Moments of Silence

Today has been a mixed bag of emotions. We celebrated the independence of Israel in Tel Aviv, as well as took time to remember during Israel's Memorial Day. 

Memorial Day in Israel was very interesting. Similar to Holocaust Day, sirens sound throughout the entire country for a solid minute to remember all those who are no longer with us. It may seem like something so trivial, but it is quite powerful. Also, don't think that only people who are not doing anything participate. Everyone participates. Classes stop and the students rise and take a moment of silence, our auditorium rose and acknowledged the moment, and highway traffic came to halt over the country as drivers stepped out of their cars to pay their respects.

This got me thinking about my own busy life and taking moments of silence. Memorial Day, for the most part, is somber. However, since days begin in the evenings here, the mood quickly changed around 8:00pm last night. We were in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv and fireworks were being launched high into the sky and Israeli pop singers performed for the vast audience. We stared in awe at the celebration that surrounded us. 

We left Rabin Square at about 10:00pm and made our way back to where we were staying. On our way there were DJs on the boulevard playing different music. A new DJ greeted us about every block and people were dancing down the boulevard and in the in streets. It was a complete 360 from 4 hours prior. We were wrapped into the celebration of Israel's independence. 

We got ready to continue our evening, as many of the celebrations last all through the night (dancing, barbecuing  and drinking), and we needed to be ready. It was when we were waiting that we logged onto the internet. It was about 11:00pm and we were seeing the news of the Boston marathon bombings playing out on our computer screens. We were in awe and stunned into silence. 

For me, it was the first time when home came rushing back to me. My life has been vastly different since coming to Israel, and I don't really base my memories on things happening in the US, as I do when I am at home. However, when I read about Boston I immediately thought about the moment when I read about the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. I was back at Concordia, doing my news update after my first class, and never expected to read such terrible news. 

All of the sudden I was in polar opposites. On one hand I was celebrating the independence of Israel, and on the other I was struck with such terrible news of my home country. Although our excitement wasn't as high, we did go out and have fun in Tel Aviv. What was most interesting was when we came home. 

We walked in the door and immediately got onto our electronic devices for ay further news. The room was completely silent, save the few keystrokes of locating a new news source. The technological bombardment of information deafened the room. It was interesting how quickly we forgot about the festivities that literally happening outside of our door. 

Moments of silence. They come at very interesting times in our lives. Some may leave us in complete awe, while others may help us remember. Some are mandated, and some are self-inflicted. It is also interesting in seeing the way silence can bring people together. In Israel, nearly the entire nation shared in an event for a single minute. While online, we saw the immediate responses from people all over the nation sending prayers and vibes towards Boston, as well as Boston nations informing loved ones that they are safe. Their pandemonium was my silence. 

חיפה והגנים הבהאיים

This past Friday and Saturday I went to Haifa with a classmate. We left Good Friday afternoon (since all the services were in the morning) and then we returned Saturday night.

The Title of this post is "Haifa and The Baha'i Gardes." 

Here are the picture that were taken those two days. We also went to Salvador Dali exhibit, where about 500 works (most original, but a few replicas) were on display. It was awesome. It was only $22 to see the exhibit too, so it wasn't too bad. 

This is picture of The Baha'i Gardens, taken on Ben Gurion Ave. There are also a lot of restaurants along this street. We ate at one of them for dinner. It was very delicious. 

This is of a fountain at the lowest point of The Baha'i Gardens. It is open later, so we were able to walk around just the first terrace and see things. I messed with the shutter speed, so the water looks more silky.

Here is a cascading fountain that run downs just the first terrace. I also messed with the shutter speed to give the water some really great detail. 

The whole fountain on the bottom of the first terrace.

Messing with the shutter speed of the cascading fountain. 

A rather ornate light in gardens. These types of lights were everywhere in the gardens.

A close up of one of the sections of the cascading fountain. I also was playing with the shutter speed. 

The Shrine of the Báb. Despite the open gates, you are not allowed to walk on these sections. At least during the time we were there. You have to enter at a different level to go to the shrine. 

A picture of the shrine through that gate that held us back. 

Looking down from the top of the first terrace. You can all the symmetry. 

An eagle statue at the gardens. 

A lamppost. These is on the first terrace. They are much more ornate around the shrine area.

Looking up the stairs of the first terrace. 

Another view of the fountain. 

After dinner it was clearly dark. Now the gardens are all lit up and it looks very awesome. 

The lampposts near the shrine. Notice how much more ornate they are. 

Just a sliver of the stairs we had to climb to get to the same level as the shrine. Since we aren't allowed to climb up from the bottom, you have to take a route that is about a block away from the actual gardens. 

An ornate fence near the shrine. 

So this was as close as to looking down from the level that I was at. It is much smaller than before. 

A golden eagle near the shrine.

The Shrine of the Báb. Sorry, no photography allowed in the shrine. 

Looking up at the shrine.

A golden bird holding a light.

A cool light that provided some sweet symmetry.

Looking out over two fountains. I wish I could've walked to that gate a taken a picture looking down.

One of the four doors that lead into the shrine. There was a door on each side that all empty into four separate chambers on the inside. However, all the chambers all face that same inner shrine, just from a different perspective.

So roads go under the gardens. Even underground the gardens stairs are constructed and symmetry is achieved. 

Zoomed in one The Shrine of The Báb. 

So things got a little out of order, but this is as far zoomed out as I can get. You can see the symmetry. The only thing that we noticed that isn't symmetrical is the tree in front of the shrine. We figured it is to allow photos to be taken. 

Here is the beach that we made it to after we were done at the gardens. 

Seeing the sunset from inside the bus back to Jerusalem. Can't say it was a very magical moment, but it was still a cool sight. 

Okay, so this photo is supposed to be between the other two, but oh well. So symmetrical except for that dang tree.