soviet Jewry is more important than the struggle for Holocaust awareness, he replied: ‘the Jews of Europe were exterminated physically by the Nazis; the Jews of the Soviet Union were being destroyed spiritually. The first we were unable to avoid, but we must prevent the second from succeeding,'” said Rappel.
Wiesel was born in 1928 in Sighet, Transylvania, now in Romania. He was just 15 years old when the Nazis deported him and his family to Auschwitz. His mother and younger sister perished, yet his two older sisters survived. Elie and his father were later transported to the Buchenwald concentration camp, where his father died shortly before the camp was liberated in April 1945.
“Elie Wiesel, an Auschwitz survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner, was a source of inspiration for Jews around the world – and all free people. A philosopher, teacher, journalist and writer, he embodied the struggle against evil and for the right of Diaspora Jews to immigrate to Israel,” said Landver. “There is no one who will be better remembered as a fighter for humanity. Wiesel managed to break through the Iron Curtain and allow many Jews to return to the Jewish homeland.”
In 1978, U.S. President Jimmy Carter appointed Wiesel as chairman of the President’s Commission on the Holocaust. In 1980, he became the founding chairman of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council. Wiesel and his wife Marion established the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity, to combat indifference, intolerance and injustice. He received 140 honorary degrees from institutions of higher learning all over the world.
Elie Wiesel died in New York in July.
The entire exhibition may be viewed or downloaded here.
Limmud FSU is a nonprofit founded 10 years ago by Chaim Chesler, former treasurer of the Jewish Agency, and Sandra Cahn, a philanthropist from New York. Since its inaugural conference in Moscow in 2006, Limmud FSU has created an independent educational and communal network of annual conferences and festivals, attracting more than 35,000 participants in Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Russian Far East and the Volga-Ural region), Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Israel, North America (Greater New York, the West Coast, and Canada), and Australia. Limmud FSU engages young Russian-Jewish adults, empowering them to take ownership of their identity and to connect with their communities through pluralistic, egalitarian volunteer-driven conferences of Jewish learning and culture. In this way, Limmud FSU strives to foster the next generation of young Russian-speaking Jewish leadership and so revitalize Jewish communities in the countries of the former Soviet Union, and in countries with Russian-Jewish communities, wherever they may be. Key partners include the Claims Conference, JDC, philanthropist Matthew Bronfman, Aaron Frenkel, Michal Grayevsky, Ronald Lauder, Diane Wohl, the Jewish National Fund (KKL), UJA-Federation of New York, Israel Bonds, the Jewish Agency, and others. For additional details: www.limmudfsu.org. For more travel features, visit:
Kevin Locke performs Hoop Dance. Jamestown Settlement is hosting an American Indian Intertribal PowWow Oct. 1-2, 2016
WILLIAMSBURG, Va.– Jamestown Settlement, a museum of 17th-century Virginia history and culture, will present an American Indian Intertribal Powwow on Saturday and Sunday, October 1 and 2, featuring song and dance by members of American Indian tribes, storytelling and a film presentation.
An Evening Concert & Flute Workshops With Kevin Locke
A highlight of the weekend event will be a Saturday evening performance by folk artist Kevin Locke, a world-renowned Hoop Dancer, an indigenous Northern Plains flute player and storyteller. Locke, Native American Music Award winner for 2009 Record of the Year and National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellow, will perform traditional songs and original music from his 12 albums, most recently The First Flute, Open Circle, Keepers of the Dream and Dream Catcher, combining songs on flute with American Indian stories touching on the Lakota culture and sign language. At the conclusion of the evening, accompanied by Powwow singers, Locke will perform a hoop dance, an athletic healing dance in which he uses 28 hoops to form various animals and shapes. Audience members will be selected to learn and take part in this traditional hoop dance. The evening concert begins at 6:30 p.m., and admission is $10 for adults and $5 for ages 6-12.
As a Lakota and Anishinabe, Locke works with young people on American Indian reservations to ensure the survival and growth of the indigenous culture and shares the culture’s legacies with others during his world travels. Locke will offer flute workshops at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday in which he will show children how to build and paint their own flute and teach them a song. Participants during the Saturday workshops will be invited to perform with Locke during the Saturday evening performance, and those participating in the Sunday workshops can take part in the Sunday daytime Powwow dancing event. Flute workshops require advance reservations and cost $40 per person on Saturday (includes museum admission to daytime event and evening concert) and $35 on Sunday (includes museum admission to daytime event). Each workshop, designed for ages 8 and older, is limited to 15 participants.
American Indian Intertribal Powwow activities from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. include:
Powwow Singing & Dancing
A Grand Entry with a parade of dancers will take place at 12:30 p.m. each day in a dance circle on the museum mall, followed by an afternoon of singing and dancing until 4:30 p.m. Master of Ceremonies will be David White Buffalo, a member of the Sincagu band of the Lakota Nation, and Arena Director will be Clark Stewart of the Chickahominy Tribe. Among the featured singers will be Thunder Voices of the Lumbee, from Lumberton, N.C.; Zotigh Singers of the Kiowa, from Oklahoma; and The White Buffalo Singers of the Lakota, from Rosebud, S.D.
Film Presentation
Visitors can view the one-hour documentary film “Rising Voices” 10 a.m. and 12:30 and 3 p.m. each day to learn about the endangered indigenous language of the Lakota people at. The film is part of The Language Conservancy’s ongoing effort to preserve and revitalize languages in North America. Following the film, elders and first-language speakers from the Lakota in South Dakota and Crow in Montana will be on hand to discuss the film and facilitate children’s activities.
Storytelling
Grace Ostrum of the Accohannock will present American Indian stories at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. each day.
Birds of Prey
A “Birds of Prey” program, featuring falcons and other raptors, will be presented on the museum mall by Eagle Pines Falconry at 11:45 a.m. each day of the event.
‘Bartering for a Continent’ Special Exhibition
Jamestown Settlement visitors also can enjoy the “Bartering for a Continent: How Anglo-Indian Trade Shaped America” special exhibition through December 10, exploring the importance of trade between American Indians and English colonists, from the founding of Jamestown through the American Revolution, and the role of Virginia in the development of a new world of exchange in goods and commodities across the North American continent.
Basket Workshops
Powhatan Indians in the 17th century made baskets of bark, grasses and vines to carry items harvested on land and from waterways. Visitors can pre-register for a two-hour workshop at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. October 1 and 2 to discover the process of making twined baskets and take it home. Workshops are $20 per person and limited to 15 participants.
Jamestown Settlement features an introductory film, expansive exhibition galleries that chronicle the nation’s 17th-century beginnings in Virginia in the context of its Powhatan Indian, English and west central African cultures, and historical interpretation at outdoor re-creations of a Powhatan village, the three ships that brought America’s first permanent English colonists to Virginia in 1607, and a colonial fort.
The Jamestown Settlement Special Exhibition, Bartering for a Continent: How Anglo-Indian Trade Shaped America, is on view June 4 – December 10, 2016.
The American Indian Intertribal Powwow daytime event is included with admission: $17.00 for adults, $8.00 for ages 6 through 12, and children under 6 are free. Separate admission is required for the Saturday evening concert with Kevin Locke and advance reservations required for flute and basket workshops. Tickets are available at https://jyfemail.jyf.virginia.gov/eStore/.
Jamestown Settlement, located at State Route 31 and the Colonial Parkway (2110 Jamestown Road), is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. For more information about the American Indian Intertribal Powwow, call (888) 593-4682 toll-free or (757) 253-4838 or visit http://www.historyisfun.org/jamestown-settlement/powwow/
The Nation Magazine’s December tour to Iran will be the second one this year.
The Nation Magazine is mounting a 10-night educational excursion to Iran, specially curated for a limited group of Nation readers and supporters. The trip will offer a rare opportunity to experience the people, politics, culture, and history of a country that has been at the very center of geopolitics for decades—yet that so few Americans have ever had an opportunity to visit.
The group of about 30 will fly together the evening of December 9 from New York City, and arrive at Tehran’s international airport late the following day. After settling into one of Tehran’s premier hotels, the first two days will be spent visiting the city’s preeminent museums, experiencing important historical and cultural sites, and savoring traditional Iranian food in the city’s finest restaurants and food markets.
Next, the group will fly to Shiraz, one of the oldest cities of ancient Persia, known as the “city of poets, literature, wine, and gardens.” The itinerary also visits the historic cities of Persepolis, Naqsh-e Rustam, Pasargadae, Nain, Isfahan, Kashan, and Qom. After returning to Tehran on December 17, there will be more touring of the capital city—including its famous Grand Bazaar—as well as opportunities to meet with academics and other prominent Iranians. The group returns to New York on December 20.
The trip is hosted in Iran by Charles Bittner, The Nation’s long-serving academic liaison. Bittner currently directs The Nation’s cultural- and educational-exchange program in Cuba and Iran, and also teaches in the sociology department at St. John’s University in New York City. Additionally, the group will accompanied throughout the tour by Afshin Kepasa, one of Iran’s most experienced tour guides, who has graduate degrees in modern languages and politics from the University of Tehran.
This will be The Nation’s second tour of Iran this year. Previous participants have found Iran to be a phenomenal place to visit, that its people are exceptionally hospitable and generous, and that the delegation was treated with the utmost respect and benevolence.
“Please note that the purpose of this trip is not at all political,” Bittner writes. “Rather, our objective is to experience firsthand the culture and history of this strategically important yet largely unfamiliar country.”
The all-inclusive cost of this tour is $7,265/$7,795 per person(double/single occupancy) and includes round-trip airfare from New York to Tehran; 10 nights at four-star hotels throughout Iran; a one-way flight from Tehran to Shiraz; all travel authorizations and Iranian visas; ground transportation; airport transfers; lectures; guided visits to Iran’s renowned museums and historical sites; most meals; and many other captivating activities and events.
Space is limited. For additional information or to register, contact Charles Bittner at [email protected].
On July 17, 2016, the two Le Corbusier houses at the Weissenhof Estate in the Southern German city of Stuttgart were designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, making it the first World Heritage Site for Stuttgart and the 41st for Germany.
As part of a transnational joint application, Stuttgart and destinations in seven other countries applied to have 17 of Le Corbusier’s buildings listed due to the architect’s outstanding contribution to Modernism. The two Stuttgart houses are the architect’s only buildings in Germany and include the Weissenhof Museum, which illustrates the radical change in architecture around the time of the Second World War as well as Le Corbusier’s visionary thinking.
Germany’s other 40 UNESCO World Heritage Sites include the majestic Cologne Cathedral, the expansive Wadden Sea habitat, Classical Weimar and Regensburg’s charming Old Town. They can be explored on eight different themed routes, from natural wonders to architecture to palaces and parks.
For more information about Germany’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites, visit www.germany.travel/unesco. For more travel features, visit:
