The Peripatetic Historian travels south along Israel’s Dead Sea — But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. — Genesis 19:26 Jordan’s Rift Valley is deep gash, carved in the earth, a rip produced when two geologic plates — the Arabian and African — pulled apart. …

Los Angeles Promoter Dick Ferris Fights Prohibition — Promoter vs. Prohibition Dick Ferris was a promoter’s promoter. Comic actor, turned theater company owner and event manager, Dick had a well-polished knack for gaining attention — both for himself and the things he promoted. Migrating West in 1905, Dick settled in a growing Los Angeles and quickly became a passionate advocate for…

Georgia Heaton becomes a reluctant aviator — She was only supposed to stand in the basket for a few photographs. The tether lines would keep the airship on the ground When the best-laid plan went astray, Georgia Heaton drifted away for a ride that no one would forget. George Heaton of Alameda, California, had a dream. Inspired…

The Peripatetic Historian visits Jericho, the oldest, continuously occupied city on the planet — When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city. — Joshua 6:20 Well, that must be right. I didn’t see a city wall anywhere.

A love story in which no one wins — February 4, 1908, a day that Yetta Wegmann would never forget. She and her parents had spent the day hanging wedding decorations in their small family home on Chicago’s West side. By early evening, the guests were beginning to arrive for the ceremony, scheduled for an 8:00 p.m. start. As…

Did Christ heal the lepers in Burqin, Palestine? — Burqin is a small village planted in the rich alluvial farmland of northern Palestine. Approximately four kilometers southwest of Jenin, the older part of the town is a maze of winding, car-blocking, stone-slabbed alleys. Built into the side of a south-facing prominence, the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint George stands…

The Peripatetic Historian visits Petra, Jordan — You don’t hear much about the Nabataeans these days. When people discuss ancient civilizations around the campfire, conversation inevitably gravitates toward the Greeks, the Romans, the Persians of Cyrus or the mysterious Tang Dynasty. …

PeriBlog XVII: Wadi Rum, Jordan — Silence. There is an emptiness in the air that you must hear to believe. In a world overwhelmed with noise, auditory clutter, and verbal distractions, it is remarkable to find a place where the loudest sound is your own breath. Simply silence. Welcome to Wadi Rum.

The Peripatetic Historian visits Qumran, hoping to find the Dead Sea Scrolls — It is a place that is famous for what is no longer there. Shortly after the end of World War II, a young Bedouin boy named Muhammid Ahmed el-Hamed was exploring caves in the limestone cliffs that stand west of the Dead Sea. …