Jerusalem

The famous Western Wall of Jerusalem...

The Aedicule in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a chapel containing the supposed tomb where many Christians believe Jesus was buried and resurrected.  (Photographs weren't allowed inside the tomb).

Temple on the Mount, the most contested site in Jerusalem.  It is somewhat controlled by the nation of Jordan though Israeli soldiers patrol the entrances, ostensibly allowing in only Muslims who are not men between the ages of 20-40.  I tried to go in through a few entrances just to see what would happen, and the Israeli soldiers sternly but friendly enough explained that there is one entrance for tourists open twice a day.  (However, they often choose not to open it up like the following morning.)  Our Jewish guide told us that Israeli Jews are not allowed to enter the Temple Mount complex, but Wikipedia says that Jews are allowed to visit, but not to pray there.  

Here you can see that the Temple Mount is located behind the Western Wall.

Anat, our OAT guide, explains history outside Old Jerusalem.

The colorful stencils on the outside of the house show others that the inhabitants of this home have completed the Hajj, a pilgrimage to Mecca.

  

My parents in front of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

East Jerusalem

In some tunnels under Jerusalem

Christian tourists carry a cross and walk what is called the Stations of the Cross along Via Dolorosa, which recreates a path that Jesus may have walked while carrying his cross to the site of his crucifixion.

Orthodox Jews dressed in their Orthodox Jew garb are commonplace in Jerusalem.

Along the streets of Old Jerusalem you can here the muezzin calling Muslims to prayer from atop mosques like the one above mixing with hymns being sung by Christian pilgrims walking the Stations of the Cross with Orthodox Jewish children playing in the streets, three major religious groups all strongly presenting their identities side by side.  This is not to say that everything is harmonious...While we were there arsons started a fire in the bathroom of an old church in Jerusalem and I witnessed the tension of young Muslim men scowling and staring down young Israeli soldiers and also small boys screaming Allah Akhbar (God is great) at Israeli soldiers in the Muslim Quarter of Old Jerusalem.  

Lighting votive candles in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a site where many believe Jesus was crucified.

Snow in Jerusalem!

The Temple Mount seen through an archway in East Jersualem

View of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives

Banksy in Bethlehem & Thoughts on Palestine

Banksy street art in Bethlehem...A site for Christian tourists and pilgrims and only a little over four miles away from Jerusalem, Bethlehem is part of Palestine and is governed by the Palestinian authority.

Another piece of street art by Banksy

Here is the wall keeping the Palestinians inside the city of Bethlehem and out of the rest of Israel.  While traveling in Israel and the occupied territories of Palestine, I learned a lot about the entire Israel-Palestine conflict and more about the history of the region and the state of Israel.  The situation is really complicated, too complicated to want to profess a strong opinion here on my photo blog.  The plight of the Palestinian citizens is deplorable as they are not free humans and I hate that my government ('Murica) assists the Israeli military with cash (an annual package of 3 Billion dollars).  However, other than that, I am not going to suggest a solution or criticize either side too much as the more I understand, the more I realize how much tragedy has already occurred and how difficult it will be to resolve.  

But I'll add two things.  Reading Sandy Tolan's book, The Lemon Tree, helped me to comprehend better the context of the crazy quagmire that is now Israel.  And I was surprised to hear from several Palestinians that they support a one-state solution to their conflict.  That implication means that despite 135 countries of the United Nations (about 70%of the UN) recognizing the State of Palestine as a sovereign nation, at least some Palestinians would prefer for all of Palestine to be absorbed into Israel (it practically is already since it is all more or less occupied) and be given Israeli citizenship and the right to be free and to travel freely.  I imagine this one-state solution is preferable for some Palestinians as they would have the ability to work in Israeli society, which has one of the strongest economies of the region and would be more of a fast-track to modern "normalcy" of being able to work and live as free global citizens.  If you have thoughts on this, feel free to write in the comments below... 

Touching the spot in the Church of the Nativity where Jesus Christ was supposedly born

In the underground chapel (formerly cave) of Jesus's supposed birthplace with other foreign tourists

Here's a sign in Hebrew, Arabic and English noting the border of a Palestinian Area A.  The city of Bethlehem, for example, is an Area A of Palestine.  The cities of Palestine Area A are all or mostly enclosed by walls.  Israelis are technically not supposed to enter, but no one controls their movements.  For Palestinian residents of Area A, most of them cannot leave.  It is possible to get permits for day passes (for example to drive a few miles to go work in Jerusalem), but Palestinians must travel through check points to enter into Israel.  There are also Palestinian Areas B and C.  As a foreign tourist, I can travel freely through all, (though not to Gaza, which is a totally different situation).  Actually, this subject is so complicated and the issue of Jerusalem even more so, I'm just going to give you links for anyone who really wants to understand the current "borders" of occupied Palestine:
Wikipedia's explanation of West Bank Areas with maps
Al Jazeera's map of the "occupation" of the West Bank with an explanation of what each Area means and a map of Jerusalem 

Waiting at a checkpoint to reenter Israel.  Foreigners and Israelis are just waved through.

Also a few miles outside of Jerusalem is Herodion, the ruins of an ancient hilltop fortified palace built by King Herod.  Here, workers excavate some of the underground tunnels beneath Herodion.

An ancient cistern of Herodion

The Dead Sea & Masada, Israel

Some of the development along the Dead Sea at dusk

"Enter until you can squat, then lie back gently."

Floating in the Dead Sea is not really like being in other bodies of water.  You can't quite swim, you just float as nearly your entire body wants to pop up above the water's surface.  It's a weird sensation.

Hotels on the Dead Sea

Fortunately the flash floods abated enough to allow us to drive up the road to the incredible Masada.  The history of the ancient fortress on a mountain top was just as incredible as its views across the desert.

Views of the northern palace...

Part of the Snake Path and the Dead Sea in the distance

Ancient mosaic

An unusual flash flood did hinder our jeep tour.

OAT group getting the low down on the desert

Near the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve we came across some ibex.

Baptisms on the Jordan River, Golan Heights & Nazareth

American Christian tourists/pilgrims get baptized en masse in the Jordan River. It is thought that this section of the river could be the location where Jesus was supposedly baptized by John the Baptist.  

This gentleman filmed his baptism with a Go Pro camera.

My mother, excited to be at the River Jordan

Inside the Church of the Beatitudes built on the location where Jesus may have delivered his Sermon on the Mount.

View of the Sea of Galilee from an old Syrian military bunker at Peace Vista Lodge in the Golan Heights, just a few miles from the Syrian border

Peace Vista Lodge is part of a kibbutz/settlement, Kfar Haruv, which operates a dairy onsite.  They also farm and manufacture hydraulic equipment.  It's impressive how the intentional communities (kibbutzes) have become financially independent and successful.  However, many in the international community would consider this community and all Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights to be illegal (according to Wikipedia).

View of a promontory where an ancient fortress once stood and was captured by the Romans in Gamla Nature Reserve in the Golan Heights

Not an infrequent sign in the Golan Heights

Through a strip mall, our guide took us to the viewpoint overlooking the city of Nazareth

Facade of the Church of the Annunciation, where the Roman Catholics believe that the Angel Gabriel announced to the Virgin Mary that she would become the mother of Jesus

One of many mosaics in the courtyard

Supposed site of Mary's Annunciation in the church

Church of the Annunciation, Nazareth