Mystery Photo
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Tuesday, March 27th, 2012
You Either Know This or You Don't. Period.
Firstly, I need to apologize about how long it has been since my last post. Been very busy, but that’s no excuse for neglecting you, my faithful readers. I’ll try to be better.
I’m happy that everyone who responded to the last Israel Mystery Photo correctly identified the location as Beit Shean. It means I accurately identified the photo as an easy one to figure out, and it also means that many of you have been to one of the more significant and impressive archaeological sites in Israel.
The current Mystery Photo will be a bit more difficult to identify. I don’t think anyone will be able to figure it out from context. Rather, I think it is going to be one of those pictures that you’ll identify if you’ve been there, and will have no clue if you haven’t. So don’t feel bad if you don’t recognize it.
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Posted in Mystery Photo | No Responses »
Tags: archaeology, architecture, Beit Shean, Byzantine Era, Egyptians, geography, history, Roman Era, urban planning
Saturday, January 28th, 2012
A lot of you will probably recognize this
I’m in a good mood, so I am giving you guys a fairly easy Mystery Photo this time. If you have ever been at this site, you should recognize this. And even some of you who have never been might be able to guess it!
Why am I in such a good mood, you may ask? Because I passed my oral exam! I am proud to say that I am now officially a licensed Israeli tour guide! I’ll post more about the exam soon, but I did want to let you all know, and thank you for all of your support and kind wishes. Next step for me is to now fill out the paperwork, and start the process towards getting my actual physical license.
But now on to the heart of these Mystery Photo posts — the part where I write about the previous Mystery Photo!
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Posted in Mystery Photo | 7 Responses »
Tags: Acre, Akko, art, Maon, mosaic, Or Torah, synagogue, Tunisian Jewry
Sunday, December 11th, 2011
Look carefully at this one!
For those wondering how the test went on Sunday, I’ll be writing another post soon in which I review the exam. But suffice it to say that I feel fairly good about my performance on it and am just waiting to hear whether or not I passed. Results in a few more weeks, I guess.
And now on to the previous Israel Mystery Photo. As 3 of 4 commenters answered correctly, the photo was taken at the 9/11 Memorial in the forest on the northwestern outskirts of Jerusalem. It is a place that I’d been wanting to visit for a while, and was very happy to hear about even before I visited. I was finally able to get there a few weeks ago, and was not disappointed.
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Posted in Mystery Photo | 6 Responses »
Tags: 9/11, art, Jerusalem, memorial
Friday, November 4th, 2011
Where in Israel can you find this?
I am truly in full-on study mode now, with my written licensing exam in exactly a month. So my next post after this will likely be Part 3 of my series about the exams, in which I will tell you how I’ve been going about studying/preparing for the exam.
But first, I need to address the last Israel Mystery Photo. As I predicted, it was easier and many of you recognized it or figured it out. And those who did not get it right at least made logical guesses. I hope that this mystery photo is also something many of you will figure out!
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Posted in Mystery Photo | 4 Responses »
Tags: Arbel, architecture, Galil, Galilee, geology, Golan Heights, Herod, Kinneret, Rift Valley, synagogue
Monday, October 10th, 2011
This one shouldn't be THAT hard...
I am shifting into serious study mode now, and the Jewish holidays are also affecting my schedule, so please bear with me if my posting is slow! Still, I am trying to get some posts out, and view them as review for my studies as well.
I thought that since the last Mystery Photo was of a somewhat famous building in Tel Aviv, that more people would’ve guessed right. But alas not. I guess most of my Tel Aviv friends don’t make it into some of the quieter parts of the city, preferring to focus on the hustle and bustle of the party life there! But there is a lot to see in Tel Aviv when exploring this country’s modern development.
So I hope that you’ll at least know that I am trying to make these somewhat less challenging! I think that the current photo should be recognizable to those who have been there, and also might be something that people could figure out due to contextual details.
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Posted in Mystery Photo | 10 Responses »
Tags: architecture, Bauhaus, Eclectic Style, Hayim Nahman Bialik, International Style, literature, poetry, Tel Aviv
Wednesday, September 21st, 2011
The next Israel mystery photo...
Sorry for the delay on posting a new mystery pic. Particular apologies to my buddy Shmilty (Milton) who has been itching to find out if he guessed right last time around. Well, only my two classmates who responded – Benny and Orah – got the answer 100% correct. But as I mentioned, it was the type of thing that people might guess on their own, but probably would only know for sure if they had ever been there (such as my classmates).
In terms of guessing though, everyone else used some good deductive reasoning. Ilana, Asher, Nechama and Shmilty all recognized the portraits of the father and son Hashemite kings of Jordan, Hussein and Abdullah. So they all guessed that the picture was of one of the border crossings across the Jordan River.
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Posted in Mystery Photo | 7 Responses »
Tags: electricity, energy, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, hydroelectric power, Island of Peace, King Abdullah, King Hussein, Naharayim, Pinhas Rutenberg
Monday, September 5th, 2011
Have you seen this before?
Sorry it has been a few weeks since I’ve posted. I was on break from school this past month and had lots of other work, play and schoolwork to catch up on! On that note, we are in the homestretch with the course now, and are really getting down to brass tacks regarding studying and preparing for the licensing exams. So I will certainly be posting more on this topic in the upcoming weeks. I already have a few posts on this topic lined up in the hopper.
Also, I’ve received feedback from lots of people that these Mystery Photos are simply too hard. So I’ve decided that I will just not even think about how many of my classmates get these right — I expect that they all should get almost all of them right! I will instead be trying to present somewhat easier ones that more of you “regular” readers may know.
I’m not saying they are all going to be super-easy, because part of the enjoyment is in the challenge too. But I will definitely be aiming to make them easier overall. Hope that makes it more fun!
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Posted in Mystery Photo | 6 Responses »
Tags: archaeology, Cardo, Decomanus, gate, Roman Era, Tiberias, urban planning
Wednesday, August 10th, 2011
Where in Israel is this?
I’m fairly certain that almost anyone in my tour guide course will recognize this week’s Israel Mystery Photo, because it is from a site that once you’ve been there, it sticks in your mind. It is very memorable. But it is also, unfortunately, not as commonly visited as perhaps it should be. So I’ll be very curious to see how many people outside of my class recognize it.
Last week’s photo post got many correct answers as well. It is one of the most beautiful buildings in modern Jerusalem, a city I know and love. So I’m happy to see that many of you recognize it as well.
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Posted in Mystery Photo | 4 Responses »
Tags: architecture, British Mandate, Haj Amin el-Husseini, history, hotels, Jerusalem, King David Hotel, Mufti, Palace Hotel, Peel Commission
Sunday, July 31st, 2011
Look familiar? Many of you have seen this before! Guess where it is!
That time again… Another Israel Mystery Photo. This one is one that I think many of you have probably seen but perhaps didn’t look that closely at. So I look forward to seeing how many of you can recognize it, and also to telling you about it in the next Israel Mystery Photo post!
But what about last week’s mystery photo? Well, many fewer guesses, possibly due to how late I posted it. Benny, however, was correct — it was indeed the covering of Abraham’s tomb in Ma’arat HaMachpelah / The Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. I bet Aaron is kicking himself for not recognizing that one; you were so close, dude, and yet didn’t quite get it!
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Posted in Mystery Photo | 8 Responses »
Tags: archaeology, Cave of the Patriarchs, gravesite, Hebron, Herod, history, Ma'arat HaMachpelah, Mamluks, religion
Tuesday, July 26th, 2011
Let's hear your guesses on this mystery photo!
Been a busy week for me, so I apologize for the delay on this Mystery Photo, but I hope that won’t ruin the momentum I’ve been building with these: more comments/guesses each week. Keep ‘em coming gang! I love seeing your guesses on these!
I liked the responses to last week’s photo. A nice mix of correct answers, and almost correct answers. The picture was in fact from the baptistry of the Northern Church (more on that later) from the ancient Nabatean city of Avdat. Ilana was the first with the correct answer, and Aaron and Steven both got it right as well, with Steven giving the most complete and detailed answer. (By the way, for those who read Steven’s comment, stay tuned for a review post soon on the excellent materials from Biblical Backgrounds, his company.)
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Posted in Mystery Photo | 4 Responses »
Tags: archaeology, architecture, Byzantine Era, Christianity, church, Muslim Period, Nabateans, Negev
