How to get a second passport

by Alex Robertson Textor on

A second passport sounds glamorous. And in point of fact, it is glamorous. There’s no debating the matter. Possessing a second passport gives its bearer bragging rights and the ability to feel a wee bit like a spy, especially when he or she is traveling with both passports in tow.

So you want to get a second passport and feel like an undercover agent? Not so fast. The US State Department allows Americans to obtain a second US passport under two circumstances only: [1] when a particular passport stamp will prevent entry into certain other countries the bearer intends or needs to visit, and [2] when a foreign visa application’s processing time interferes with upcoming international travel.

The first loophole addresses diplomatic barriers to travel. The chief example here is the Israeli passport stamp. Several countries refuse to admit travelers with an Israeli stamp (as well as Jordanian or Egyptian entrance or exit stamps from Israel‘s land border crossings with Jordan and Egypt) in their passports.

With an Israeli stamp in your passport, you may be refused entry to Algeria, Iran, Lebanon, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. Anecdotal evidence from friends and various online sources indicates that some countries are stricter than others, with Lebanon and Syria particularly unbendable. The bearer of a second passport can alternate between passports selectively, thus making sure that he or she will not be refused admission for a years-old Israeli passport stamp at, say, the Damascus airport.

The second circumstance addresses the problem of bureaucratic delays. People with upcoming travel scheduled while their passports are unavailable as a consequence of a foreign visa application (or another procedure involving a foreign government) can apply for and receive a second passport.

The second passport is only valid for two years. In addition to the required form and photographs, applications must include evidence of upcoming travel and a letter explaining the applicant’s specific need for the additional passport.

Summer Travel: A week in the Holy Land

by Matthew Firestone on

With the summer holidays rapidly approaching, it’s safe to say that many of us are suffering from serious bouts of wanderlust. Fortunately we at Gadling have the cure, namely a heaping dose of pure, uncut travel advice. Side effects may include flight bookings, hotel reservations and the loss of a few clean passport pages.

Every year, travel experts (myself included…) seem to tout a *new* destination that somehow seemed to escape all prior notice. But today we’re here to tell you that one of the hottest summer destinations has in fact been around for a long, long time. Rather than keeping you guessing, we’ll just spill the fava beans and come right out and say it.

Geopolitics aside, Israel is an awe-inspiring place to visit.

In one tiny strip of land, you’ll find ancient cities, a mélange of cultures, stunning natural environments, rich cuisine and decent value for your dollar. Israel’s compact size also means that you can tick off a long-list of sights in a relatively short period of time. And, you’ll find that English is widely spoken, which makes independent travel very feasible.

%Gallery-122137%If you’re arriving in Israel by flight, chances are you will touchdown in Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV), just 10 miles southeast of Tel Aviv proper. In comparison to the historical hot bed that is Jerusalem, Tel Aviv is generally described as being modern, secular and progressive. It is also unapologetically bold and brash, and consequently serves as the country’s hedonistic playground.

Dubbed by National Geographic as one of the world’s ten best beach cities, Tel Aviv easily rivals any of its Mediterranean counterparts. The westward facing strip of sand ensures uninterrupted sunsets, though beach life is anything but a daytime activity. The warm, dry nights bring out droves of party people, who booze it up in chic canopy lounges and trend-setting mega-clubs.

For the more culturally-minded traveler, a visit to the adjacent city of Jaffa is an absolute must – just follow the beachside promenade south for around a mile. Home to archaeological ruins dating back to 7500 BCE, Jaffa is believed to be one of the oldest ports in the world. But the core architectural plan is largely Ottoman in design, with fortified sea walls, soaring minarets, rounded cupolas and serpentine alleyways.

You could easily spend a full-week indulging in Tel Aviv’s signature brand of fun. But no trip to Israel is complete without stepping foot in Jerusalem, sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims alike. Truth be told, trying to capture the magnitude of Jerusalem – especially in a meager blog post – is something of an exercise in futility.

Indeed, Jerusalem hosted the court of the Israelite King David, oversaw the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and was visited during the Night Journey of the prophet Muhammad. Yet despite this monumental line of biblical succession, the old city of Jerusalem is easily accessible, surprisingly compact and conducive to exploration on foot.

On your first day in the city, start at the Western (Wailing) Wall, a remnant of the Jewish Second Temple that was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. If you continue up to the Temple Mount, you’ll see the gold-plated Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine built in 691 CE that is now one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks. Continue to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is built around Calvary (Golgotha), the site of Jesus’s crucifixion. Save time for sunset at the top of Mount of Olives, a historic Jewish cemetery that is referenced in both the Old and New Testaments.

On your second day in the city, grab a flashlight and head to the City of David archaeological park. The centerpiece here in the 1,700 foot-long Siloam Tunnel, a subterranean aqueduct that dates from 701 BCE. Walking through the dark while ankle-deep in water is a surreal yet memorable experience. In the afternoon, hop from cafe to cafe in the fashionable and cosmopolitan New City quarter. Also don’t miss the Israel Museum, which houses several surviving copies of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Leaving Jerusalem behind is no easy task, but Israel also presents numerous opportunities for enjoying the great outdoors. Summer heat can be intense, but there is no better place for cooling down than in the southern resort city of Eilat. Located on the shores of the Red Sea, Eilat presents opportunities for swimming, boating, SCUBA diving, camel trekking or simply lounging around without a care in the world.

Equally refreshing – but more saline – is the Dead Sea, one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world, and the lowest point on the Earth’s surface. Floating on your back without expending any energy is amongst the quintessential Middle East tourist experiences. But trust us – don’t enter if you have any open cuts. And unless you really want to feel the burn, best to hold off on shaving until after you’ve taken your dip.

The jumping off-point for the Dead Sea is the oasis town of Ein Gedi, which lies adjacent to one of Israel’s most beautiful nature reserves. Nearby you’ll also find Masada, a natural rock fort that was the site of a famous mass suicide during the First Jewish-Roman War (66–70 CE). A hot and sweaty hike to the top (bring water, and start early in the day!) brings you to the spot where almost a thousand Jews committed mass suicide in order to avoid being captured by the Romans.

We’ve just barely scratched the surface of everything that lies waiting for you to discover in the Holy Land. But even if you don’t have much time to spare, a one-week jaunt really is enough time to explore a fairly decent swathe of Israel. So check your preconceived notions at the door, and get ready for some truly life-changing travel.

** All photos are the blogger’s original work **

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Cool cafe alert: Uganda, Jerusalem

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Jerusalem is gloriously beautiful city. It is also an overwhelming place. One of the world’s most important religious cities is the site of ongoing conflicts over land and territory. It is difficult to visit Jerusalem without considering these issues. Even a short visit to Jerusalem (especially one that includes Palestinian cities to the north and south of the city) compels visitors to think about religion, culture, state conflict, and land.

The preponderance of religious sites, the throngs of religious tourists, and the tension that buzzes through the Old Town’s air make for a very particular atmosphere. You could forgive visitors for hankering after a break in scene.

If you’ve got cash to burn, there’s the admittedly spellbinding Orientalist sanctuary of the American Colony Hotel, with its incredible ambiance and storied history. The American Colony provides a true oasis from Jerusalem’s chaos.

For visitors in search of a grittier, more contemporary sort of respite, a posh hotel will not do. Happily for these anonymous hipsters, Jerusalem boasts a very cool cafe called Uganda (4 Aristobolus Street) that is absolutely worth a visit.

A record store-cum-bar/cafe named after the former British protectorate once proposed as a Jewish homeland, Uganda feels well and truly countercultural. Opened in 2005, Uganda sells zines, comics, and graphic novels as well as music from Israel and beyond.

The interior is a curious mixture of hipster and hippie. On the hipster side, there are classic vintage (or lookalike) pieces of furniture; for the hippies, there are waitresses with dreadlocky situations atop their heads. The clientele is young and geeky-hipster, an the scene is undeniably bohemian. Uganda’s scene is sustained by a packed calendar of performances throughout the year. Recent months have featured scheduled gigs on a near-nightly basis.

And if none of the above wets your whistle, there’s this: Uganda serves an excellent Palestinian beer called Taybeh.

Crucifixion nails found in Israel? Probably not.

by Sean McLachlan on

There’s been a shocking archaeological discovery in Israel. Nails from the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ have been found!

Well, no, probably not.

The claim comes from Israeli Canadian documentary filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici, the Washington Post reports. Jacobovici has done several documentaries on Christian subjects and came across an archaeological report from 1990 mentioning the discovery of nails in the tomb of a man named Caiaphas. For those who know their Bible, this is the same name as the Jewish high priest who plotted to arrest Jesus and then gave him to the Romans. The name is right, the date of the tomb is right, so the nails must be those from the Crucifixion, right?

The Post quotes Jacobovici as saying, “There’s a general scholarly consensus that the tomb where the nails were found likely belonged to Caiaphas. Nails at that time were a dime a dozen, but finding one in a tomb is exceedingly rare.”

Actually neither of these statements is true. The Post quotes an Israeli archaeologist as saying that the inscriptions in the tomb aren’t clear as to the occupant’s identity, and I myself have seen Roman nails turn up in tombs. They were pretty common objects, after all.

The timing of this announcement just before Easter and just before Jacobovici’s next documentary comes out (titled “Nails of the Cross” to air Wednesday on the History Channel), adds to the suspicion that Jacobovici is fooling either himself or us.

There’s also the question of why a Jewish high priest would take the nails of someone who he thought was a false prophet to the grave with him, or even how he got them in the first place since it was Jesus’ family and followers who removed Jesus from the Cross.

In the view of this former archaeologist, this story is more of the usual sensationalism masking as science that fills so much of the media. A bit like the spurious discovery of Caligula’s tomb.

Never fear. There are plenty are saints’ relics in Rome, including enough nails for a dozen Crucifixions. Gadling’s own David Farley has even written a book about the Holy Foreskin, which you can also visit in Italy. Actually there’s more than one relic claiming to be the Holy Foreskin, but that’s another story. . .

[Image of Roman nails courtesy user Takkk via Wikimedia Commons. These are not the same nails that came from the tomb mentioned in this article.]

Sabich: Israeli fast food

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Sabich, an Israeli fast food with origins among Iraqi immigrants to Israel, is the most insanely delicious street food you probably haven’t discovered yet. A great introduction to the emergence of sabich as a popular fast food item in Israel, several years old now, can be found on Yael Zisling’s Gems in Israel site. According to Zisling, there was originally no name for this fast food among Iraqi Jews in Israel. It was simply the typical food eaten on Shabbat morning.

Residents of Tel Aviv are quite passionate about their sabich. I enlisted Israeli journalist and travel writer Yuval Ben-Ami for navigational assistance. A friend of Yuval’s had recently talked up the stand at 2 Tchernichovsky Street sufficiently to prompt him to switch his allegiance. The Tchernichovsky Street sabich takeout joint, called rather literally Sabich, was packed at lunchtime. Common to a number of other sabich stalls, its owner has a sense of humor. Yuval translated a sign on the wall clarifying that orders of sabich without eggplant would not be entertained.

Firmly in the high-quality budget eats camp at around 15 shekels (about $4.35) apiece, a sabich lunch is a real meal. The main ingredient is fried eggplant. There are variations, of course, but other components include tahini, hummus, crumbled hard-boiled egg, salad, pickled mango, hot sauce, and pickled cucumbers.

Sabich is vegetarian. With the subtraction of the egg, it becomes fully vegan. Some enjoy sabich without the egg, while others love the egg for how it transforms in combination with the other flavors and gives the meal a real solidity.

It is easy to imagine sabich joining falafel and the burrito as a globally popular fast food. It’s just as easy to imagine the lack of quality and ingredient control that would come with a mass adoption. For now at least, this fast food sandwich, quite difficult to find outside of Israel, has not yet achieved globalized status. This is a situation ripe for entrepreneurial action.