Travelers' Intercom

I’d seen all the usual Christian sites of Jerusalem: the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Garden Tomb and the Via Dolorosa, but until I visited the Israel Museum, on Ruppin Road, not far from the Knesset, I still had no concept of what Jerusalem actually looked like in the time of Jesus Christ.

Most visitors to the Israel Museum concentrate on the Shrine of the Book, where the Dead Sea Scrolls are exhibited, without realizing that nearby is a scale model of the city of Jerusalem as it would have appeared in the first century C.E. during the Late Second...

For travelers to West Africa seeking an accommodation in Kumasi, Ghana, the Four Villages Inn (Box KS 3374, Kumasi, Ghana; phone 233 51 22682 or mobile 020 766 7559) is an excellent choice — an inviting B&B in a quiet but very accessible neighborhood.

With a nice ambiance for getting to know other travelers, the inn is set in a large garden and has a wide covered terrace for those who like fresh air. There’s a huge living room where guests can find many publications about Ghana.

The inn’s four guest rooms, air-conditioned and tastefully decorated with local art, can...

I have a recommendation for a great company for off-the-beaten-track travel in Africa. In June ’10 I took a private, independent tour of Cameroon from CEMAC Tours (Box 4877 Douala, Cameroon; phone +237 75 61 94 86 or 97 92 70 23).

These days were part of a longer FIT trip, so I don’t know what I paid for their services, but I want to commend the company and its Director General, Muhamadu Danteni Musa. He made it his business to come to the hotel the first day to introduce himself and the guide and driver. During my stay, he arranged interesting tours, in a spotless car, to Buea and...