Here I am again. now that I've worked out how to read Arabic (!) there is no stopping me. Friday in Jerusalem today, and it is all happening. The call to prayer this morning was a special one for Friday, which meant that it went for a long time, but was beautiful. I hadn't slept well before that so I was actually just dropping off to sleep...The Dome of the Rock is a busy place today, with lots of people coming and going, and later apparently the streets will be busy with people doing their last minute preparations for Shabbat. Somewhere in the mix of all that, the Christians will begin the stations of the cross, which take place in the street outside us, and go up to the church of the Resurrection (also called the Church of the Holy Sepulchre). Talk about interfaith relations.
The image is of the view that I see from my window, from the terrace of the convent. The golden dome is the Dome of the Rock, situated on the Temple Mount, an important site for Muslims, and also for Jews and Christians.
We are seeing some amazing things, and not just 'feature attractions or special holy places'. Just the day to day life of the place is interesting enough. So many different people and different cultures. Yesterday we went outside the walls again, to get some money from the nearest ATM, about 15 mins walk away. The city outside the walls is very different from the city inside: much more like the scenes that you might see on TV. We are constantly amazed at the number of kids around...they are everywhere and at all hours of the day. No such thing as bubble wrap kids in Jerusalem. I think it is very much a neigborhood job to look after the kids, and maybe everyone just knows everyone else. The population of the old city is only about 25,000 people, I think, so it is a bit like a country town, with multiple languages and faiths. So the kids are happy running through the street, asking us our names, and riding their bikes right through the middle of the tourists.
I shall write about the church of the resurrection another time. It was such an interesting experience, it deserves a post of its own!
Hi Rob , you may have noticed that you can't see comments unless you look at the posts one at a time. Also the strange post time is set for west coast USA in case you are wondering. I think you have a great photographic eye. It's a terrific photo from your window.
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