A Brief History On December 27, 2007, Mombasa, Kenya, was the scene of violent protests over a disputed presidential election. Mombasa, a gateway to East Africa, happens to be just one of the many fascinating places visited by Major Dan, and today we take a look at some of those nifty cities to visit. Digging Deeper Toronto and Montreal, Canada. These two largest cities in Canada present different takes on our neighbor to the Great White North, foreign, yet highly accessible and both with great food, museums, attractions, and wonderful people. Honolulu, Hawaii. Truly a paradise on Earth, even the…
Browsing: Jerusalem
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A Brief History On March 21, 1801, French forces fought the British outside of Alexandria, Egypt in one of the many epic battles that have taken place at Alexandria over the centuries. Digging Deeper This 1801 battle is one of 13 major engagements fought at or near Alexandria, starting in 169 BC and most recently in 1941. Many cities or locations have been the scene of frequent battles through history, including: Jerusalem is probably the most fought over city in the world, with over 50 attacks on the city starting in 1000 BC when King David captured the place and as…
A Brief History On June 7, 2021, we have had the opportunity to read and review a great new historical examination of “the Roman campaign to crush the Jewish revolt,” as the book calls itself. Conquering Jerusalem, by Stephen Dando-Collins, is just about 200 pages long, long enough to address detail while compact enough to keep the reader engaged. (By the way, this reviewer has personally been to Jerusalem, a fascinating place.) Digging Deeper We found the text highly readable, while retaining academic accuracy and serious addressing of facts and events, the flow of the book is more like a…
A Brief History On February 2, 2020, we celebrate yet another Groundhog Day, a day in which Winter weary people find out if we are in for 6 more weeks of Winter or if we are facing the joy of an early Spring. As implied by the name of the day, an actual Groundhog is “consulted” for his (or her) “prediction.” But…. This year the animal rights organization, PETA, is recommending we immediately end this act of animal cruelty (?) and replace our beloved Marmots with (gasp!) animatronic replicas of Groundhogs! A discussion of why this plan is “stupid” is…
A Brief History On October 21, 1096, a Seljuk Turk army led by Sultan Kilij Arslan I massacred a Christian army from Europe, known as the People’s Army, ending the first of the religious wars known as the Crusades. This particular “Crusade” is not considered an “official Crusade,” a distinction reserved for the Catholic Church sanctioned invasion of the Middle East (i.e., Holy Land) a year later. Digging Deeper The so called “People’s Crusade,” “Popular Crusade,” “Peasants’ Crusade” or “Paupers’ Crusade” was the work of a charismatic French monk called Peter the Hermit. In keeping with the multiple names theme,…