2016 Year in Review

Highlights:

• OIG Inspection of Embassy Tegucigalpa, Honduras in February(See Separate Blog)

• Visits to Valle de Angeles, Santa Lucia and the former capital Comayagua

      

• OIG Inspection of Embassy Belmopan, Belize in March (See Separate Blog)

• Road trip to Tikal, Guatemala Ancient Mayan ruins  

         The Great Plaza and North Acropolis

• Charleston Jazz Orchestra performed the music of Stevie Wonder in March

• In April I volunteered at the Volvo Car Open Tennis Tournament doing court maintenance.  This was probably the 10th year I had volunteered starting back in 2004 as an usher and in subsequent years as a driver before settling on court maintenance dragging the court or brushing the lines.  Sloan Stephens defeated Elena Vesnina 7-6, 6-2.    

• OIG Inspection of Embassy Islamabad, and Consulate Karachi, Pakistan in May/June (See separate blog)

             Embassy                                        My Quarters Containerized

                                                                             Housing Unit (CHU)

• May:  Spoleto Music Festival and Chamber Music at the Dock Street Theater with Geoff Nuttall (1965-2022) 
• Freddie Cole Quartet at the Music Hall in June
• In August we attended a "Hard Hat" Tuning Concert at the new Gaillard Concert Hall
• August Summer Soiree at Pierce Pavilion on DI
• Low Country Jazz Festival in September saw Brian Culbertson
• Also took a quick trip out to San Francisco in September to attend Chris and Debbie's Bay Area farewell.  Boat ride on the bay and great feast at Scoma's on the wharf.  Mix of cousins, co-workers and friends. 

                       

• OIG Inspection of Embassy Tel Aviv and ConGen Jerusalem October/November (See separate Blog)
• Discovering Tel Aviv:  Holocaust Museum, Goocha Restaurant; Biking the Boardwalk, Jaffa 
• Discovering Jerusalem:  Old City, Tower of David, Ancient Tunnels under Old City, Friends of Zion Museum
• Weekend trips to Caesarea, Akko, Rosh Hanikra,  Nazareth, Capernaum, See of Galilee, Judea, Ein Gedi nature reserve, Dead Sea, Masada, Herodion and West Bank settlements.  
• Picking olives on the Mount of Olives.    

• October 8 Hurricane Matthew hits Charleston.  Although it was just a category 1 hurricane, extensive damage was done due to flodding, landslides and destruction to trees.  Doris didn't evacuate and stayed with neighbors but we lost three Leyland Cypress trees in our backyard.
• The Annual Turkey Day run in November with David and Bob & GLO.
• December 1 Charleston Symphony performing Handel's Messiah at the Cathedral
• December 3 Reindeer Run downtown

U.S. Events

·         Donald Trump is elected as US President;

·         Amazon Prime Video launches worldwide;

·         Scientists invent the Crispr-Cas9, a unique technology that enables medical researchers to edit   and delete DNA, thereby allowing effective genetic engineering;

·         Florida nightclub shooting: Omar Mateen kills 49 people and wounds 53 at a gay nightclub in   Orlando;

·         Scien

• Charleston Jazz Orchestra performed the music of Stevie Wonder in March
• Volvo Car Open in April won by Sloan Stephens
• May:  Spoleto Music Festival and Chamber Music at the Dock Street Theater with Geoff Nuttall (1965-2022) 
• Freddie Cole Quartet at the Music Hall in June
• In August we attended a "Hard Hat" Tuning Concert at the new Gaillard Concert Hall
• August Summer Soiree at Pierce Pavilion on DI
• Low Country Jazz Festival in September saw Brian Culbertson
• Also took a quick trip out to San Francisco in September to attend Chris and Debbie's Bay Area farewell.  Boat ride on the bay and great feast at Scoma's on the wharf.  Mix of cousins, co-workers and friends. 

• Annual Turkey Day run in November with David and Bob&GLO
• December 1 Charleston Symphony performing Handel's Messiah at the Cathedral
• December 3 Reindeer Run downtown
• WACC meeting with Ambassador Jerry Lanier speaking on the topic of Challenges for Trump

U.S. Events

·         Donald Trump is elected as US President;

·         Amazon Prime Video launches worldwide;

·         Scientists invent the Crispr-Cas9, a unique technology that enables medical researchers to edit   and delete DNA, thereby allowing effective genetic engineering;

·         Florida nightclub shooting: Omar Mateen kills 49 people and wounds 53 at a gay nightclub in   Orlando;

·         Scientists and researchers successfully detect the first direct evidence of gravitational waves, using the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory or LIGO - The existence of gravitational waves was first predicted by Albert Einstein in 1916;

·         Pok tists and researchers successfully detect the first direct evidence of gravitational waves, using the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory or LIGO - The existence of gravitational waves was first predicted by Albert Einstein in 1916;

·         Pokemon Go, an augmented reality mobile game, got millions of people out on the street;

·         American singer-songwriter and music icon Bob Dylan wins the Nobel Prize in Literature;

·         Swimmer and Olympic champion Michael Phelps, holder of the maximum Olympic medals in   history by an individual (23 Gold, 28 total) and 7 world records, retires.

World Events:

·         Brexit Vote: Britain votes to leave the EU - The British Exit is termed Brexit;

·         Demonetisation in India; India carries out surgical strikes on terror launch pads across the Line   of Control in Jammu and Kashmir; Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav abducted from Iran, held   captive by Pakistan; Mukesh Ambani commercially launches Reliance Jio, makes India the   cheapest market for mobile internet data in the world; Mother

·         Teresa canonized posthumously as 'Saint Teresa of Calcutta' by Pope Francis at a ceremony in St   Peter's Square in Vatican City;

·         The historic Paris Climate Agreement in signed to take effective measures against Climate   Change;

·         Dhaka Cafe Attack: 5 terrorists take dozens hostage at the Holey Artisan cafe in Dhaka, kill 22     civilians, 2 cops;

·         The haunting image of 5-year-old Omran Daqneesh sitting shell-shocked in the back of an   ambulance in Aleppo, covered in dust with blood on his face and clothing becomes the face of   the Syrian war;

Movies:

Best Picture was "Spotlight".  Best actor went to Leonardo di Caprio in "Revenant".   Best Actress was Brie Larson in "Room".  Best supporting actor was Mark Rylance in "Bridge of Spies".  Best supporting actress went to Alicia Vikander for her role in "The Danish Girl".  Best director was Alejandro G. Inarritu. 

Super Bowl

Super Bowl 50 saw the Denver Broncos defeat the Carolina Panthers, 24–10. The game was played on February 7, 2016, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.  As this was the 50th Super Bowl game, the league emphasized the "golden anniversary" with various gold-themed initiatives during the 2015 season, as well as suspending the tradition of naming each Super Bowl game with Roman numerals (under which the game would have been known as "Super Bowl L"), so the logo could prominently feature the Arabic numerals 5 and 0.   The Broncos took an early lead in Super Bowl 50 and never trailed.  Denver recorded seven sacks and forced four turnovers.   Carolina likewise kept pace by recording five sacks and forcing two turnovers. Denver linebacker Von Miller was named Super Bowl MVP.  This game was also the final game of Peyton Manning's career; the Broncos quarterback, who also won Super Bowl XLI, announced his retirement in March 2016.

World Series 

The Cubs defeated the Indians 4 games to 3 to win their first World Series since 1908. Game 7, an 8–7 victory in 10 innings, marked the fifth time that a Game 7 had gone into extra innings and the first since 1997 (which the Indians also lost). It was also the first Game 7 to have a rain delay, which occurred as the tenth inning was about to start. The Cubs became the sixth team to come back from a 3–1 deficit to win a best-of-seven World Series, following the 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates, the 1958 New York Yankees, the 1968 Detroit Tigers, the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates, and the 1985 Kansas City Royals.  The Cubs, playing in their 11th World Series and their first since 1945, won their third championship and first since 1908, ending the longest world championship drought in North American professional sports history. It was the Indians' sixth appearance in the World Series and their first since 1997, with their last Series win having come in 1948. Cleveland manager Terry Francona, who had previously won World Series titles with the Boston Red Sox in 2004 and 2007, fell short in his bid to become the third manager to win his first three trips to the Fall Classic, after Casey Stengel and Joe Torre.  The 2016 World Series was highly anticipated due to the historical ramifications; the two teams entered their matchup as the two franchises with the longest World Series title droughts, a combined 176 years without a championship.  At the series' conclusion, numerous outlets listed Game 7 as an instant classic, and the entire series as one of the greatest of all time.  Ben Zobrist named World Series MVP after 10th-inning RBI double in game 7.

Caesarea and Akko Israel

I traveled throughout Israel and Jerusalem most every weekend during my stay.  The first weekend my colleagues and I visited the north coast of Israel from Tel Aviv to Caesarea, Haifa, Akko and Rosh Hanikra near the border with Lebanon.  The following weekend we went to the Holy Land to visit Nazareth and the sea of Galilee,  Church of the Annunciation, Cana, Capernaum, and the Mount of Beatitudes.  Next we went to Samaria to visit some ancient caves and a winery in the Judean hills.  After moving on to Jerusalem we took a day trip to Masada and also visited the nearby nature reserve at Ein Gadi and the Dead Sea.   The rest of the time was spent visiting Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Jaffa and the West Bank including the ancient site of Herodium.  I had visited the old city in Jerusalem several times before so I didn't need to visit the holy sites again.  However, I did take the opportunity to visit the Israel Museum, Holocoust Museum, the Friends of Zion museum and the Tower of David.

Caesarea is a town in north-central Israel. Located midway between Tel Aviv and Haifa on the coastal plain near the city of Hadera.   The town was built by Herod the Great about 25–13 BCE as the port city Caesarea. It served as an administrative center of Judaea Province of the Roman Empire, and later the capital of the Byzantine province during the classic period. Following the Muslim conquest in the 7th century, in which it was the last city to fall to the Arabs, the city had an Arab majority until Crusader conquest. It was abandoned after the Mamluk conquest.  It was re-populated in 1884 by Bosniak immigrants, who settled in a small fishing village.  In 1952, a Jewish town of Caesarea was established near the ruins of the old city, which were made into the national park of Caesarea.

Caesarea's amphitheater is generally well preserved.  At its fullest capacity, the amphitheater was able to seat 15,000 viewers, making it the biggest performance venue in all of Palestine. The amphitheater is still in use today with performances by Israel's biggest stars held daily during the summer months.

The city’s aqueduct was built along its sandy beaches and carried water from the feet of Mount Carmel in the north to the city center. A system of pipes and arched walls, which carried the water to the city, is still visible today

The group standing in front of the old hippodrome.  Caesarea's hippodrome is a circular structure originally built as a racetrack, and is similar in style and function to Rome's grand Circus Maximus. The walls that lined the arena have remained intact. On the left would have been the entrance to the old port on the Mediterranean sea.

North Coast of Israel near Rosh Hanikra

Michael Standing at the border between Lebanon and Israel.  Beirut is only 60 miles from the Israeli border. 

Akko was incorporated into the empire of Alexander the Great after his conquest in 332 B.C.E. The city was subsequently seized by the Egyptians until the Muslim conquest in the 7th century CE, when its ancient name was restored. Confusion over what to call the city was compounded by the Crusaders' conquest in 1104, after which it became known as St. Jean d'Acre, or Acre for short.  In 1291, the Mamluks invaded and destroyed the city, killing every remaining Crusader and putting an end to the Latin Kingdom. Acre ceased to be a major city for almost 500 years. The Ottoman Empire in the mid-18th century named the capital of Akko his capital and built a large fortress. It was subsequently fortified by the Turkish governor (1775-1804), Ahmad Pasha al-Jazzer ("The Butcher"). The mosque al-Jazzer built is one of the most beautiful in Israel and the most distinctive building in the old city.  Napoleon landed in Palestine and assaulted Akko in 1799, but he was unable to take the city. His Middle Eastern campaign subsequently collapsed and he withdrew to France.

The towering, stone-vaulted Knight's Halls of Akko, built 800 years ago by the Hospitallers (a monastic military order) and the medieval knights called Templars who once lived here. Legend has it that Marco Polo may have dined here on his way to meet Kublai Khan.  Following the conquest of Jerusalem by Salah Al-Din in 1187, the Templars made their home in Akko and began to build a strong fortress with its entrance protected by two powerful towers with 28-foot thick walls.  

The Templars aided pilgrims and the ailing coming from Europe to visit the holy sites of the Land of Israel. They first settled in Jerusalem, on the Temple Mount, hence their name, "the Templars", the guardians of the Temple.

The tunnel is 1100 feet long and extends from the Templars fortress in the west to the city's port in the east. The lower part of the tunnel is carved in the natural stone and its upper part is made of hewn stones covered with a semi-barreled dome. The tunnel was discovered in 1994 and in 2007 the entire length of the tunnel was made available to the public. 

Right outside, a tunnel leads out to the Turkish Bazaar via a souvenir shop that was here long before the tunnel was opened to the public.

Courtyard of Khan al Omdan 

The Holy Land Nazareth, Sea of Galilee and Capernaum

Nazareth is the capital and the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel".  In 2015 its population was 75,726. The inhabitants are predominantly Arab citizens of Israel, of whom 69% are Muslim and 31% Christian.  "Upper Nazareth" is built alongside old Nazareth, and had a Jewish population of 40,312 in 2014. The Jewish sector was declared a separate city in June 1974.  In the New Testament, the city is described as the childhood home of Jesus, and as such is a center of Christian pilgrimage, with many shrines commemorating biblical events.

The church of the Annunciation was established at the site where, according to Roman Catholic tradition, the Angel Gabriel proclaimed that she would give birth to Jesus.  The current church is a two-story building constructed in 1969 over the site of an earlier Byzantine-era and then Crusader-era church.

Inside, the lower level contains the Grotto of the Annunciation, believed by many Christians to be the remains of the original childhood home of Mary. The site has been a pilgrimage destination since earliest times and remains an important stop for Holy Land pilgrims today.

The Sea of Galilee is situated in northeast Israel, between the Golan Heights and the Galilee region, in the Jordan Rift Valley, the valley caused by the separation of the African and Arabian Plates.  Much of the ministry of Jesus occurred on the shores of Lake Galilee. In those days, there was a continuous ribbon development of settlements and villages around the lake and plenty of trade and ferrying by boat. Many of his miracles are also said to have occurred here including his walking on water, calming the storm, the disciples and the boatload of fish, and his feeding five thousand people in Tabgha.

The gospels describe how Jesus recruited four of his apostles from the shores of Lake Galilee: the fishermen Simon and his brother Andrew and the brothers John and James. 

The earliest building at Tabgha was a small chapel built facing the sea of galilee in the 4th century A.D. by the Jewish convert to Christianity, Joseph of Tiberias. According to the new testament it is believed that Jesus stood on this rock when he blessed the fish and loaves just before the feeding of the crowd who had come to hear him.  

The Jordan River is a 150 mile-long river in that flows roughly north to south through the Sea of Galilee and on to the Dead Sea. Israel and the West Bank border the river to the west, while the Golan Heights and Jordan lie to its east. Both Jordan and the West Bank take their names from the river.

The church of the Beatitudes is located on a small hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee, and built on the traditional site of Jesus delivery of the Sermon on the Mount, pilgrims are known to have commemorated this site since at least the 4th century. Some of the beatitudes are:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of               heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth

Inside the Church of Beatitudes

Capernaum was a fishing village established during from the 2nd century BCE on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee.  It had a population of about 1,500.   A house turned into a church by the Byzantines is said to be the home of Saint Peter.  The village was inhabited continuously until the 11th century CE, when it was abandoned sometime before the Crusader conquest

Archaeological excavations have revealed two ancient synagogues built one over the other. 

Under the monumental building are the remains of the early Roman synagogue from the times of Jesus, which was built with the local black basalt rock. This earlier synagogue was the center of activities of Jesus, where he taught.

Parts of the synagogue stones are displayed in the area around the excavations, such as this element which shows the ark of covenant.

Church at Capernaum built over the house of St. Peter.   

Tel Aviv

Overview:

Israel has emerged as a regional economic and military powerhouse, leveraging its booming high-tech sector, massive defense industry, and concerns about Iran to foster partnerships around the world, even with some of its former foes. The State of Israel was declared in 1948, after Britain withdrew from its mandate of Palestine. The UN proposed partitioning the area into Arab and Jewish states, and Arab armies that rejected the UN plan were defeated. Israel was admitted as a member of the UN in 1949 and saw rapid population growth, primarily due to migration from Europe and the Middle East, over the following years. Israel fought wars against its Arab neighbors in 1967 and 1973, followed by peace treaties with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994. Israel took control of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the 1967 war, and subsequently administered those territories through military authorities. Israel and Palestinian officials signed a number of interim agreements in the 1990s that created an interim period of Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005. While the most recent formal efforts to negotiate final status issues occurred in 2013-2014, the US continues its efforts to advance peace. Immigration to Israel continues, with more than 20,000 new immigrants, mostly Jewish, in 2020.

The Israeli economy has undergone a dramatic transformation in the last 25 years, led by cutting-edge, high-tech sectors. Offshore gas discoveries in the Mediterranean, most notably in the Tamar and Leviathan gas fields, place Israel at the center of a potential regional natural gas market. However, longer-term structural issues such as low labor force participation among minority populations, low workforce productivity, high costs for housing and consumer staples, and a lack of competition, remain a concern for many Israelis and an important consideration for Israeli politicians. Former Prime Minister Benjamin NETANYAHU dominated Israel's political landscape from 2009 to June 2021, becoming Israel's longest serving prime minister before he was unseated by Naftali BENNETT, after Israel's fourth election in two years. BENNETT formed the most ideologically diverse coalition in Israel's history, including the participation of an Arab-Israeli party. Under the terms of the coalition agreement, BENNETT would remain as prime minister until August 2023, then Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair LAPID would succeed him. Israel signed normalization agreements – brokered by the US – with Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Morocco in late 2020 and reached an agreement with Sudan in early 2021.

Source:  CIA World Factbook

Israel's population of 8 million is approximately 75 percent Jewish and 18 percent Muslim, with smaller Christian, Druze, and other religious groups. According to the World Bank, Israel’s 2015 per capita gross domestic product of $35,440 places it between Japan and Italy in the high-income group of world nations. Support for Israel’s security and promotion of a negotiated Arab-Israeli peace settlement have been bedrocks of U.S. regional policy. Comprehensive, final status negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority broke down in 2014. The United States is Israel's largest single-country trading partner. Bilateral trade has grown to $48.8 billion in 2014 since the two countries concluded a Free Trade Agreement in 1985. U.S. foreign direct investment in Israel was $10.8 billion in 2014, compared with $9 billion in Israeli foreign direct investment in the United States.

Source:  BBC Country Profile

American Embassy Tel Aviv:

The embassy faced several operational challenges. Its offices are located in eight facilities, which presents security risks as well as internal coordination difficulties. All other embassies of other countries were also located in Tel Aviv. Although the Ministry of Defense has offices in Tel Aviv, embassy staff must travel 40 miles to meet with most Israeli government officials who work in Jerusalem, the country's declared capital. While Embassy Tel Aviv and the consulate general in Jerusalem are independent diplomatic missions, they were operationally interdependent. This situation is a consequence of a long-standing U.S. policy to defer a decision on the permanent location of the embassy pending a negotiated peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Presidents Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama have regularly invoked the clause, delaying the move of the embassy to Jerusalem. That changed, of course, in May 2018, when the American embassy was moved to Jerusalem thus ending 70 years of international consensus and that the US effectively recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. and may effectively signal the end of moves to achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Tel Aviv is now considered a Branch Office but still maintains much of the management functions.  Embassy Tel Aviv’s strategic goals focus on supporting lasting Middle East peace, strengthening the U.S.-Israel economic relationship and supporting Israeli-Palestinian economic engagement, helping Israel deter terrorism, and bolstering Israel’s security and regional stability.

Findings:

The Management Counselor was Johnathan Schools who was very responsive.  He returned to the embassy in Jerusalem and is now the Counselor.  OIG found deficiencies in the housing, motor pool, preventive maintenance, and cashier operations; in the disposition of one underused property including a recommendation to sell Hassadot property and put the $8 million in estimated sales proceeds to better use.  The Safety, Health, and Environmental Management (SHEM) program needed improvement.  Given the high number of motor vehicle accidents embassy drivers should take the required Smith driver safety training.

Paul Kenul was the FMO and actually, to me, he seemed to be miscast in his position.  I had to intercede in getting a fiscal irregularity cleared through CGFS once he had all the documentation submitted for a Cashier loss of $2,590.  Not surprised that now he is assigned to the Political-Military bureau. The senior LE Staff, Financial Specialist was Peter Dayan, a long time well respected local employee.  The Embassy Cashier was responsible for maintaining shuttle bus coupons and gas cards contrary to regulations.  The suspense deposit abroad Account was used improperly to deposit funds from private corporations and institutions to pay expenses for promotional events held at the Ambassador’s residence. The embassy reimbursed many of the Ambassador's representation claims in cash, although the Department required them to be reimbursed via Electronic Fund Transfer, in accordance with the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996.  Embassy timekeepers did not submit time and attendance (T&A) documentation in a timely manner and the principal timekeeper was submitting T&A reports without backup documentation.

Supervisors of 15 Department LE staff employees had not submitted performance evaluations by the due date. There was no LE Staff training plan.  I was impressed with the HRO, Natasha Burney who had a lot on her plate.  She ended up being a Senior HRO and is now in Berlin.

Highlights:

I was the designated Co-CLO for the team and accordingly had to arrange tours every weekend.  Fortunately, I had contact with an excellent tour guide, Mike Terknick, from a previous visit to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv 2012.  I set up tours with Mike of the Old Jerusalem, the Holy Land, including Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee and Capernaum, Caesarea and Akko and Haifa.   From Jerusalem we toured the area of Judah and Samaria, the West Bank town of Herodion, Massada and the Dead Sea and  Ein Gedi Reserve.  (see separate blogs for all tours).  Three of our inspectors spent a long weekend in Petra having arranged for Jordanian visas and flying to Eilat.     

Tel Aviv is the second largest city in Israel after Jerusalem located along the Mediterranean coastline with a population of over 400 thousand.  It is the financial center and the technology hub of Israel.  The city was founded in 1909 by Jewish immigrants on the outskirts of the ancient port city of Jaffa.  Immigration by mostly Jewish refugees meant that the growth of Tel Aviv soon outpaced Jaffa's, which had a majority Arab population.  The United States was the first country to recognize Israel as a state in 1948.  Tel Aviv and Jaffa were merged into a single municipality in 1950.  We stayed at the Renaissance hotel right on the beach. 

Tel Aviv’s entire west side faces the Mediterranean Sea.  There is nine 9 miles of some of the best beaches in the world with clean wide stretches of sand and stunning views of the sea, white sails and surfers.  All Tel Aviv beaches have clean toilets and outdoor cold showers, and at most of the beaches there are indoor shower stalls and changing rooms.

The Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center and Art Museum Complex

Tel Aviv Museum of Art comprises a comprehensive collection of local art from the beginning of the 20th century to the present, modern and contemporary art, and art from the 16th to the 19th century including old masters and impressionists.

Rabin Square, formerly Kings of Israel Square is a large public city square in the center of Tel Aviv. Over the years it has been the site of numerous political rallies, parades, and other public events. In 1995 the square was renamed 'Rabin Square' following the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin.  The square is surrounded by the city hall building to the north.

The Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv is located in a five-story building along the Mediterranean coast.  

I rented a bike one afternoon and enjoyed the five mile promenade along the beach from Jaffa to Tel Aviv 

View from the bike path along the Yarkon River.  Hayarkon Park has 3.5 miles of jogging trails.


Goocha Restaurant in Tel Aviv known for its quality seafood 

Salads and appetizers for starters at the Old Man and the Sea restaurant at Jaffa port