When it was built as a simple retaining wall supporting the outer portion of the Temple Mount some 2,000 years ago, I’m sure the builders would have had a difficult time getting their minds around the fact that their modest creation would become the most sacred site in the world for Jewish people: What makes … Continue reading
A popular item on the menu in some parts of Mexico are grasshoppers – known as chapulines… Below, a woman selling toasted grasshoppers: After the grasshoppers have been collected, they are thoroughly cleaned and washed. They are then toasted or fried on a comal (clay cooking surface) with lime, garlic and salt. Sometimes the grasshopers … Continue reading
The structure above is, of course, a piece of the Great Pyramid of Cholula with the Nuestra Senora de los Remedios (Our Lady of the Remedies) church on top of it… I’ve already profiled the Great Pyramid, but what about the city of Cholula itself? At the peak of its historical significance, Cholula had the … Continue reading
This was once the site of a major Soviet base with a large airfield and many troops… Now it is little more than a few hollowed out buildings. Will the American adventure in Afghanistan end in a similar fashion? Death and destruction (on both sides) with no permanency other than graves and rusting war machinery? Continue reading
The largest pyramid in the world is the Great Pyramid of Cholula in Mexico. Never heard of it? Surprisingly few people have… However, the Guinness Book of World Records, has documented that the Great Pyramid of Cholula is not only the largest pyramid in the world, but is also the largest monument constructed anywhere in … Continue reading
An empty North Korean highway: One will see some cars and other vehicles in Pyongyang. I wouldn’t go so far to say that there is traffic, but one will at least look both ways before crossing a street in the capital city. This contrasts rather strangely with the countryside of North Korea where one can … Continue reading
Leon Trotsky’s home in Mexico City is an interesting site to visit for two reasons… First, regardless of one’s political leanings, there is no disputing the historical significance of Leon Trotsky – Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, founder and commander of the Red Army, figure of blame for the brutal crushing of the Kronstadt … Continue reading
The Velvet Rocket 