|
|
|
|
|
Shrine of the
Book:
the roll of the
Battle between
the Sons of
Light
(white side)
and the
Sons of
Darkness
(black wall)
|
Bethlehem:
Basilica of the
Nativity - the
flight
of steps leading
to the Grotto
of the Nativity
|
Bethlehem:
The Crucifix
at the
entrance
of
St Joseph’s
Grotto
|
Rock of
Masada:
entrance to
the place
through
the Western
Gate dating
back to the
Bizantine
Age
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A donkey on
top of the
dry land
waiting for its
owner near a
column with
a cross
|
Jerusalem:
the exterior of
the El-Aqsa
Mosque. News
about the
Mosque are
fragmentary:
the present walls
were rebuilt
after four
earthquakes
and several
restorations.
They date back
to the 1033 during
the califate of
Fatimita az-Zahir
|
|
The still waters
of the
Dead Sea
mirrors a beach
umbrell.
The Dead Sea
lies at
408 metres
below the level
of the
Mediterranean
Sea
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jerusalem:
Entrance to the
Anglican
Cathedral
Saint George
|
Jerusalem:
Prayers at the
Wailing Wall, so
named by the
Christian
tradition as
Jews wail for
the destruction
of the Temple.
The Wall is part
of the Wall of
the Temple
Esplanade,
symbol of
Hebraism
|
Fortress of
Masada:
a metal relief
model of Masada
with all the
points of
interest and
scenery
|
Ceramic mosaics
decorate the
front of the
Church of
Agony
near
Gethsemane
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fortress of
Masada:
tourists,
students and
youngsters are
watched all
over by young
soldiers
guarding the
fortress. I am
the one standing
near one
of them
|
|
Yad Vashem
Museum:
Hall of the
Names -
Photos picturing
very small
groups of victims
of the Shoah.
No names nor
numbers - only
faces, smiles,
men,
women, and
children: the
recovery of
their identity.
|
Murals and
graffiti for
peace,
friendship
and love
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fortress of
Masada:
young armed
people keep
guard over the
students
|
Yad Vashem Museum:
Crude images
of the death
camps with
Jewish
prisoners
|
Bethlehem:
A picture
from the
New
Testament
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Masada is
situated a top
an isolated rock
cliff at the
western end of
the Judean
desert between
Sodom and
Ein Ghedi
|
Jerusalem:
The
South-East
Tower at the
Jaffa Gate
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bethlehem:
Grotto of
St Jerome:
the traditional
place where
St Jerome
translated
the Bible
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The only
access to
the Israeli
zone.
On one side
there stands
the huge wall
|
|
Bethlehem
on the
hillside
|
|
|
|
|
|
Birlam and
myself. She is
a friend of mine
from Palestine;
we are at the
entrance of the
Church of
the Nativity.
The entrance
behind us was
made smaller
and
smaller to
prevent
mounted
soldiers from
getting in
|
|
|
Fortress of
Masada:
miss Angela, the
guide is reading
us part of
Elazar Ben-Yair
speech delivered
on the eve of
the fall of the
fortress
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jerusalem:
A vista of the
entrance to the
Holy Sepulchre
|
Donkey riding
along a road
in the wild
land between
Jerusalem
and Jericho
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Entrance to the
site of Masada,
Heritage of
Mankind
|
Bethlehem:
The bell tower
in the outside
wall, and
looking like
a fortress
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fortress of
Masada:
A watch Tower
in the officials’
quarter. The
place is situated
all around a
large courtyard
leading to the
different houses.
The Zealots
built many for
themselves
|
|
|
|
Yad Vashem
Museum:
A sculpture
called
"Janusz Korczak
with Children"
by S.
Saktsier.
It remembers the
love act of a Polish
educator who
followed to
Treblinka his
200 orphans whose
lives had been
entrusted to him
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hawkers
displaying and
selling local
goods
|
Fortress of
Masada:
The relief model
of the Northern
Palace: the
lower Terrace,
the middle
Palace and the
upper Terrace
are the only
remains
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bethlehem:
A beautiful,
precious
Madonna with
the infant Jesus
|
|
Qumran Zone
lies in the
neighbourhood
of the Dead Sea,
and is famous
for the
archaeological
finds of
manuscripts of
the 1st cent. B.C,
a fundamental
source for
Biblical studies
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jerusalem:
In the
neighbourhood
Zacharias's
Tomb, unseen
in the dark,
a square
monolith of the
1st century B.C..
All the four
faces are
decorated with
columns with
ionic capitels.
The sepulchre
room is below
the ground
level
|
Bethlehem:
the minaret on
Kilar Manger
Square stands
at a short
distance from
the Church
of the Nativity
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yad Vashem
Museum:
Hall of the
Names -
a number of
little photos of
people who
died during
the Shoah, and
about 50 million
documents on
the Holocaust
|
Yad Vashem
Museum:
The plate at the
exit of the
"Children's
Museum".
Over 1,5 million
children were
murdered in
camps, and the
parents of Uziel,
one of the little
victims, wanted
its costruction
|
Jerusalem:
The golden
dome of
El-Aqsa
Mosque
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Damascus Gate,
a typical
example of
Ottoman
architecture
(1537-40)
|
Bethlehem:
the old
centre
|
Jerusalem:
A "particular"
seller in robes
in a shop in the Moslem
Quarter
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Dome of
the Rock, also
called the
Mosque of
Omar.
Was built in
the VII Century
(687-691)
|
The
Plain of Moab
in the distance
you cross the
desert and
towering
Plateau
of Judea
|
A couple of
blackbirds from
Masada as they
have no yellow
beaks, but
red wings
|
Jerusalem:
Jaffa Gate
built in 1868
for Emperor
Joseph II to
enter the City
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Masada:
the lower
Terrace of
Herod’s Palace.
The southern
wall is the rock.
On the eastern
side some steps
take to a small
but complex
thermal plant
with a warm
bath, cold bath
and hot room
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dead Sea:
because of
the high salt
content a
person can
easily float on
the surface
|
Military patrols
on the road
to
Jerusalem
city
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gethsemane:
Church of
Agony - a
vista of the
precious
front. The
dome of the Monastery
of Mary
Magdalene
on the
background
|
Jerusalem:
a minaret
on the
roadside
|
|
Fortress of
Masada:
the sunny day
makes the young
people’s arms
shining.
The arms are
for self and
other people’s
defence
|
Bethlehem:
Grotto
of the Nativity -
a silver star
below the altar
is laid in a
marble plate.
The star points
to the place
where Jesus
was born
|
|
|
|
|
|
The front of
the
Church of
Agony
near the
Garden
of
Gethsemane
|
|
|
Church of
Agony: the
Rock of
Agony
in front of
the
High Altar
|
Yad Vashem
Museum:
A black-marble
plate outside the
Hall of the
Names mentions
the period of
the Shoah
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bethlehem:
The fence at
the exit of the
grottos both
at
St Catherine‘s
Cloister and
not far from
the
Franciscan
convent
|
Yad Vashem Museum:
Crude images
of the death
camps with
Jewish
prisoners
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Israel Museum -
Shrine of the
Book:
The Black Wall
symbolizes
darkness,
impassability, negativity
|
Bethlehem:
Before the
Church of the
Nativity there
is a
flagstone-paved
court with the
colonnade of
the Byzantine
Basilica
|
Jerusalem:
The walls from
Jaffa Gate to
New Gate
by night.
They partly
run along
Goliath’s Castle
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bethlehem:
A sacred
image among
the bars of
wrought iron
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fortress of
Masada:
a tub inside
the large
bathhouses an
important
building of
Herod’s
northern palace
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Donkeys are
the local means
of transport
used by the
beduins living
in the
desert nearby
|
A greengrocer
bear the
Mount
of
Olives
|
Roman camps
on the steep
cliffs near the
fortress
of
Masada |
Yad Vashem
Museum:
Hall of
Remembrance -
in front of an
ever-burning
flame there are
engraved on the
floor the names
of the most
important
death camps
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Historic images
inside the
Yad Vashem
Museum
(meaning:
"A memorial
and a Name")
|
Jerusalem:
Church of
Flagellation, a Franciscan
convent
standing on a
former
medieval
chapel. There
is a museum
inside with all
the historical
findings from
the places
where Jesus
lived
|
Gethsemane:
Church of
Agony.
A detail of a
marble statue
standing on the
upper part
of its
facade.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bethlehem:
One of the
perpetually lit
lamps in the
Grotto of the
Nativity and in
the Grotto of
the Wise Men
|
|
Israel Flags,
national parks
and
archaeological
sites are at
the foot of the
fortress of
Masada
|
|
The desolate,
dry land
near Jericho
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fortress of
Masada:
the hot room:
its suspended
floor was
supported by 200
low pillars
making it possible
to blow hot air
from a furnace
outside. The
floor was
decorated with
mosaics
|
|
Bethlehem:
St Catherine’s
Cloister: the
huge nave. The
cloister was built
over the
foundations of
the ancient
monastery
of St Jerome
|
A gate opens
into the
Palestinian
region and it
is the only
passage for
anybody to
enter there
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jerusalem:
Herod's Gate
or Flowers Gate
- Bab ez-Zahira.
Jesus went
through it when
taken to Herod
|
Jerusalem:
Jaffa Gate
opened by
Soliman II . It
stands on the
site of a Roman
gate and a
passage for
pedestrians. It
is the only
original entrance
remaining of the
whole date
|
Palestine
beyond
the wall
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bethlehem:
A lightly lit,
quiet,
Religious place
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Different layers
showing the
different
geological eras
of the hills
|
|
Jerusalem -
Station II of the
Way of the
Cross: The
Holy Cross
is put on Jesus'
Head. It is on
the external
wall of the
Column Chapel opposite the
Church of the Flagellation
|
A piece of work
in satined iron
at the entrance
of Israel
Museum
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gethsemane:
Church of
Agony -
the entrance.
Naftali Bezem,
an artist
from Israel
engraved a
twisted, leafy
olive tree on
the door in
memory of the
ground of
olive trees.
|
Jerusalem:
One of the
many alleys
in the
Moslem district
|
|
Church of
Agony: one
of the
frescoes
domes
|
Jerusalem:
a group of
soldiers
relaxing
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yad Vashem
Museum:
Photo taken
during the
Shoah
|
Fortress of
Masada:
the inside of
the Synagogua.
The columns
supported the
roof of this
unique synagogue
in Israel that
belongs to the
same period as
the Temple. It is
considered the
most ancient in
the Country.
Fragments of
the scrolls and
parts of the Bible
were found below
the floor as well
as texts of the
Zealots,
ostracons, bronze
coins and prayers
|
Jerusalem:
Western Wall
which is part
of the
restoration
work ordered
by King
Herod in
20 B.C. to
restore the
Dome of
the Rock.
The smaller
stones on the
top were
installed
during the
reign of
Soliman II
|
Centuries-old
olive trees in
the Garden
of Gethsemane
at the foot of
Mount Olivet.
Some of the
trees were
planted in the
12th cent.
by the
Crusaders,
and not
before
Jesus's life.
|
Fortress of
Masada:
the rock cliff
rises 440 mtrs
above the level
of the
Dead Sea
-60 metres b.s.l.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jerusalem:
One of the
alleys in the
Jewish quarter
by night
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fortress of
Masada:
the Byzantine
Church: the
many-coloured
mosaic floor is
laid only in the
room north of
the main hall
|
A photo of
myself standing
on Mount Olivet.
On the
background
there lies the
site of the
Temple beyond
the Valley
of Iosafat
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yad Vashem
Museum -
Daily life:
traditions,
dances and
feasts before
the Shoah
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jerusalem:
The Dome of
the El-Aqsa
Mosque rises
above the
City Walls
|
Land farmed
by irrigation
projects of a
water-dispenser
system by
Giuliano de
Angeli (Joel
de Malaki in
Hebrew).
He was given
the highest prize
in Israel. The
patent is 35
years old now
|
Fortress of
Masada:
the dry land
under the
autumn hot
sunshine. An
empty Tower
in the distance
|
Bethlehem:
The Nativity
in a stained
glass window
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dry bushes,
barren plains
and dust are
the main
features of the
desert in
West Jordan
|
A vista of
En Gedi
a green,
lush area on
the shores of
the Dead Sea:
Near the kibbutz
there is one of
the main springs
of fresh water
called En David
– David’s Spring
|
|
A vista of the
ground of
olive trees
near
Gethsemane
|
Church of
Agony:
a detail of the mosaic fascia around the
lower part
of the
central dome
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fortress of
Masada:
Relief model of
the elaborated
bathhouse built
by Herod after
Roman models.
It consisted of a
large courtyard
surrounded by
porticos with
white mosaic
floors, a dressing
room paved
with triangular
tiles, a swimming
pool and other
rooms
|
Jerusalem
by night -
Close up of
the
Dome of
the Rock
|
Bethlehem:
Grotto of the
Nativity:
the interior is
decorated with
embossed figures
|
The monastery
of
St George
of Coziba
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bethlehem:
St Jerome’s
tomb in
St Jerome’s
Grotto.
St Jerome
died in 420
|
Fortress of
Masada:
the upper terrace
with the cistern
and the ritual
Jewish bath
called Mikve.
This semi-circular
balcony was
probably
surrounded with
two rows
of columns
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yad Vashem:
entrance to the
museum to the
memory of the
Jewish victims
of the Nazis
|
Fortress of
Masada:
Sight
of the narrow,
steep
Snake Path
going from the
foot of the
fortress to the
top of the
rocky cliff
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Remains of the
storehouses built
by Herod to
supply Masada
with large
numbers of
foodstuffs and
weapons to
face long
resistance periods
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fortress of
Masada:
On the
foreground
Casemate 1102;
the Dead Sea
on the back and
Jordan beyond
the Sea
|
|
|
|
Fortress of
Masada:
stepping down
the Snake Path
from the top
of the rocky
cliff, you can
get to the
crossroads
leading north
and south
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fortress of
Masada:
remains of a
typical royal
apartment with
a courtyard and
a large hall
separated by a
row of black
and red columns.
The Zealots
changed the
apartment into
a living quarter
|
|
Jerusalem:
Jewish tombs
in the Valley
of Cedron.
The Dome of
the Rock seem
from the top
of Mount Olivet
looking
towards the
Dome of
the Rock.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Masada plateau
is about 650
mtrs long and
300 mtrs large
|
Fortress of
Masada:
crossing the
desolate
table-land
where people
first settled in
1000-700 B.C.
The earliest
construction of
the castle
started by
order of
Jonathan the
Maccabean who
led the Jews
against the
Seleucids
(160-143 B.C.)
(1Mac.2:5)
|
|
David's city.
The
Dormition
Church
on the
Mount Zion
in the distance
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fortress of
Masada:
remains of the
Byzantine
Church on the
left on the
background
|
Fortress of
Masada:
a look from the
edge of the
plateau makes
a visitor
understand why
the fortress
was
impregnable
|
|
|
Jerusalem:
a detail of
Jewish tombs.
Stones are
leaning
against the
tombstones
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jerusalem:
The full moon
watches
over the city
|
Jerusalem:
Damascus Gate
- Bab el-Amud
(Pillars Gate).
Ottoman style
(1537-40), it is
the most
beautiful and
crowded in the
Old City
|
|
Jerusalem:
Zion Gate
(Bab Nebi Daoud
or Sha'ar Zyyon)
built in 1540-41.
It stands farther
south that the
Roman Gate at
the end of the
Maximum
decumanus. It
might have been
an easy way to
Mount Zion
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Young
Americans
listening to
the guide
explaining
the history
and the ruins
of Masada to
them. They are
standing in
one of the
casemates of
the scrolls
|
|
|
Jerusalem:
Night sight of
the City, taken
from the
Promenade.
All over the
roofs of many
dwelling places
there lies
open spaces
through which
you can get to
important
buildings in the
Old City
|
Fortress of
Masada:
Valleys formed
by seasonal
rainfalls and
desert
circumvallate
the Rock
|
|
|
|
|
|
The northern
part of the
semi-desert,
heavy eroded
table-land of
the Negev
|
Jerusalem:
On the front
side
there is
Wilson's
Arch after the
name of the
archeologist
that
uncovered it.
It is one of
the arches still
extant of the
viaduct linking
the Temple
with
the High City
|
|
Fortress of
Masada:
Visitors going
from the
officials’
quarters to
the
Big Bathhouse
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fortress of
Masada:
the station of the
cable car
carrying to the
top. Also
reachable by
climbing the
long and heavy
Snake Path
|
Fortress of
Masada:
tourists on their
long way to the
fortress of
Masada. The
photo is shot
from a high
position towards
the narrow and
desolate valley
|
Jerusalem:
The El-Aqsa
Mosque
(the Distant
Mosque in Arab from
chapter 17 of
the Koran)
seen from the
outside of the
city walls
|
|
Yad Vashem Museum:
One of the halls while
documentary
films of the
period are
screened
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fortress of
Masada:
the guide shows
how pipes
and
underground
cisterns worked
|
|
An
Odd-Looking
camel on the
road to the
Dead Sea,
crossing the
desert
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The monastery
of St George
of Coziba
|
|
|
Yad Vashem
Museum:
Hall of
Remembrance -
the entrance
|
|
|
|
|
|
The wide
Jewish
cemetery on
the slopes of
the
Mount of
Olives
|
|
|
|
Bethlehem:
The Church of
the Nativity -
the mosaics are
lit by the pale
rays of the sun
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fortress of
Masada:
remains of a
Byzantine
Church dating to
the V century.
It consists of a
hall and 3
rooms. The hall
looks east, as
usual.
White-mosaic
ruins of the
floor can still
be found in it
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Hawkers selling
vases and pots
along the road
from Jericho
to the
Dead Sea
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Jerusalem:
Gilded spires
of the Russian Orthodox
Monastery
of Mary
Magdalene,
remains of an Armenian
Monastery
(VI cent.)
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Jerusalem:
beyond the
foliage of the
olive trees
there stands
the
Church of
Agony
or Of
All Countries
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Yad Vashem
Museum:
Standing silently
in front of the
screening of a
film about the
over 6 million
victims of the
Shoah
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Bethlehem:
St Catherine’s
Cloister:
a wonderful
rose-window
(built in 1926)
above
the entrance
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Saint
Stephen's
Gate
or
Lion Gate
in the old wall
at whose foot
lies a
Moslem
cemetery
|
Church of
Agony:
a detail of
the stained
glass
windows
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Yad Vashem
Museum:
all around the
Museum there is
a park with
many sculptures
in remembrance
of the Holocaust
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Taxi ranking
along the
streets
of Bethlehem
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Bethlehem:
A part of the
façade of the
Church
of the
Nativity
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Jerusalem:
along the
road, some
girls in their
traditional
costumes
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A detail of the
high part of
the front of
the
Church of
Agony
or of
All Countries
|
Bethlehem:
the interior of
the Church of
the Nativity,
one of the
oldest
basilicas in
the world
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Jerusalem:
upper
Church of
Agony - the
Virgin's Tomb
is inside.
The costruction
is below the
road level
beyond the
fence
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Church of
Agony: a
scene from
the Gospel
in the
façade
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Bethlehem:
Grotto of
Holy Innocents
in memory of
the slaughter
ordered by
King Herod
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Goods displayed
on a car outside
the wall of
the ground of
Olive trees
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The Garden of Gethsemane: Christians
traditionally
consider
Gethsemane
the place
where
Judas Iscario
betrayed Jesus
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Monastery of
Mary
Magdalene:
guided domes
of the
Russian-
Orthodox
building
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