A construction crew planning an expansion to a highway running between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in Israel has discovered an ancient temple believed to be more than 2700 years old. The archaeological site was unearthed last Wednesday and is part of the larger dig at Tel Motza, which features ruins dating back to the Neolithic Era.
The temple has an entrance that faces east, allowing the first light of the day to illuminate its sparse interior. Inside, archaeologists found a large square structure that is thought to be an alter, as well as an array of ceremonial objects. Those objects include the remains of pottery and chalices, and tiny clay figures of humans and animals that are believed to have been used in religious rituals.
This new find is just the latest to be discovered in Motza, which has been part of an ongoing archaeological excavation since the 1990s. The temple is similar in age to some of the other ruins in the area, which also include an underground reservoir that dates to the time of the Crusades and grain silos that once served as storage for the city of Jerusalem.
Once the small temple has been completely examined it will be sealed off from the public and preserved from harm. The new highway expansion will move ahead directly over the site, which will prevent it from being accessible to the public. The ceremonial objects discovered inside will be cataloged and put on display in museums.
There’s lots of good food to be had in New York City So much good food, in fact, that visitors must not forget to try one of NYC’s cheapest (and tastiest) culinary offerings: the pizza slice. Today’s photo, taken by Flickr user Mike GL, gives us a “behind the counter” look at your typical New York pizza joint. I liked the angle of the shot behind the glass, lending the shot a “slice of life” perspective. Wondering where to get some great pizza in New York? Check out this list of some of our favorites.
Taken any great travel photos lately? Why not add them to our Gadling group on Flickr? We might just pick one of yours as our Photo of the Day.
During a time wherein many things are famous that don’t seem to warrant all of the attention, it’s refreshing to have found an attraction worth all of the buzz it gets: the Dyker Heights Christmas Lights. I drove out to see the lights on Christmas Eve in this southwestern Brooklyn community with my husband unsure of what to expect.
Driving around and taking in the best of the local Christmas lights on Christmas Eve was a tradition in my family growing up. My sister and I would dress up in our favorite velvet dresses, the kind that usually had lace and pearl necklines, and we’d brush our hair and do our best to look worthy of the mound of presents we’d receive the very next morning. We’d pile into the family car with my brother and parents and make our way to church for the Christmas Eve service. Our little hands that cupped the hot chocolate we’d drink after the service were usually red from candle-wax burns. We were blushing and excited, at least according to my memory, and then we’d race to the car, careful not to slip on the icy pavement, and my father would drive us all around town looking at the beautiful Christmas lights.
%Gallery-174271%Even as I got older, some of the lights would manage to dazzle me. The immense effort some people take in putting together spectacular Christmas light shows would amaze me, even as a surly teenager who refused to wear or own a fancy velvet dress. The quiet of Christmas Eve can be magical, even long after you’ve stopped believing in Santa. And those twinkling lights capture enough of that magic to make even the most stereotypically seasoned and jaded New Yorkers flock to Dyker Heights each December to see the lights.
We nosed around the neighborhood looking for the 13th avenue and the 80s streets after having been told that’s where the best of the best lights would be. We parked and walked around in awe and we were in plenty of good, excited company. Parents propped their children up on their shoulders for a better view. Adults posed for photos in front of an elaborate collection of moving, singing carolers perched atop a front yard fence.
I’m not crazy about a lot of facets of Christmas, but the lights are fun, no matter which way I look at it. I’ll admit, however, that I was just as impressed with some of the Dyker Heights houses as I was the lights. Nothing quite accents ornate Christmas decorations like your dream Brooklyn house.
If you haven’t seen the Dyker Heights Christmas Lights yet, some may still be up! If not, pencil the trip in for next year. It’s worth it.
How would you feel about sailing 10,000 nautical miles from Auckland, New Zealand, to Easter Island and back on a double-hulled canoe with no GPS or navigational equipment? In August, after reading a story my colleague wrote on the Waku Tapu Voyage to Rapanui Expedition, I resolved to check back on these intrepid explorers to see if they made it to Rapanui (Easter Island) in one piece.
I’m happy to report that 22 male and female New Zealanders did indeed complete the first half of their epic journey, arriving in Rapanui safe and sound on December 5. Traveling on two traditional waka (double-hulled sailing canoes) they retraced a historic route across the Pacific Ocean using only the stars, sun, moon, ocean currents, birds and other marine life to guide them, just as their Maori ancestors did. They are now en route back to New Zealand and are due to arrive home in late March. The goal of the journey was to “close the final corner of the Polynesian Triangle defined by Hawaii in the North, New Zealand in the South and Rapanui in the East.”
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I caught up with Karl Johnstone, Director of the New Zealand Maori Arts & Crafts Institute, which organized the expedition, to find out more about this remarkable journey.
Tell us a little about this historic voyage?
It landed on the 5th of December in Rapanui (Easter Island) and they left Auckland on the 17th of August. There were two stopovers, one in Tubuai, one of the Austral Islands in French Polynesia, and then one in Mangareva, to the east of French Polynesia. We had about 22 people on board at any one time, 11 per waka (canoe). These are traditional double-hulled sailing canoes.
The two traditional elements of the voyage are the waka themselves, which are made of indigenous trees from New Zealand and have traditional composition modern rigging and traditional, non-instrument navigation, using environmental tools, habits of the sun, moon and stars and so on.
So there was no GPS or other type of navigational equipment used?
That’s right. This hasn’t been done in modern day times. There are GPS locators on board, and they had a satellite phone, which emits a GPS signal every half an hour back to our waka tracker, so we knew where they were at all times. And we looked at where they were all the time versus their sail plan and the navigators were never really more than 50 nautical miles off the course line they had set. They did really, really well.
You say this hasn’t been done. Has anyone tried it?
It’s never been tried in modern times.
What were some of the hardships the crew faced along the way?
The weather, number one. We had significant storms on our way out to Tubuai, four of them in fact. A lot of the crew, 50% at least were new to open-ocean voyaging, so they had to develop a trust in their vessel. Sickness as well. We had two cases of hypothermia – that’s to be expected when you’re out at the tail end of winter here. Some got boils as well, which is also common. They have to be treated seriously. A few guys had toothaches, infections.
A couple guys had to be taken off because of coral cuts because we couldn’t risk them getting infections out on the open ocean. Another one got burnt – most of the injuries happened on land, not out on the ocean. But we had a well-stocked medicine cabinet, so everyone was treated quite quickly.
Did everyone who started finish?
One had to come off as a result of an injury in Mangareva, but we took him to be there when the waka arrived in Rapanui because he’d made it through the hardest part of the voyage and we couldn’t bear for him not to be there at the end.
Tell me about the crewmembers. Did they all take time off from careers to do this?
We had teachers, people with Ph.D.’s, engineers, people who work for their tribes. It was a broad range of professions, in most cases, they had to walk away from their employment to do this voyage. Some were very senior; one in particular was a very senior official in the Ministry of Education here in New Zealand. A lot of these people walked away from everything you’d consider mandatory in the modern day world to undertake this voyage with no guarantee of success.
And the voyage was unpaid. They got some support along the way but we didn’t pay them or help with their mortgages or anything else, so they had to have a real commitment to this project.
How were they selected for this voyage?
It was through a training program, and they had to volunteer. We had a nine-month training program. There was some natural attrition, we had about 50 who volunteered, and the cream rose to the top.
With the New Year nearly upon us, I’m sure many of you have already made plans for how you will be celebrating its arrival. But visitors to Hong Kong are in for a particular treat this year, as the city welcomes 2013 with an impressive display of fireworks that will also mark the culmination of its annual WinterFest celebration.
Hong Kong’s New Years Eve celebration has become legendary for its festive atmosphere that rivals any other on the planet. Hundreds of thousands of people will line the beautiful and iconic Victoria Harbor in anticipation of the start of another year and to witness an amazing pyrotechnic display that is timed to begin just as the clock strikes midnight. This year, the eight-minute fireworks display will be launched from both land and sea for the first time, giving visitors an experience like none other. That display will be synchronized with a sweeping musical accompaniment that has been written specifically for the celebration.
Obviously if you’re not already in Hong Kong, it will be difficult to join in on the festivities there, but it is not too early to start planning a visit for next year. The city’s New Year’s Eve bash is one of the best in the world and is well worth planning a trip around. I recommend arriving plenty early in order to enjoy WinterFest as well, as that annual event is a fantastic way to enjoy the holiday season. The festival is a mix of world-class shopping and culinary delights that is sure to please.