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closeTake away the internecine conflicts, the religious strife and the geopolitical battles, and you have the land of Israel as John and Weegie Lieberherr have come to know it.
"There are really three elements to the area," John says. "There's the historical part, then there's the religious aspect and then there's the state of Israel and Palestine. I tend to focus on the history. It's hard to beat that area for history."
Though the Lieberherr's most recent trip to Israel was about 10 years ago, the couple will be presenting photos and thoughts from their many trips to the area in a lunch-time talk Tuesday, July 29, at the Whatcom Museum. The couple has done presentations about many of their other trips - through Rome, Russia and Nepal to name a few - but they're taking a decidedly more careful tact with their Israel talk.
"It's a touchy subject, so the whole concept behind this is pictures, not politics" says John, a 62-year-old Bellingham resident. "You can't really get away from it, but I'm not taking sides one way or the other."
John made his first trips to the area in the early 1980s while he was a pilot in the United States Air Force. While there, he would often split his time between Israeli and Arab areas, trying to get a bit of perspective and culture from both.
Several years later, while he was stationed in England in the late 1980s, he brought his wife back with him. They saw the walls of Jericho and Megiddo, where ancient cities were built upon one another's ruins. From a historical and archeological standpoint, the area of Israel is rich and layered.
"You're looking at things that are 10,000 years old," he says. "And not just things, but things that are built by man."
Aside from history, the landscape is remarkably varied. There are deserts, fields, orchards, cities, beaches, crusader forts, Roman aqueducts and many significant sites.
"You name it, you got it," he says. "They have a ski area in the north and then the desert in the south."
Though life was certainly different when the Lieberherrs were there in the '80s and '90s, they still say it's a fascinating place to see.
"People say it's dangerous now, but it was dangerous then to a certain degree; there were places then a cab driver wouldn't take you," he says. "It's a volatile area because you're dealing with religion; you're dealing with beliefs that go back generations... But I wouldn't say no, don't go, it's too dangerous."
Despite their love for the beautiful sights, the couple doesn't anticipate going back any time soon. Because John's job allowed them to explore so much of the world, they're thinking about getting to know their backyard a little better.
"(We'll) probably see something in the states, just pack up the dogs and go," he says. "There's an awful lot to see."
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