That One Time I Realized I Haven't Posted Pictures in FOREVER

I guess I could call this round of photos "The Temple Mount: Part II."

Background: Austin and Angela had not yet been to The Temple Mount, so we decided to go. We also went to the Church of Holy Sepulcher and the Western Wall. Are motto for the day was to hit up the three heavy-hitting monotheisms. Mission accomplished. 

I may not go into great detail.

These photos are from Tuesday, March 26th, 2013. Also, it was 91 degrees with no clouds in the sky. We obviously couldn't tell it would get to 91 when we left home at around 10:30am, but by 2:30pm we were well aware. 

The Dome of the Rock, as see between the pillars leading up to it. 

Austin and Angela posing with The Dome of the Rock. Also, a random person got into the shot, so it looks at though Austin is presenting this man, but no. She is gesturing to The Dome of the Rock.

A view from further back on The Temple Mount. 

When you get onto The Temple Mount there are these things. We aren't fully sure what they are to be honest. The could by the caps to columns that have been excavated from somewhere. They could also just be based for flower pots. I have no idea.

The Dome of the Rock.

We were walking around The Dome of the Rock and came across this. We knew that many Muslims would come to pray, but this was the first time I saw The Temple Mount acting like a Muslim Community Center. These kids were just bouncing a basketball and a soccer ball against The Dome of the Rock. It was clearly fine, as there were many Muslims walking around just watching and not saying anything. It was a very interesting site, and I got to see The Temple Mount and The Dome of the Rock in a very different light.

Two kids playing soccer on The Temple Mount.

Church of Mary Magdalene. Funny story: I love seeing this church and want to go and take pictures of it. It is only open two day a week, and only for two hours on either of those days. I go to church with my friend on Holy Thursday for company, and we walk to the Garden of Gethsemane and end up literally at the door of this church. Of couse, as my luck would have it, I didn't bring my camera. My life.

The Dome of the Rock. This is when we were walking around the gardens on The Temple Mount.

Austin posing in front of The Dome of the Rock.

Church of Mary Magdalene behind some trees.

The Dome of the Rock.

A close up of a flower while we were walking in the gardens.

Same flower as above, different angle.

Angela posing in front of The Dome of the Rock.

So after this last picture was taken we started to meander to leave. We got semi-close to the door and then the guards started shouting at us in Hebrew. So we hurried to the exit. Well, the days are getting longer and the times of prayer are changing. So the hours shift a little bit, and we made it out 3 minutes before prayers started. 

Ash Wednesday in the Old City

I went back to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was Ash Wednesday.

Above is the Mosque of Omar, which is right next to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. I saturated the colors a little bit, but the lights on the minaret are actually green. 

Some candle holders in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. I toned down the color in this photo, bring it closer to black and white.

This is when I just decided to do a completely black and white photo of a close up of some candles. This area is above Golgotha and you can donate some money and then light some candles. 

Again, to help this picture actually look well I had to mess with the colors. It is very hard to get the photos to turn out well in this part of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. I feel slightly bad already taking pictures while people are praying, and I would feel 10 times worse if I was using my flash, just so I could have a picture where everything is in full color.


Now for the story.

Yes, I realize that Ash Wednesday was a while ago, and I realized that I had posted these photos on my Facebook page, but I had not posted them on my blog.

To begin, most of us forgot about Ash Wednesday until about 2 days prior to it actually occurring. We thought, "Hey, why not go to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Ash Wednesday for a good ol' ashing." Someone got the times for the service and we heading into the Old City after our Hebrew class was finished that day. Three words on the Old City on Ash Wednesday, "Holy tourists, Batman!" They were everywhere. I realize that I am not an Israeli citizen, but I no longer feel like a tourist, and we all secretly love speaking the very minute Hebrew we know around them.

We got to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and there were so many people. We wedged our way through the tour groups and made our way into the sanctuary. We perused all the things, but at a much slower pace due to all the people. When we were above Golgotha a service started and we had front row seats. One problem. It was a Greek Orthodox service. Don't get me wrong, it was super cool, but I didn't understand a thing. I once heard "nike" (NEE-kay), which is "victory" in Greek I believe. I also heard a few "kristos" in there too. However, one of my friends particularly wanted to get ashed today, and Greek Orthodox do not do ashings, at least not at this one service.

We wandered back downstairs and found someone who knew about the services. She showed them her iPhone with the times on it. It was then that we realized that the service that we thought started at 6:30pm, probably in fact happened at 6:30am. That's military time for you. Yup, no ashings for us. However, we can still say that we got to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Ash Wednesday. Luckily, there are palm trees everywhere here, and if we really wanted to we could've ashed each other.  Regardless, we had a fun time. There is never a dull moment in the Old City.

A Shabbat to Remember

You're all probably thinking, "Why is he writing another post about Shabbat?" Well, because last nights Shabbat was particularly fun. Here is a photo of everyone present:

A couple people got cutoff, but I think this was taken with a camera phone, so it turned out pretty good. Anyways, we had a potluck Shabbat dinner, so there was tons of awesome food to be consumed, and there was about 20 of us all crammed into one room. We temporarily commandeered two tables from other flats on the floor. We had everything from homemade mac n' cheese to quinoa. From chicken in lemon sauce to bread covered in Israeli Nutella (which is about 30 times better than brand name Nutella).

Once we were sufficiently engorged with food we relaxed for about an hour, and then about 75% of us went to the Old City. It is a much different place at night, so it was fun to go. We went to the Western Wall for about a half an hour to pray, meditate, watch, pay our respects, etc. (since not everyone was Jewish). We then attempted to find Robinson's Arch, which is a located at another part of the wall that men and women are allowed to pray together. For those of you who don't know, the Western Wall is divided into two sections. Women are only allowed to pray in a small section along the wall. If you look at my post with all the pictures, you can make out the divider. This causes some tension, as women are not allowed to be Bat-mitzvah-ed at the wall. Once a month, a group called Women of the Wall put on their prayer shawls and bring their Torahs to the Wall and pray. This too is met with tension.

Since Robinson's Arch was closed for the evening we continued on our meandering of the Old City at night. We eventually found ourselves in the rooftops on the edge of the Christian Quarter. It was very cool. You could see The Dome of the Rock, a synagogue, and a church. They all seemed like they were only 3 blocks away from where we stood. We all just relaxed on the roof, stargazed (with what stars you could see. I was only able to see Orion and the Little Dipper), and talked about how our time in Jerusalem had been so far, etc. However, at about 1:00am we thought it would be best to start heading home.

By this time the city was dead. The light-rail was done running (One, because it stops running at midnight. Two, because it stops running at about 4:00pm on Shabbat.) so we decided to just walked along the tracks to get back home, since our student village is right off a stop on the light-rail. Walking takes a little while, so we didn't get home until about 2:00am, where I proceeded to fall into my bed and sleep until 10:00am this morning. Now I am sitting blogging and washing my laundry, enjoying a calm Shabbat in the student village.

It's Been a While

Well it has been a while since I have made a post, but that is because I am getting settled in. Life is starting to feel like home, but I just happen to be in Jerusalem. Sitting down and budgeting for the next 5 months threw my plans into perspective. Although it would be nice to travel to different places in Israel, and Petra in Jordan, it would be better to have that money for groceries, and food. The blog posts may become mundane, but I think it is a matter of perspective. The Old City is no longer some awesome sight, it is part of my life. I have been there 3 times, and we don't need a special occasion to go. I will bring my camera every now and then to snap a few pictures.

I also have gone to the Shuk, which is a giant market area. If you are only in Jerusalem for a day, then yes, this is something that you should see. The reality for people who live here, it's where we shop for groceries and can haggle prices. We have finally started learning numbers so we can actually haggle more effectively. 

We essentially walk almost everywhere, and when we don't walk we usually take the light-rail. The light-rail is 6.60 NIS every trip (not even 2 dollars). We don't have a pass yet, since they don't issue 5-month student passes until the beginning of the new semester. We are in a sort of J-term scenario right now, so we would have had to just get a one month pass and then buy the 5-month student pass. 

As for right now, I am doing what I came here to do. I am learning. My Hebrew class is good and I am studying in Beit Midrash groups and Talmud groups to learn more about Judaism. Once semester begins my schedule will be much different, but I will be able to figure out destination plans. We are looking at going to Tel Aviv for one weekend for sure, and also to Eilat over another weekend. There are many places that I can go to all over the place, but I probably won't be spending money on a plethora of museums and whatnot. 

Something we were told by an American who moved to Israel 5 years ago, that we met while waiting for the light-rail, he said that is Israel is a wonderful place to spend a short vacation in. It can be an expensive place to live though. When you are only here for a finite time it is easy to spend money one museum, because you will be gone in about 2 days. It is hard for me to cough up the shekel every time I see a museum here because there are so many, and I would be broke extremely fast. The cities here themselves are museums, so that is how I have convinced myself and rationalized not spending the shekel on going to a bunch of museums (not to say that I will never go to any). 

There is a strong difference of eating in Israel too. Back home I would spend money and eat at school, but I can't do that here. I can't work while I am here and make a living, so (right now) it is a lot of Tupperwares of Cheerios (since I have found no plastic bags Ziploc bags here). I can't justify spending money on food at a fast food stop type in the Forum, when I know that I don't have any form of income that support this. This will change once school really starts, because then I will tons of time between classes and I will be able to come back to the village (which is about a 15 minute walk to the school - hence why I can't come back during my Ulpan classes). We shall see where the semester takes me for packing lunches and museum tours.

Peace and a Settled Life

Glimpses of the Old City

So now comes the time when I will post some pictures from the Old City. We went at about 3pm today and just relaxed in the city. After just one other trip there, we can now navigate through the Muslim Quarter and get to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, so that is pretty cool. But here are some pictures.

Here are some candles in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. I wanted to catch a person lighting a candle, and thankfully I did. 

Outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was actually started to drizzle when we went in, and by the time that we had come out it was no longer raining. It was a very nice surprise. You can also tell how buildings can be so tucked away in the Old City. For the two times that I have been here we have come from the Muslim Quarter, so the routes are lots of turns and alleys. 

Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was actually extremely dim inside this church, but luckily a few of the pictures turned out and you can see the amazing architecture of the building.

Another candle shot. This one was mostly to get all of the candles in one shot. The church people were also starting to close the church, so I had to get this picture before they started taking all the candles out of the sand.

The dome from the inside. You can see the top of the church within a church. In this little church is the tomb of Jesus (sorry, no pictures of that sight). 

A doorway in the church. It's actually only a lightbulb on the other side of the door.

Another picture of the dome. It is huge and awesome.

This is me, having fun with my camera. So I just did zoom stuff. I had it open for two seconds and then zoomed in. This is the result.

I personally think that this Jesus looks a little angry. I have called it the "Jesus is not impressed" face.

Some lanterns hanging in the church. Some of the only light that could be found in the church.

The Dome of the Rock. The sun was setting, so Shabbat was ending. It was a very beautiful evening.

This is a picture of the locks on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. They are pretty intense.

A nice bank of clouds coming into Jerusalem. Again, a very beautiful evening.

I really enjoy this picture because you can clearly see two faiths. The Western Wall is clearly in the middle, and then the sides have two mosques. You have the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque. Very interesting.

Here is a random street in the Jewish Quarter. I liked it better in black and white. This is when we were just wandering through the city. We would come to split and then say, "Left or right." It took us to some really cool sights, this being one of them.

Peace and Photography

Shabbat Shalom

For those who don't know, the Sabbath (day of rest) occurs on Friday-Saturday. This coincides with the Jewish traditions of Sabbath. A typical greeting that you will hear is, "Shabbat Shalom." It has been an interesting time. I had my first Shabbat feast ever last night. About 50 (or so) of us students had a Shabbat meal put on by the Madrachim (kind of like orientation leaders). We got to hear the traditional prayers (I could pick out a few words and phrases, but they speak so fast). All the food was kosher and it was GREAT. After the dinner we kind of just had a chill night. 

With Shabbat, many places will close for the evening and also the next day (Saturday) until sundown. So all public transportation stopped running at about 4 or 5 on Friday (not positive on taxis, but buses and the light-rail for sure). The city grew quiet, and at about 11 we were all hungry again. Not being Jewish, and not strictly adhering to kosher practices, about 9 of us went in search of a Dominoes (which we heard was nearby). We found it, and we got some pepperoni pizza, and it was delicious. Having filled our stomachs we kind of relaxed until about 2 in the morning. 

I woke up at about 11 today (still getting used to the time) and since it was still Shabbat, everything was still closed. We found an Arab falafal stand a couple blocks away from campus, which was very tasty. While we were eating our lunches we decided that it would be pretty sweet to go to the Old City today. So we went back to our rooms and put on jeans and walking shoes (the women also made sure to wear clothes that covered them) and we walked. Yes, we walked. We couldn't take the light-rail, since it wasn't open due to Shabbat, and we were not about to spend the shekel to get a cab. The walk only took about an hour, and it reminded me a lot of Greece.

Upon arrival to the Old City we found ourselves in the Arab Quarter. It was in the middle of the day, so it is nothing to worry about. We kind of just wandered around and looked at all the stalls selling goods. Arabs do not adhere to Shabbat like the Jewish do, so everything was very busy. We meandered and finally decided that we should actually figure out what we wanted to do in the Old City. We decided on the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. We finally made our way to the church and it was incredible. I could smell the incense from about 100 feet away from the doors. Once inside Franciscan monks were walking around the inside and chanting prayers, it really helped create a nice ambience. We then stood in line for the entrance into the chamber were Jesus was buried and the 5 of us just took a few moments of silence for this occasion.

Once outside the Church we realized that it was about 4:30pm and Shabbat would be coming to an end soon. We decided that it would be really cool to see Shabbat end at the Western Wall. We didn't go up to the wall, because we felt really underdressed for the closing of Shabbat. But sunday came and it was a very interesting experience. Islam prays at Sundown, so we first heard the prayers coming from the minaret (which also caused a flock of birds to take flight), and the Jewish started the Shabbat prayers. It was so interesting to hear one religion's prayers, and to physically watch another religion's prayers.

After that, we decided that we should probably head home (it gets dark rather quickly here), so we made our way into the Armenian Quarter. We didn't want to attempt to navigate all the streets in the Arab Quarter at night. We also grabbed some dinner at an Armenian restaurant, so we kind of failed at the whole, "We're trying to get out of the Old City before it gets really dark" kind of thing, but it was worth it. Afterwards, we followed a road and came out a few blocks from the light-rail, which was now open because Shabbat was over. So we were able to take the light-rail to the stop closest to campus and now a lot of us our blogging about our awesome day.

I hate to break it to everyone who is wanting pictures, but I didn't bring my camera today. For two reasons. It was Shabbat, so I just wanted to have a chill day. Second, I wanted to experience the Old City for the first time NOT through the lens of a camera. The way I see it, I'm going to be here for 5 months. If I never make it back to the Old City in 5 months that is pretty pathetic. In time, but for now, no such luck.

Peace and New Experiences

The First Two Photos

!The photos will finally start getting up

.This is the view from my room. I am on the eighth floor, so we get a very nice view

.If you couldn't see it very well in the first photo, this is what I get to wake up to every morning 

Sadly, that is all the photos that I have for now. More will be coming.

Peace and Pictures