CPT Palestine Pictures > Pictures from the Holy Land
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jerusalem.jpg
Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives.
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Dome of the Rock
This is a close up of the Dome of the Rock from the Mount of Olives. It is built over the rock upon which Abraham brought Isaac, David and Solomon built the temple for the ark, and Mohammed received the Qur'an. In the background, you can see the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer.
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Two views of the city of peace...
There are two views of Jerusalem. One is popular with western Christian tourists. The other is all too real.
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Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives
This is the Jewish Cemetery on the Mount of Olives, looking over the Kidron valley towards the temple mount.
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Dominus Flevit
An ancient ossuary cemetery on the Mount of Olives from around the time of Christ.
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The Lutheran Church of the Redeemer
This is the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in the Old City, which is the Lutheran mission shared by the ELCA and the EKD.
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The Lion Gate
The Lion Gate is one of the old city gates from the time of Christ. Jesus would have walked in and out of this gate in his last days travelling out to Bethany, the Mount of Olives, and the Garden of Gethsemane
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Beside the Antonia fortress...
Portions of this gate formed part of Pilate's Antonia fortress.
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The place of Jesus' trial
This chapel was built over part of the Antonia Fortress in which Jesus was tried.
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Via Dolorosa
This is a portion of the Via Dolorosa, which is marked with the stations of the cross.
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The Church of the Holy Sepulchre
This is the entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Centuries of architecture can be clearly seen as expansion, war, and reconstruction have all left their mark on this holy site.
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Entrance to the Holy Sepulchre
This is the entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which covers Golgotha, the stone of preparation and the tomb of Christ.
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Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
This is the beauty of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
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Pancreator
This is the original icon of Christ as Pancreator tiled into the dome of the Holy Sepulchre. Christ is surrounded by various saints, and Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the four pillars upon which the dome rests.
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The Crucifixion
In the great mosaic icon of the Triduum, this represents the Crucifixion.
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The ascent to Golgotha
Upon entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, these are the stairs by which you ascend to the summit of Golgotha and the Chapel of the Crucifixion.
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The place of the Skull
This is Golgotha, the place of the crucifixion over which the altar has been built.
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The crucifixion iconostasis
This is the Orthodox iconostasis on top of Golgotha.
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ancient devotional graffiti
For centuries since before the time of the crusades, pilgrims have been coming to this church and carving crosses into its stone as a sign of their devotion. This graffiti is carved into the wall descending to the place where St. Helena, Constantine's mother, supposedly found the Holy Cross.
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The preparation
From the great mosaic icon in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, this is the scene of the Preparation of Christ's body.
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The Stone of Preparation
This is the stone of preparation, which lies between Golgotha and the tomb, which memorializes the preparation of Christ's body for burial. The stone is still faithfully oiled with myrrh.
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The burial
From the great mosaic icon in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, this is the scene of the burial of Christ.
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The Holy Sepulchre
This is the Dome built over the Holy Sepulchre.
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The Holy Sepulchre
This is the shrine of the Holy Sepulchre, built over the tomb. The chapel inside is tiny, and intimate in the midst of all the bustle. You have to strip away the building's centuries of devotional accretion, and the city that has grown up just outside, but Mary and Mary Magdalene would have tread near this deserted way before dawn in lonely grief, and returned with joy. Whether Christ's body lay precisely on this spot, it is near here that love and life won. And that does make it the center of the universe.
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A votive offering
This was my votive offering at the Holy Sepulchre. The building itself is one large votive offering from those who have made pilgrimage to this spot for 2,000 years.
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The Western Wall
This is the Western Wall. The large stones at the bottom are the last remaining stones of the Solomonic Temple, which was standing during Jesus' time. The temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. The Al Aqsa Mosque is now built upon the Temple Mount. People of the Jewish faith come to this wall to pray, but no further. They will not go into the inside of the old walls, because they cannot be exactly sure where the Holy of Holies was located, and to stand upon that ground would be stand in the center of the universe, in the very presence of the Divine.
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David's Tower and the Citadel...
The Citadel, or David's Tower, is one of the oldest parts of Jerusalem. Archeological sections of this building date back to David's defensive structures. The most visible parts of this tower were built by Herod, and the uppermost defenses were built by the Templars and Saladin during the time of the Crusades.
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the Olive tree
Olive trees are ubiquitous as a source of nouishment and industry. But the Olive tree also stands in the desert as a sign of the persistance of the hope for peace.
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Me and Hane
This is my friend Hane. He works at the Golden Gate Hostel, just inside the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem. His uncle owns it now, in the way that his ancestors have for many years. The building itself dates from the time of the crusades, just at 1,000 years. It began as a place of hospitality, went through periods as a stable, warehouse and textile factory. Hane's family has restored it to its role as a place of welcome, and if you are ever in Jerusalem, stay here. You will be welcomed as a friend and fellow traveller.
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Damascus Gate
This is the famous Damascus Gate. We frequented this entrance to the Old City as our hostel was just inside. Walking through this gate is to step into the living history of the "City of Peace".
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City of spice
Jerusalem smells like Tumeric, Sage, Cardamom, and Cumin. Here is a spice shop along the streets of the Old Market in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City where the ownder has made a pyramid of these beautiful oriental spices.
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Towards the Mount of Olives
This is a view from the United Nations headquarters looking towards the Mount of Olives.
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Towards Bethany
Jesus frequently visited Bethany, the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, whose tomb lies in this town. It is only on the backside of the Mount of Olives, half a mile from the walls of Jerusalem and after spending the day teaching in the Temple, he would often walk here to spend the night in Mary and Martha's hospitality. But today, this town, Jesus' second home of sorts, is cut off by the Israeli Wall. Christ would not be allowed to visit his friends in Palestine.
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The LWF's Augusta Victoria Hospital
This is a picture of Augusta Victoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives. This hospital is supported by the Lutheran World Federation and the ELCA. It served the Palestinians that live in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, and is the only medical facility that is available to many Palestinians, some of whom are Lutheran. One of our CPT team leaders, Fatiyah, is a Palestinian Muslim woman, whose mother is a Palestinian Lutheran. She is so thankful for Augusta Victoria, and the work of the LWF/ELCA for this life giving ministry.
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A hot, sweet drink...
The evenings in the winter are quite cold. At dusk, merchants role out their hot, sweet drinks, and the Palestinian children come flocking! So did we!
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Bedouin horsemen
Here are some Bedouin horsement riding through the Negev. These Bedouins are Arab Israelis, to whom Israel grants citizenship, but not nationalization. Arabs, living inside the borders of Israel for centuries, working and paying taxes, are legally classified as second class citizens.
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Approaching Wadi el Na'am
Here we are approaching the village of Wadi el Na'am. These people are Arab Bedouins whose families have lived and grazed the Negev for ages. The were granted Israeli citizenship by virtue of the fact that they live inside Israel. However, for decades, Israel has been systematically removing them from their native grazing lands, into reservations like Wadi el Na'am. The other nice feature of this reservation is that the land which Israel granted them is an arid patch between a military firing range and Israel's chemical dump. The Bedouin children, who used to freely graze this desert have very high incidences of birth defects, respiratory and blood disease.
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Beware of the Camels
Now, that's a sign you just don't see in most places.
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The camel...
But, the signs serve a very good purpose. You don't want to hit one of these doing 70.
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Macpelah from Tel Rumeida
In this picture, you are standing on Tel Rumeida, the Bronze age city of Hebron, in which Abraham and Sarah pitched their tent, heard the good news of Isaac, and lived. Read Genesis 23, and it was at this spot that Abraham could see the cave of Macpelah which he purchased to bury his wife Sarah. In this picture, you can see the mosque with the scalloped walls which stands over the cave.
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The cave of Macpelah
In Hebron stands the cave of Macpelah, which Abraham bought to bury his wife Sarah. It became the tomb of the Patriarchs, and upon it stood the temple built by Herod, a Byzantine Church, and now the Ibrahimi Mosque (Abraham's Mosque).
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The beauty of Macpelah
Hebron is known for its beautiful glassware. In the Mosque that is built over the cave of Macpelah, the Hebron Rehabilitation Project is particularly proud of their local glasswork that adorns the mosque. And they should be. It is just beautiful.
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Restoring the art of Macpelah
The Hebron Rehabilitation Project is restoring the original art and stone work inside the Mosque over Macpelah.
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The tomb of Sarah
This sarcophagus marks the tome of Sarah in the cave at Macpelah.
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Entrance to Macpelah
This shrine covers the entrance to the cave of Macpelah in Hebron, which Abraham bought to bury his wife Sarah. It is also the burial place of Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Leah.
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Abraham's tomb
This sepulchre memorializes Abraham's tomb.
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Isaac and Rebekah's tomb
Isaac and Rebekah's tomb stand inside Abraham's Mosque (Ibrahimi Mosque).
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Greek etchings
These are Greek etchings from the time of the Byzantine Church. The walls, however, are originally from the time of Herod, who built the outer walls around the entrance to the cave.
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Arabic etchings
Later Arabic etchings in the same wall.
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Hebron glass
This is a view from a shop in Hebron of some of the beautiful glass works. Looking through the glass you can see some of the soldiers standing near the Ibrahimi checkpoint. Perhaps this is a nice way to view Hebron - the locals are trying to make beauty out of their life, and in the background lingers the ugly reality of occupation and violence.
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The sheep and the goats
No, not Matthew 25. Here in Hebron, they still do it the way Bethlehem was recorded in Luke - the stable is below the living quarters. It kept the living rooms upstairs warmer in the winter, and a place such as this certainly would have been available to travellers coming to an overcrowded Bethlehem.
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Ancient infrastructure
We had a large seasonal rain one day in Hebron, and this was the result. The main market, the Old Suq, was completely flooded as a river, and cut the city in half. It points to another kind of crisis in modern Palestine. In the midst of the occupation, infrastructure is often neglected due to funds and triage. So occurrences that are perfectly normal in western societies, like rainstorms, often cause loss of propery, wealth and health for people who are oppressed and neglected.
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Sunrise over a roof garden
Even in the middle of razor wire and stone walls, the CPT apartment has a lovely little roof garden. In the middle of a great deal of destruction and tension, this garden provides an oasis of beauty and calm - especially for morning prayer at sunrise.