Tag: Religion

Explore Balat in Istanbul for a perfect day of coffee, cats, and second-hand clothing shops

Balat is not a neighborhood you would visit in the standard tour to Istanbul. If you want a real taste of Istanbul and the people who live there, wander around a smaller craftsman, artisan, coffee shops and second hand clothing shops on cobblestone streets in the neighborhood of Balat.

Canaan’s sacred wine and folk worship in the fields

Around the press, the team uncovered dwellings and courtyards that hint at an early village economy. The winemaking enterprise was likely community-based, tied to the cycles of agriculture and celebration. Megiddo’s residents were already part of a regional network that shipped jars of oil, grain, and perhaps even wine to Egypt and the wider Mediterranean world.

Have a little faith? How Islam dealt with its first plague, the Plague of Amwas

The plague of Amwas first struck the Muslim Arab troops encamped there before spreading across Syria–Palestine and affecting Egypt and Iraq. The Plague of Amwas was the first major pandemic that hit the early Muslim communities.

King David tolerated cults in Jerusalem? Archeology reveals religious diversity

Cult worship was largely practiced and even sanctioned in the Holy Land while Jerusalem's Temple stood.

Ancient jar of decapitated toad heads puzzle archeologists

They were found in a 4000 year old tomb. Begging the question - why a jar of decapitated toads?...

Carved ghost turnip head way scarier for Halloween

Christian fires burned on hilltops where pagan fires had burned for 1000 years. The Irish made lanterns out of turnips to guide 'Stingy Jack' and other wandering souls caught in the netherworld while warding away the evil spirits with frightening masks and Jack O' lanterns made from carved turnips.

Jonah’s tomb blown up by the Islamic State

Driving Christians out of their territory and female genital manipulation are just another couple of past-times for ISIS when they are not beheading infidels

Older than Stonehenge, mystifying moon god stones uncovered in Israel

The crescent moon is a symbol of Islam. Muslim, Jewish and Christian holidays revolve around cycles of the moon. So...

This is what Jesus Christ’s “selfie” would look like

If Jesus had a Facebook account, this could be his profile picture. So says Richard Neave, a medical artist famed...

Afghanistan’s Skateistan Skater School for Girls Not Allowed to Ride Bikes (video)

The Skateistan skateboarding school first established in Kabul shelters girls and street kids from Afghanistan's harsh realities. Since then, it has been so successful, the non-profit NGO has established two more locations.

Muslims in Myanmar Forced to Two Child Limit

While limiting children, or not having them at all, is a good way to fight global warming and the...

Learning to Green Your Pilgrimage

Treading the path of righteousness involves the ecology too. It had never occurred to me that if I were to...