Greek Island of Lesbos sues over term ‘Lesbian’

by Iva Skoch on

Is this a PR strategy to get more tourists to visit Lesbos Island or do they really care?

Three islanders from Lesbos – Greek island and home of the ancient poet Sappho, who praised love between women – have taken a gay rights group to court for using the word lesbian in its name, Newsweek reports. One of the plaintiffs said that the name of the association, Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece, “insults the identity” of the people of Lesbos, who are also known as Lesbians.

The three plaintiffs are seeking to have the group barred from using “lesbian” in its name.

Lesbos should just use the term lesbian to advertise the island: “Lesbos: where Lesbians love men.” Tell me that wouldn’t work.

Big in Israel: Why Jerusalem is holier than thou

by Matthew Firestone on

This week, Big in Japan is on vacation in the Middle East, and will be bringing you travel news and happenings from around this often misunderstood region.

Few places in the world can rest on their laurels quite like Jerusalem, the Holy City of the Promised Land that is home to some of the most sacred sites in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Not unlike that really, really hot girl you bump into at the club, everyone seems to be fighting for a piece.

So how holy is Jerusalem you say? Well, let me assure you that it’s certainly holier than thou. While it’s difficult to fully appreciate the historical and religious significance of Jerusalem without ever actually setting foot there, today’s posting will hopefully shed some light on some of the old city’s most storied buildings and monuments.

Disclaimer: This is a travel blog, not political commentary. I certainly don’t have a solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, though I can certainly understand, on all sides, why Jerusalem is worth fighting for.

The Western or Wailing Wall – The western retaining wall of the Temple Mount is regarded as the most sacred site in Judaism, especially since it once surrounded the ‘Holiest of Holies,’ namely Herod’s Temple. However, following the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 AD, Jewish worshippers have mourned their insufferable loss by wailing in front of the wall. A more modern practice involves slipping prayer slips into the cracks of the wall.

Dome of the Rock – Here is where things start to get a bit more complicated. In the centre of the Temple Mount is the Dome of the Rock, the oldest Islamic building that just happens to be resting on the former site of the Second Temple. Due to the sacred nature of this site, Jews are forbidden by rabbinical law to ascend to the top of the Temple Mount. However, Muslims regard the mosque together with adjacent Al-Aqsa (see below) as the third holiest site in Islam, primarily because the rock at the centre is from where Muhammad ascended to heaven.

Al-Aqsa Mosque – Here is where things start to get even more complicated. Also on the Temple Mount and adjacent to the Dome of the Rock is Al-Aqsa, a mosque from where prayers are 500 times stronger than at any other mosque outside of Mecca and Medina. Prior to his ascension to heaven, Muhammad rode on a winged horse from Mecca to the ‘farthest mosque’ or Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem.

At this point, the answer to your question is yes – the third holiest site in Islam literally sits on top of the holiest site in Judaism.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre – As if all of this wasn’t complicated enough, just around the corner is one of the most important churches in Christianity, especially since it is built on top of Golgotha or Calvary. From atop this hill, Jesus was crucified by the Romans, and later buried at its base. Since the 4th century, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre has existed as one of the most important pilgrimage sites in the Christian religion.

Needless to say, there is no quick and easy fix for the problems in Israel and the Palestinian territories short of more peace, understanding and dialog on all sides of the debate…

Intrigued by the Middle East? Want to know more about this often misunderstood region? Check out previous posts on the top sights in Dubai, as well as a how-to-guide for would-be travelers in the Palestinian West Bank.

Okayama, Japan: a place to see Japan at a quieter pace

by Jamie Rhein on

When I went to Japan several years back, the U.S. dollar was the pits against the yen. Luckily I had a friend of a friend of my brother’s to stay with in Tokyo. I had a Japanese rail pass for a week so we ventured out on day trips mostly, except for two nights in Kyoto. We went on a day trip to Nara from there. Other trips were to Kamakura and Nikko. This was an impressionistic sort of trip. Japan is such a vivid place that I can conjure up pictures of most of it.

Now that my friend has moved back to Japan, I’m thinking another trip to Japan is in order, particularly since we have another place to go. Okayama, where my friend now lives, looks like it’s a perfect sized city for visiting with children, and one where its possible to taken in the nuances of Japanese culture. In an odd way, it seems to be to Japan what Columbus is to the United States–a reflection of the rest of the country without being overwhelming. There is enough to see and do to make it interesting, but because of the size, the people and sites are accessible.

I’m getting this from the Okayama page at Wikitravel that lists several attractions you can take in.

Here are highlights:

There’s the Korakuen Garden, one of the three Great Gardens in Japan. It dates back to 1687.

The Okayama Castle is a tribute to the tenacity of the Japanese. Destroyed during WWII, it was rebuilt to look like it did before. This might be a place my friend could be an English speaking tour guide–a suggestion Shane left on my post about helping my friend find English speakers.

The Oriental Museum is the place to find out about trade between Persia and Japan. I bet this is a great place to see similarities between textile designs of Persia and pottery designs of Japan. Maybe not, but I would guess.

Sogenji Temple offers free meditation. Plus, temples in Japan are some of the most relaxation producing places on the planet. Here’s also a place to participate in a tea ceremony.

Shizutani School is possibly the oldest public school in the world. It is the oldest school in Japan to be built as an every person’s school. Today it is a national treasure.

There’s also Muscat Stadium, a sports stadium that has baseball games from time to time; a big monthly flea market and the statue of Momotaro. Plus, there’s Mt. Misaoyama for hiking, hot springs for soaking and bike rentals.

Okay, now that I’ve outlined some of what there is to do in Okayama, I have to say, it looks a bit more interesting than Columbus–by a mile.

Converse All-Stars: You can still walk miles almost 100 years later

by Jamie Rhein on

When I went on trek in Ladakh, India, most people who went along were outfitted to the gills in the latest, greatest, newest hiking clothes and shoes for such an occasion. One person, however, wore a pair of Converse All-Stars–the basic low cut version. Nothing fancy and he didn’t even lace them. I can’t remember if he wore socks. Probably not.

He walked unhurriedly for nine days along the trail that lead up the mountains through the Markha Valley. As he walked, he chewed tobacco and cheerfully shot the breeze. His shirts, by the way, were very nice cotton, pin-stripped button down Oxford cloth. His pants– blue jeans. He tied a red bandana, pirate-style around his head and was never without his Ray Bans. I was proud he was in my group that lolly-gagged behind the rest. We took in the scenery and each others company, while the over-achievers sped ahead for who knows what reason except for wanting to be first. (It was hard not to delight in the gasping heaves and moans when altitude sickness kicked in for some of them.)

The Converse All-Stars said, “Kick back. Don’t worry.” I was happy to follow their pace. None of the five of us in the pack that brought up the rear suffered from altitude sickness. We were walking too slow for that, and my friend never got a blister that I can recall.

Converse All-Stars, also called Chuck Taylors or “Chucks,” first made their appearance as basketball shoes in 1917. The company, though, is celebrating its 100th year. It was founded in 1908.

Les Misérables: Cross-cultural wonder

by Jamie Rhein on

I saw Les Misérables the first time in Singapore when the touring company came through. There were Chinese subtitles of the lyrics projected on screens at the sides of the stage or across the top. I can’t remember which. Three of the cast members came to the school where I was teaching to talk with students about their lives as actors and about touring internationally. Afterwards, for a brief while, I had Les Mis fever. The symptoms being: the songs play over and over and over again in your head; you feel deliciously depressed and uplifted at the same time; and you feel like stopping repression somehow–somewhere–some way.

One of the wonderful things about living overseas is being a part of something that has universal appeal, even if it just means sitting in an audience. Here’s something that tops the feeling I had when I sat in the 12th row of the orchestra to the left of center stage.

For the 10th anniversary celebration of Les Misérables there was a concert at Royal Albert Hall that included 17 different Jean Valjeans from different countries, each singing a few lines of “Do You Hear the People Sing” and “One Day More” in their native language. I found it on YouTube. Watching it gave me a touch of Les Mis fever.