The More of the World We See, the Richer We Become: 2013

Its early Wednesday morning here in Israel.

Its been three weeks since I've been in Spain/Portugal.

I'm leaving for Germany/Czech Republic/Hungary/Turkey tomorrow.

WELCOME TO MY LIFE.

Wuddup

My lovesession (love and obsession) for day moons continue throughout the world.

Calle De Las Imagenes, I love that this street is called Imagination Street.

Cordoba, Spain.

Meet Haim.

He is a descendant from the conversos Jews. Growing up his grandfather took him to the Jewish quarter in Cordoba, Spain, every Sunday morning. His grandfather brought him to the synagogue and taught him about the Jewish history of Spain. This sparked an obsessive interest in Judaism in Haim. Every school research paper he related back to the Jews of Spain. One of his teachers suggested to Haim that might be a descendant of the conversos due to his Jewish sounding last name. He converted to Judaism and now he's studying in a rabbinical school in London. He is also rebuilding the first Jewish community in southern Spain in 500 years. When Haim gets his ordination, he will be Spain's first Spanish born rabbi since 1492.

The Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex built by the Muslims in Granada, Spain.

It is filled with beautiful gardens, water fountains and Islamic architecture.

Doesn't it look like The Secret Gardens.

Thought it would look cool with ripples. Little did I know that the ripples wouldn't go away for a while, WHOOPS.

Fountains on fountains of fountains.

I want to live here thank you very much!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpk7bccuY9s

"They aint see me cause I pulled up in my other Benz
Last week I was in my other other Benz" - Kanye West

The Cathedral of Toledo, Spain

My favorite parts of churches and cathedrals are the extravagant ceilings. This one in particular made me giggle. Why? The fact that there's floating baby angels in a sky filled with pink clouds is not very churchy. While they're at it they might as well add unicorns, rainbows and smiles.

Welcome to the gun show.

Kivunim is in the train station with three hours to kill. We find an all you can eat buffet for 10 euro. This happens.

Meal for three.

Universidade de Coimbra

Not really sure why we went there..

Not a real door. Portugal's fancy.

Portuugal's oldest library. It reminded me of Beauty and the Beast.

Williamsburg, trendy.

In the Jewish quarter there were חי stones everywhere.

Porto, Portugal

Has the prettiest water fountains.

I LOVE THESE COLORS!

Is this a postcard? Nope, I took this with my phone.

Portugals beautiful!

Porto, Portugal

No other graffiti will be better than this.

In the afternoon we went wine tasting. Porto wine tasting. In Porto, Portugal.

I WIN AT EVERYTHING!

Jesus, I mean Cammie.

In the wine cellar we found THE light.

It doesn't get more cultured than this.

Coolest bathroom stop ever!

Belem Tower Castle Lisbon, Portugal

Thank you for having us Portugal!

Two weeks late. I have no excuse.

We embarked on our ten day Moroccan adventure January 19th.

The first night of our trip, we stayed in a PALACE!

We stay in the most beautiful hotels..

We walked through the shuk in Marrakech.

All these pots are made by hand.

Morocco is famous for it's leather, we got to see a tanner in his element.

Leather bags, bought one, didn't know it would smell like animal feces.

We met a Berber man named Harim. Harim lives in a village in south Morocco called Azaran. This village was once populated with around 500 Jews, but once the Jewish State was created, they all fled. Before the rabbi of the village left, he gave the key of the synagogue to his neighbor Harim. He told Harim to give the key to any Jew that returns to Arazan. Harim has been holding the key for 40 years. A few years ago our amazing tour guide, Rafi, went to Arazan for his Moroccan Jewry project. He asked the villagers if Jews ever lived there. They were too young to remember, they directed Rafi to Harim. Harim fulfilled his task and gave Rafi the key.

Everywhere we went we were offered tea and cookies, ah, I love Morocco!

"Ain’t nobody fuckin’ with my

Clique, clique, clique, clique, cliqueAin’t nobody fresher than my motherfuckingClique, clique, clique, clique, clique" - Clique, Kanye West

Lev conversing with the locals.

The only thing we were able to eat in Morocco(besides couscous).

DAY MOONS, AM I RIGHT OR WHAT?!

We went to the date shook, literally dates on dates on dates.

We visited so many kasbahs I cant keep count. A kasbah is a type of Islamic city/fortress. It was a place for the local leader to live and a defense when the city was under attack. It was something necessary for the city to survive, Having a kasbah was a sign of wealth of a city.

ROCK THE KASBAH

We spent a night in a berber village in the Atlas Mountains.

Where the cutest kids live.

Walkin through the village, like a boss.

After a couscous dinner, the village people but on a show for us.

Woke up to the most beautiful sight, double rainbow over the village.

Early morning camel ride through the Sahara. Hands down my favorite part of the trip.

Sunrise

Believe me, I was there and it still doesn't look real.

If you where wondering what I look like while riding a camel in the Sahara Desert in Morocco 8 AM, here ya go!

This looks exactly like the yoga studio in my house, small world!

We visited the Rambam's house in Fez, COOL!

As we drove through the Atlas Mountains we stumbled upon purple mountains. Morocco is amazing.

GEOMETRIC TIALS, AM I RIGHT OR WHAT?!

In Marrakech we visited one of their active synagogues located in the Jewish quarter.

The Hassan II Mosque located in Casablanca, is the largest mosque in Morocco and the third largest mosque in the world. (After the Masjid al-Haram (Grand Mosque) of Mecca and the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (Prophet's Mosque) in Medina.)

The mosque has a retractable ceiling. like football stadiums. The ceiling is open once a year, the 17th day of Ramadan, the day Mohammed received his prophecy.

I will be copying this design for my future bathroom.

In the basement the mosque has sinks to wash up before prayer. It is Islamic ritual to wash one's hands, feet, and face before praying.

As it says in the Quran "O you who believe! When you rise up to prayer, wash your faces and your hands as far as the elbows, and wipe your heads and your feet to the ankles." - sura 5 Al-Maida, ayat 6

So overwhelming.

King Mohammed V's mausoleum.

King Mohammad V saved the Moroccan Jews from the Nazis. During WWII, Morocco was a French protectorate. King Mohammad V refused to make the 200.000 Jews living in Morocco wear yellow stars, like they did in France.

"There are no Jews in Morocco. There are only subjects."- King Mohammad V