Jerusalem

January 13, 2019

The Tomb of the Garden is outside the city walls. Some protestants think this location is where Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead, rather that at the Holy Sepulchre Church (1). Unfortunately (and somewhat ironically) the site is closed on Sundays.

I went to visit the Temple Mount and Dome of the Rock. I was surprised it was not well signed, with just a small sign in Arabic pointing the way. I soon found out why: as I approached, Israeli Soldiers told me: "Muslims only" (2). 

The Via Dolorosa was nearby. A short video presentation at the Church of the Flagellation provided an overview, and I walked past a few the stations on the street named " Via Dolorosa."

Wandering across the Armenian Quarter of the Old City (3), I exited the old city at Zion Gate in thr southwest. I saw a sign for the location of the last supper. The site is not a church; it appears to be a former mosque that is now under the control of the Israeli Ministry of the Interior (4). The rooftop terrace of the building offers fine views of the Old City and Mount of Olives. The nearby Church of the Dormition, where Mary (Mother of Jesus) died (5) contained a number of evocative mosaics.

When leaving via Zion Gate earlier, I noticed an exit from the ramparts walk. I found the entrance at Jaffa Gate and walked the Ottoman-era ramparts atop the city walls on the south side of the city. The views were quite nice, but few people seem to take advantage of this opportunity.

The ramparts walk ended at Dung Gate, near the Western Wall. I stopped in for look again, noted a number of pigeons roosting in niches on the wall and other nearby surfaces (6), and took advantage of a virtual reality (7) recreation of Herod's Temple (i.e. the second temple) built on the Temple Mount. 

(1) Not knowing exactly where events in Jesus' life happened seems to be a common theme. The historical (as opposed to scriptural) record from this period tends to focus on the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. by the Romans (a). The destruction of the city would have made it difficult to find the precise location of any event from before 70 C.E.

(a) "Jerusalem ... was so thoroughly razed to the ground ... that nothing was left that could ever persuade visitors that it had once been a place of habitation." - Josephus.

(2) It is possible for non-Muslims to access this area of the city through a different entrance, but only at very limited hours on certain days. Non-Muslim praying or religious displays are prohibited.

(3) The Old City has four neighborhoods (quarters): Christian, Moslem, Jewish and Armenian (b).

(b) Armenians are mainly Christian, but have their own Church, unaffiliated with either the Catholics or Eastern Orthodox. 

(4) Celebrating mass is prohibited here except on 3 days of the year, presumably to avoid inciting religious discord that may arise from celebrating a Christian Service at a former Mosque. 

(5) Or fell into a deep sleep according to some accounts, hence the Church's name: Dormition, from the Latin for sleep.

(6) Pigeons are officially rock doves, whose natural habitat is cliffs. When people began to build cities, it was a great boon to the birds, who found building ledges, etc. quite familiar and accomodating.

(7) In this case, basically a movie you watch through a drvice strapped to your head.

Mosaic depicting the imprisonment of Jesus at a Greek Orthodox Church on the Via Dolorosa

Epiphany display at Franciscan Church

In the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem in the "Ho Ho Holy Land" (as the sign says). Note Santa on a Camel above the door.

Window in building at the Last Supper site, presumably indicating the building's former use as a Mosque (there is also a Mehreb in the room and a Minaret on the building)

On the roof-top terrace, last supper site 

Mosaic of Mary and Jesus, Church of the Dormition

Different layers of city walls, from Roman to Ottoman

The Ramparts

Southwest corner of Old City walls

Dome of the Rock, view from Ramparts; Western Wall in foreground

Contented cat at Western Wall

Jerusalem

January 12, 2019

Upon arrival at Tel Aviv Airport, I took a shared taxi (sherut) to Jerusalem Bus Station (1). I had a nice walk to drop off my bag where I was staying. The city was very quiet; I did not even hear a radio playing (2), no shops were open, and there were few cars in the streets. They seriously observe the Sabbath in West Jerusalem.

A half hour stroll led me to the Old City. Upon entering the New Gate, I noticed some shops were open and more people were about; I was in the Christian Quarter. 

I wended my way through crowded covered street markets to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified. The rock at Golgotha is enclosed in glass but there was a hole in the glass that allowed you to reach down and touch the rock. The small altar over the hole was designed to require you to kneel to touch the rock. The tomb from which Jesus rose is also purportedly in the Church. 

Holy Sepulchre Church is generally considered to be the holiest site in Christianity. In an unusual display of ecumenicalism, the site is shared by Roman Catholics and various Orthodox denominations. Judging by the manner in which people were crossing themselves, the crowd in the Church when I visited was mainly Orthodox (3).

Walking through more crowded street markets (and through a security scan) brought me to the Western Wall, the holiest sight in Judaism. The wall supported  the Second Temple, destroyed by the Romans in response to a Jewish insurrection in 70 C.E. There were a large number of people praying at the wall (and a heavily armed police and military presence), with separate sections for men and women. Ablution stations were available for ritual washing of the hands.

I left the Old City and walked (along very quiet streets and past large cemeteries) to the Mount of Olives to the east. The Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed on the night he was betrayed by Judas, is located here, but the exact location is in dispute.

Climbing further up, there is a Franciscan Chapel. While enjoying the view. I overheard the leader of an America religious group pointing out the East Gate of the Old City as he explained the gate's role in his eschatological beliefs (4). The Pater Noster (Our Fathet) Church, built at the site where tradition says Jesus taught his disciples the Lord's Prayer, is near the summit and displays the prayer in a wide variety of languages. 

The Chapel of the Ascension sits at the summit of the Mount of Olives, the highest point in the Jerusalem area. Christian and some Islamic teachings (5) say this is the place from which Jesus ascended into Heaven on Pentecost. There are altars in the Chapel for various Christian denominations and a mehreb (niche in the wall) signalling the way to Mecca. 

The Mount of Olives afforded a good view of the sunset over Jerusalem; some Chinese Christians sang songs while the sun set.

Walking back as evening fell, I could easily discern the Christian Quarter of the Old City even from outside the city walls: Christmas trees, and lighted reindeer and candy canes were visible above the walls and through New Gate.

I also passed from East Jerusalem to West Jerusalem. The city had been divided from 1947 to 1967, with a small no-mans land in between. I sensed the divide walking along the north wall of the old city as Sultan Suleiman St became Schlomo ha-Melekh St: Arabic store signs and commercial vibrancy early Saturday evening in mainly-Palestinian East Jerusalem, short walk through a quiet stretch, then Hebrew store signs and a slowly-awakening feel as Shabbat ended in West Jerusalem (5).

(1) Being the Sabbath (Shabbat), the trains and busses were not running. I had anticipated this would mean the shared taxis would fill up fast (a) on Shabbat. However, I did not consider that El Al (the Israeli airline) does not fly on Saturday, so few passengers were arriving. After about 45 minutes, there was a bit of a surge, and two sherut left simultaneously. 

(a) Like furgon (buses in Albania), sherut leave "when full."

(2) This was especially noticeable when I heard some music from an apartment I was passing. What I initially thought was a radio playing was actually people singing.

(3) The manner of making the sign of the cross differs between the Western Christian tradition (e.g. Roman Catholic and Protestant) and the Eastern Christian tradition (e.g. Orthodox). The differences relate to how the fingers are held and which shoulder one touches first (left in the Western tradition, right in the Eastern tradition).

(4) His version of the end times goes something like this: the Book of Daniel (b) said the world would end in 490 years, there were 483 years between Daniel and Jesus, leaving 70 weeks (c). Jesus' ministry was 69 weeks, leaving only one week left, but this final week is on hold (d) until the Jewish state makes a deal with the Anti-Christ (the European Union), who will broker a peace deal between the Arabs and Israelis (e). Once the peace deal is reached, the clock will start again and Yeshua (Jesus) will return, blast open the East Gate (which was closed by the Moslems to fulfill Biblical prophesy), and re-enter Jerusalem in Triumph (f).

(b) The Old Testament Book of Daniel, together with the New Testament Book of Revelation, are the go-to books for end-times predictors  and from which the group leader (Bible in hand) quoted liberally

(c) No, the math does not work for me either.

(d) "We are living in a parentheses" was how he phrased this gap.

(e) "Yes, the Anti- Chirst will win the Nobel Peace Prize" he asserted. 

(f) It surprises me that people predicting the end times tend to believe every word of the Bible is literally true, yet they still try to predict the last day. According to the gospel accounts, Jesus stated that no-one except God the Father (not even Jesus himself) knows when the last day will be (Matthew 24; 36).

(5) West Jerusalem began to come alive as shabbat ended: empty buses (labelled route 0) and empty trams (destination marked as "Depot") rumbled through the streets positioning themselves to recommence service; they soon began taking on passengers as shops and cafés re-opened.

At Holy Scepulchre Church, built on the site of Jesus' crucifixion 

The Western Wall

The Tomb of Zechariah, at the foot of the Mount of Olives

Mosaic at Church of all Nations depicting Jesus being betrayed by Judas with a kiss at Gerhsemane. Notice the halos on Jesus and his disciples (to the left), but not on Judas and the Roman guard (to the right).

The Garden of Gerhsemane (maybe), adjacent to Church of the Nations

The Russian Orthodox Church of Mary Magdelane, another possible location of Gethsemane

Jewish Cemetery, Mount of Olives

Dome of the Rock, view from Mount of Olives

The Lord's Prayer in siSwati

The rock from which Jesus ascended to heaven

Mehreb at the Chapel of the Ascension

Adjacent to the Chapel of the Ascension

London and Sofia

January 11, 2019

I was on a train across London, connecting from Gatwick to Luton Airports. A woman sat down across from me and was trying to organize her luggage, crutch, purse, and coffee. She handed me her coffee to give herself another hand to work with. She was a Brit living in Saudi Arabia who had come to visit her new grandson. Judging by the time of day, I guessed the flight was overnight with arrival in the morning. "Got it in one!" she replied.

On takeoff from Luton, there was a clear sky and the ground below was filled with fields and hedgerows. As we ascended and banked to the left, a memory stirred. It looked remarkably like the scene in The Snowman when James and the Snowman spiral upward from the garden (except there was no snow on the ground today).

I had an overnight layover in Sofia, with an early morning departure to Israel. I set my alarm for 3:30 and asked my wife to call as backup. The phone rang; I picked up but I could not hear my wife (1). It was 25 past the hour, so I got up, took a shower, packed up (2), and went to check out. The clock over the night manager's head said 3:45. She asked when my flight was (6:00) then asked why I was leaving. I was a bit perplexed until she pointed to the other clock, which said 10:45. This was the time in Sofia (at night). The clock showing 3:45 was New York Time (in the afternoon). As it turned out, I had only slept for about an hour and a half (3), then got a junk phone call at 10:30 p.m., Sofia time. The manager sent me back to bed, and said she would call to wake me at 3:30, Sofia time.

(1) It is remarkable how often a wifi call halfway across the earth actually works, so I do not fret when it doesn't work.

(2) I was surprised how damp the clothes were that I had rinsed out last night. "Must be a very wet climate," I thought.

(3) And, of course, my clothes had only been drying for 1 1/2 hours, which explains why they were still so wet.

Zurich

November 21 to 22, 2018

We took the TGV (high speed train) to Zurich, travelling over 180 mph at times. Upon arrival, we walked from the Hauptbahnhof up the river to the lake. It turns out that the last ferry boat of the day was leaving in ten minutes, so we hopped on (1). It was a pleasant ride to suburban towns along the lake, as a local family threw bread to the birds. We disembarked at Tralwil, found the train station, and took the next train back to the city.

After a nice Italian meal (2), we took the tram to Stettbach to attend a concert by my second favorite band: Within Temptation. Wow!

The next day, we had a pleasant stroll through the city. We stopped at the Frauminster, one of the oldest Churches in Zurich. From the 1200s to 1524, the Abbess was also the temporal ruler of Zurich, doing double duty as both the Abbess of the convent and the "Imperial Princess" of Zurich.

There were a number of large stained glass windows at Frauminster hand painted by Marc Chagall (3) in the 1970s. Occasionally, I understand why some art is renowned; there was something quite special about the design and execution of the Chagall stained glass.

There are many bunkers scattered throughout the country that can accomdate the entire Swiss population, just in case war comes to this neutral country. We noted one in the city.

We had käsespätzli (4) for lunch from an outdoor stall at the just-opened Christmas market. 

The Polybahn funicilar took us to the Polytechnic school where Einstein studied physics. We enjoyed a small exhibit of architectural drawings before poking our heads onto a classroom during a break; the math on the board was certainly over my head. As the professor returned, we listened discretely at the door and learned that the language of instruction was English. 

A walk further up the hill lead to another Funicilar going up Rigiblick (5). There were breaks in the low cloud cover that afforded us nice views of the city from the top.

After a German dinner (6), we took another tram further out of town to the Hallenstadion to see my favorite metal band: Nightwish (7). We got there early, so we planted ourselves right on the security fence, stage left. I've never stood (8) so close before. The heat when they blew off the gas jets was quite intense. Niggtwish gave another fine performance. 

(1) The ferry crew told us the boat was not returning to Zurich this afternoon (a). However, a map posted on a bulkhead showed rail lines on both sides of the lake, so I figured we could take a train back to the city from wherever the ferry ended.

(a) The late Fall ferry schedule is rather limited. 

(2) Italian is one of the four official languages of Switzerland. Perhaps that is why they have really good Italian food in Zurich. The other official languages are German (b), French and Romansch. 

(b) Although my German-speaking friends tell me it is quite different from standard German and is often referred to as "Swiss German" (i).

(i) I had noticed a sign earlier in the day (roughly translated as "Freshest bread in the neighborhood") that seemed to combine three German words with one French word. Apparently, this was Swiss German.

(3) Marc Chagall was born in Belarus, but did much of his work in France. Both countries claim him as their own (b).

(b) A local Swiss man had no opinion on which country could really claim Chagall: "We Swiss are neutral about everything" he said 

(4) Basically macaroni and cheese with lightly fried onions on top. Yum.

(5) We wanted to get the maximum value from the all-day transit pass we had invested in this morning. 

(6) How was the German meal? Well, let's just say there's a reason there aren't many German restaurants in the world, compared to, say, Italian restaurants.

(7) I came to Zurich because my two favorite bands were (coincidentally) playing on two consecutive nights in the city. 

(8) The standing area (stehplatz) was over the covered ice in the Hallenstadion arena that frequently hosts hockey games. There were seats in the arena (sitzplatz), but this was a metal concert! We had much more fun dancing, jumping, shouting and thrusting our metals horns in the air than the people in the seats (c).

(c) You can often tell who in the audience is a serious fan of the band by whether they know some of the band's kess popular songs. I was standing near such a fan. She recognized a kindred spirit and she high-fived me when I thrust my metal-horn hands into the air in time to a rather complicated passage in the band's masterpiece "Greatest Show on Earth."

View of Zurich from the Ferry

Kollion from the ferry

Kunsnacht from the ferry

End of the ferry line: Tralwil

Within Temptation rocking Samsung Hall

The largest clock in Europe

Chagall windows, Frauminster 

(stock photo; pictures are not permitted)

Where Einstein studied Physics

What Einstein studied?

Rigiblick Funicular

Zurich street scenes

View from the tram

Nightwish at Hallenstadion

Paris

November 20 to 21, 2018

The normally 30 minute ride from the airport turned into a 2.5 hour journey with multiple connections, crowded trams, etc due to a malfunctioning train near Gare du Nord. When I arrived in the city, I had trouble exiting through the gate, as my ticket had timed out.

A friend who is now living in Southern France met me for a Paris walking tour. She had not been to the city before. We heard the story of the narrow Rue du Chat Qui Peche (street of the cat who fishes). The mythical car could catch dozens of fish per day from the Seine.

We ended the tour at the Truileries Gardens. We walked further downriver for a closer look at the Eiffel Tower. The night was cold and damp (1) and the wet streets glistened in the City of Lights (2).

We had planned to use the Velib bike share system to ride the few miles back up river to our hotel, but neither of of us could make the system work. As we were passing a boat quay, a Batteau Mouche (fly boat) was about to depart, so we saw the city from the water. 

The following morning, we got an early start to visit the Notre Dame Cathedral. While I had been to the Cathedral before, showing it to someone else for the first time made me see the building, stained glass and paintings with fresh eyes. The scale of the church would really have imppresed people throughout most of its history. 

(1) We encountered some sleet in the late afternoon. 

(2) I read a book on the plane about Paris during the Nazi occupation entitled "When Paris Went Dark." It was a good read and a nuanced treatment of the topic.

Old Prison, Ile de la Cité

The Louvre

Paris scenes

Chinese Madonna, Notre Dame Cathedral

On Ile St Louis

Walking to Gare de Lyon