There are camps throughout the West Bank where refugees from the Israeli/Arab wars live. The biggest, with over 23,000 people, is in Nablus. It's acro...

Nablus is the second city of the West Bank in population and, like so many cities in the Middle East, it goes way back. The name is an Arabic version ...

Hebron is a fascinating place. With about 250,000 people, it's the largest Palestinian city and the commercial capital of the West Bank. Its people, w...

Frankly, Palestine is not a very pretty place. In hopes of scouting somewhere that looks good for our TV camera, I searched for natural zones. One pla...

In the last decade Israel built a wall separating it from the Palestinian Territories in order to stop Palestinian terrorists from getting into Israel...

Israel has granted a certain amount of autonomy to the Palestinians, but with significant restrictions. The West Bank of the Jordan River is divided i...

Here's a spin tour of Bethlehem's Manger Square, which fronts the Church of the Nativity. Sorry about the noisy wind buffeting. For my blog videos, I ...

Late on my first night in Palestine, after dinner with my guides, I came back to my hotel and met a dozen Lutheran pastors in the lobby. They were hea...

If there was no border or traffic to deal with, you could bicycle from the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in...

During my visit, Israel was celebrating 65 years as a nation. There were flags everywhere. For me, a highlight of my Israel visit was gaining an appre...

The Israeli coast from Tel Aviv to the border of Lebanon is dotted with interesting sights. The thriving city of Haifa is home to the main temple of the Baha'i Faith.

The revolution here is barely two years old, and any visitor to Cairo with an interest in peoples' struggles (like me) will find plenty of opportunities to learn more.

Three hundred elegant river cruise ships are primed and ready to take their loads of tourists on the four-day cruise. But this terrible third season after the revolution, only about 50 are working... and most of those are sailing with as few as 10 paying passengers aboard.

The great sites of Egypt are wide open with police guards standing by... and almost no tourists. In my first week in Egypt, touring nearly all its top ancient sites, I saw tourists, but I never saw an American.

Most tourists in Egypt visit only Cairo and Luxor. Few visit Alexandria, just a three-hour drive away -- the country's second city, and one of the great cities of the Mediterranean.

I am a Protestant Christian, and a burden I bear all my life is what's called the "Protestant work ethic." I was just in your wonderful capital city, and my work ethic drives me to make a suggestion.

All over the world, markets come with the charming and melodic song of merchants selling slicers, dicers, bras, and knock-off DVDs. A stroll down this lane in Cairo takes the sound of commerce to new heights. Give this a listen.

How does an Egyptian rise above the insanity of the streets? Get an education, hope you can marry into a good family (weddings are still generally arranged between families, and after the match is made, the hope is that love may grow), move into the suburbs, and join a social club.

The typical American traveler to Cairo will need a refuge. While I like to think I'm a rugged traveler, to be honest, I'm able to thoroughly enjoy Cairo only because I have the refuge of a towering international-class hotel.

With the power of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, I can't help but wonder about changes creeping into public life here. (To envision this in the USA, imagine if Pat Robertson won the presidency and his friends controlled Congress.)

Vast as Cairo is, it's a small world for the traveler when it comes to sights and tourist-friendly stops. Local guides, local friends, and both guidebooks I'm using all dip into the same tiny pool of a handful of sights, restaurants, cafés, parks, concert venues, and hotels in this teeming city of 17 million.

With the revolution in Egypt, freedom can be misunderstood. Locals are learning that on a busy urban street, unbridled freedom can become a straitjacket for all.

Khan el-Khalili, one of the largest markets in the Arab world, is a tourist magnet. And even today -- with almost no tourism -- it still feels touristy.

A part of any visit to a poor country like Egypt is aggressive hustling when exploring a tourist market. Cairo's Khan el-Khalili market eagerly awaits your visit. Just so you'll know what to expect, walk with me for a few minutes down its main drag.

I just flew from Seattle to Cairo. After being here for just a day, it seems like a week. Of course, I swung by the pyramids, got my mug shot with the Sphinx, and rode a camel. But the real fun has been feeling the pulse of post-revolutionary Egypt in the chaotic streets.