Israel
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Fields Of Red Poppies In The Kidron Valley, Jerusalem
Okay dear readers, here is another WOW moment that happened to me and my 13 year old son during our adventures in the Old City of Jerusalem this past Passover. While these amazing fields of red poppies in bloom in the Kidron Valley, just below the walls of the Old City, was something publicized on a poster, I did not see that poster (fortunately) and completely by accident we stumbled upon one of the most stunning displays of wild flowers I have ever seen in Israel, any I really just couldn’t believe it. I also couldn’t believe that while this is something that occurs each Spring, it was new to…
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Lovely Weeds On The Old City Jerusalem Walls
During our 11 night stay in the Old City of Jerusalem, one of my favorite sites was the Ramparts Walk, NOT TO BE MISSED! And of course, as a lover of things botanical, I just had to photograph some of the weeds growing on the ancient walls. And guess what, my daughter (who had to speed ahead in order to catch a bus back up North and bring the rest of our Passover food from the freezer at home as we unexpectedly decided to stay in Jerusalem) took the very same picture of the very same weed. Such a proud parent moment! This weed looks very similar to a snap…
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What Is The Temple Mount? Can I Go There?
Entrance to The Temple Mount within the Muslim Quarter, Jewish Law forbids entrance by Jews, and in any case only Muslims are allowed entrance through this gate. The Temple Mount refers to the elevated plaza above the Kotel (Western Wall) in Jerusalem that was the site of both of The Jewish People’s ancient temples. The first temple, built by King Solomon, was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. The second was built in the sixth century BCE and stood for nearly 600 years before it was destroyed and the Jewish people exiled in 70 CE by the Roman Empire. Jews continue to mourn the destruction on the fast day of…
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The Kotel HaKatan, The Small Wailing Wall In Jerusalem
We are now in a period on the Jewish calander called “The Three Weeks” which is the 3 weeks leading up to the holiday called Tisha B’Av, The 9th of Av. The 9th of Av is a mandatory fast day (except for those under 12/13, elderly, ill or possibly just after birth) and is the saddest day of the year, the day in which we mourn the loss of our Holy Temple in Jerusalem. For the next 2 weeks I’ll be sharing with you many interesting photographs from our stray in the Old City of Jerusalem, which helps put this history dating back to 2,000 years ago in perspective. One…
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Where Is Nachum Ish Gamzu Buried?
Where is Nachum Ish Gamzu buried, you may ask? Or more likely, who is Nachum Ish Gamzu? Or what language is that anyway? Well dear readers, let me tell you, Nachum Ish Gamzu, or more correctly, Rebbe Nachum Ish Gamzu was a Tanna, a rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 10-220 CE! Okay that is seriously a long time ago, and yet he was such an important figure that we are still talking about him and visiting his gravesite! One of the things for which Rebbe Nachum Ish Gamzu is known is that he was the teacher of the even more well know Rebbe Akiva!…
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Dale Chihuly At The Tower Of David Citadel, Jerusalem
The Tower of David is now one of my favorite places in Old City Jerusalem, and while we missed his fabulous show at the museum in 2000, glass artist Dale Chihuly did leave a few items in the museum which I was delighted to see this past week. Now I’m regretting that I didn’t make an effort to go see his historically famous show, as back then I didn’t appreciate his work, sigh. What I didn’t realize at the time is that the colorful glass forms for which Dale Chihuly is famous look amazing together with the medieval fortress stones, and this choice as a venue for the show was…
