The Routes and Roots
of Exploration
The Routes and Roots of Exploration:
From Marco Polo to Mark Twain
Travel, Curiosity, and the Making of a Wider World
Presented by Dr. David Mendelsohn
What compels humans to travel? The urge to explore distant lands and encounter new cultures is hardly a modern phenomenon—it is a deeply ingrained human impulse.
What drove Benjamin of Tudela, a 12th-century Spanish Jew, to leave his home and journey across the known and unknown world, documenting Jewish communities along the way?
In the 13th century, the Venetian merchant Marco Polo followed a similar path, recording his discoveries along the Silk Road. A century later, the Moroccan scholar Ibn Battuta traveled extensively across Africa, Asia, and Europe, observing and chronicling the cultural, political, and social life of the societies he encountered.
What united them was not only travel for trade or diplomacy, but an enduring and insatiable curiosity.
Centuries later, Mark Twain exhibited the same curiosity while also focusing on the reality of travel—rocks, ruins, desolation, and discomfort. Twain mocked the modern tourist while noting that: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.”
Join Dr. David Mendelsohn as he explores civilizations through the eyes of these remarkable travelers—whose journeys continue to resonate with the spirit of exploration today.
SESSIONS:
- October 6, 13, 20, & 27, 2026
DETAILS:
- Program Cost: $80 for ALL FOUR SESSIONS – $70 Early Bird until July 1, 2026
- Featuring Live moderated chat, and post-talk Q&A
- Sessions are recorded – view missed sessions via private link (youtube/google log-in required)
- All sessions begin at 7:30pm ET
- Closed Captioning available (Zoom CC)
- Session size is limited – register now…
ABOUT OUR PRESENTER:
A seasoned scholar and educator, Dr. David Mendelsohn specializes in Islamic Studies, Arab-Israeli culture, Bedouin law, and the intersection of language and culture in Arabic and Hebrew. He also lectures on the history and relationships between Middle Eastern nations and militant organizations. Dr. Mendelsohn holds a Ph.D. in Classics/Linguistics, an M.A. in Archaeology/Linguistics, and an Honours B.A. in Classical Studies. A recipient of Canada’s prestigious Trudeau Prize, he lives in Jerusalem with his wife, Ronny, and their three children. For over 25 years, Dr. Mendelsohn has researched Jewish communities across the world, including in Germany, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Eastern Europe, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Bulgaria, Egypt, and India. Combining his expertise as a historian, archaeologist, and sociolinguist, he uncovers the unique influences of local cultures while identifying the shared threads that connect these diverse Jewish communities.
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