Korczak Ziolkowski, a prominent Boston sculptor, began a lifelong project to memorialize the epic story of Native Americans with his sculpture of Crazy Horse on a mountain (and a nearby educational/cultural visitor complex). At age 39 he began to carve the mountain with his first blast in 1948.

He turned down $10 million in federal funding, relying strictly on public financing. A government that broke promises to its Native Americans should have no official say in a memorial to Crazy Horse. Besides, just four miles north is Mount Rushmore, where work stopped when the sculptor died. Korczak did not want his project to terminate with his demise.

You can see the progress being made on charts in the visitor center (605.673.4681). On most days in the summer you can see the flash and hear the blasts of dynamite on the peak as work progresses.

A scale model of the finished memorial, at the Visitor Center, shows the Oglala Sioux military leader on his steed with his arm pointing forward. You can just hear his words: "My lands are where my dead lie buried."

Shkedi, who assumed the role of president/CEO in January 2010, said that the number of tourists are now higher than the year before. "This small piece of land, inhabited by Jews, Christians and Muslims, attracts 3.5 million visitors a year. It should be more. Our goal should be 25 million."

Israel is a very safe place, he added. "People who come to Israel feel safer than any other place. It looks different on TV than in real life."

Shkedi reported that EL AL has purchased a Boeing 747-400 jumbo in March for the US/Israel route and ordered four Boeing 737-900ER for shorter routes.

"We are trying to improve our fleet with the 767-300. We intend to be the best narrow-bodied airline by 2013."

Shkedi also introduced Danny Saadon as the new vice president of EL AL in North and Central America. Saadon spent the past five years as the airline’s vice president and general manager in Tel Aviv. In his five decades with EL AL, Saadon has been involved in several major humanitarian operations, including the 1976 raid on Entebbe to rescue hostages, the airlift of Israelis in Tehran during the 1978 Iranian revolution, and the covert 1991 Operation Solomon that delivered 15,000 stranded Ethiopians to Israel.

After the Persian invasion in the seventh century, the town lay abandoned until the 19^th century when it was resettled by Christians. As they dug foundations for their homes, they discovered the ancient mosaics.

The most famous mosaic artwork is to be seen in St. George’s Church.

This is a sixth century Byzantine mosaic map made up of more than two million pieces of colored stone, laid out on the floor of this Greek Orthodox church. This masterpiece depicts Jerusalem and hills and valleys in the ancient Middle East. It is reputedly the earliest religious map of the Holy Land to survive from antiquity.

This exquisite treasure was discovered in 1884 during construction of a new sanctuary on the site of an ancient Byzantium church. The map originally depicted all major biblical sites from Lebanon to Egypt. The map identified Bethany, which led archeologists to discover Bethany nearby as the site where John baptized Jesus. Pope Benedict XVI visited the place in May 2009.

The art of mosaics has been part of the tradition of Madaba since ancient times. You can watch artists create intricate mosaics which are sold in the many souvenir and handicraft shops. Also on display are rugs, silver, traditional dresses and Dead Sea products.

Christians make up a third of Madaba’s population of 135,000. Jordan’s population of 6.2 million is 92 percent Sunni Muslim, while 6 percent are Christian, mainly in Madaba, Amman, Salt and Karak. The majority of them are Greek Orthodox, with a sprinkling of Coptic, Armenian, Syrian and Catholic believers.

The well-run Madaba Visitors Center is located near the church. Phone 08-543-376 (closed Friday). More information at www.visitjordan.com.