Hodgepodge 147/365 - Jerusalem

Some snapshots today of this amazing—amazingly rich, diverse, colorful, complicated (and super-crowded)—place of deep history, old and ongoing conflict, spirituality, divisions and conjunctions, and vibrant life.

Today I added to my list of Things I Really Don't Know the Christian story, as we visited Gethsemane, then walked up the Via Dolorosa, stopping at several of the stations of the Cross. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was a madhouse: so many people paying pilgrimage. And to think that three major moments in the Christian story—Jesus's crucifixion, the anointing of his body in preparation for burial, and the resurrection—are housed in one and the same church. Crazy! (Also crazy is the fact that five orthodox sects share guardianship of the church; a Muslim opens and closes it every day; and the Protestants apparently locate Golgotha—the site of the crucifixion—elsewhere in the area.)

It seemed fitting to end the day with a visit to the Israel Museum, which houses the Dead Sea scrolls, a broad collection of ancient art and artifacts, and a variety of other art. Today I especially enjoyed a special exhibition on the depiction of Christ in Israeli art, from Chagall to the present. I also discovered a new artist, also Israeli, whose work I appreciated, Mordecai Ardon. He reminded me in some aspects of Paul Klee. (Click on the photos to view them large on black.)

View of the Old City from Mount of Olives, East Jerusalem

Dome on the Rock, from Mount of Olives

Old City walls and terracing

Western/Wailing Wall

Announcement of having completed the Hajj to Mecca

In the Jewish quarter

Selling bread

Church of the Holy Sepulchre detail

Lighting candles at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Israel Museum: contemporary art

Israel Museum passage

Shrine of the Book, showcasing the Dead Sea Scrolls, with,
not coincidentally I'd wager, the Knesset, or Israeli parliament,
in the background