Run Through the Past in Jerusalem

“Join 5,000 runners on a 3,000-year-old course” is the slogan of this year’s Jerusalem Marathon that runs past many of the city’s famous religious and historic sites. The race is set for Oct. 25. For info, call the Jewish Sports Congress, (516) 482-5550.

Everybody’s Bard at the Barbican

A German “Romeo and Juliet,” a Japanese “King Lear” and “The Merchant of Venice,” as directed by Peter Sellars and set in Los Angeles, will be among the offerings at “Everybody’s Shakespeare,” an international drama and music festival that opens in London Oct. 25.

The monthlong festival is sponsored by the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Barbican Centre and the BBC. It will be at the Barbican Centre and will also include readings, lectures and workshops with leading actors and directors, films and other plays. A series of concerts will also take place in nearby St. Giles’ Church, where Shakespeare is known to have worshiped.

Tickets are available from the Edwards & Edwards booking agency in New York (800-223- 6108) at prices ranging from $30 to $50, including handling fees. Travelers can also call the Barbican box office at 011-44-71-638-8891.

Comforts of Home on Mt. Everest

A Scottish company is installing a lulu of a loo at the 20,000-foot mark on Mt. Everest.

Associated Metal of Glasgow designed and built the 320-pound, $11,000 commode for a British scientific expedition this month, according to the Times of London. The team, which includes doctors and environmentalists, plans to study the environmental damage caused to the fragile ecology of the Everest region by the relatively large number of climbers--more than 50 each year--who now reach the summit and who leave their footprints--and worse--behind them.

The biggest problem faced by the designers of the lavatory, made almost entirely from stainless steel, was how to cope with the night temperatures on Everest, which at this time of year regularly fall below freezing. They believe they have averted the danger of skin being welded to metal, a hazard well known to polar explorers, by equipping the device with a wooden seat.

Firmly anchored against expectations of ferocious wind, the cubicle will be positioned near the edge of the Everest ice layer. When the expedition is over, the lavatory will be moved farther down the mountain, where it will be available for use by subsequent expeditions.

New Bank Notes in Mexico

Mexico has put two new bank notes worth 200 and 500 new pesos into circulation.

The new bills, worth about $60 and $155, will be harder to counterfeit and will carry the designation “new pesos” only for a time until the “new” will be dropped, according to the Bank of Mexico. The notes were introduced Oct. 1.

New pesos came into circulation in January, 1993, when Mexico dropped the three zeros on currency to make mathematical calculations more manageable. The faces will be changed on notes

New Museums in Maryland, Missouri

Two new galleries featuring modern and contemporary art are opening this month in Maryland and Missouri.

The Baltimore Museum of Art will dedicate its New Wing for Modern Art, featuring 15 newly acquired paintings by Andy Warhol, next Sunday. The New Wing houses 16 galleries and displays major works by more than 75 American and European artists of the post-1945 period. For information, call (410) 396-7100.

Last week, the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art and Design in Kansas City, Mo., opened with the first public exhibition of 28 early watercolors by Georgia O’Keeffe.

The works, known as the “Canyon Suite” for the abstract renderings of the plains in Canyon, Tex., will be on view through Dec. 4. For more information, call (816) 561-3737.

JUST THE FACTS

Flying vs. Other Risks

Cause of Death Your Odds Heart Disease 1 in 2 Smoking (by age 35) 1 in 600 Car trip across the U.S. 1 in 14,000 Bicycle accident 1 in 88,000 Tornado injury 1 in 450,000 Train trip across the U.S. 1 in 1 million Bee sting 1 in 5.5 million Airline accident 1 in 10 million

Source: Travel Weekly