Tel Aviv’s Monstrous Bus Station

Posted on November 11, 2019 by Tom G

The central bus station in Tel Aviv is certainly the ugliest building in Israel, and probably one of the ugliest in the world. Planned in the 1960s by the architect Ram Karni, this horrible building occupies seven floors and almost 5 city blocks in southern Tel Aviv. The cavernous building was built to be the biggest bus station in the world (and is now the second biggest, after New Delhi); however, much of it is empty either by design (the air pollution is so bad that the authorities evacuated the first two floors) or by default (the shop owners went bankrupt because of the lack of traffic.

Karni designed the station as a maze and a city under a roof. He hoped that by getting lost in the maze, people would wander around and buy things. The building was planned for a half-million people a day, but even on the best days, only 70,000 people come to the building, and most of those try to exit as soon as possible because of the sheer monstrosity of the building.

We took a tour on a Saturday afternoon, when the building was almost empty. Surreal.

The top floor is very interesting, a long line of exciting and innovative graffitti.

Here we see the layout of the top floor, with the arms of the octopus coming in and out of the stores. As you walk around the seventh floor, look around you and you will see tentacles everywhere on the wall.

Foreign workers flock to the third floor where there are a variety of grocery stores for Filipino and African food, as well as restaurants serving the foreign worker clientele.

As you descend into the bowels of the building, it becomes spookier and spookier, darker and darker and the old abandoned stores become some strange galleries.

And we go further down to the forbidden first and second floor. The area is filled with abandoned stores where the owners still have to pay for the utilities (water and electricity). Many families have gone bankrupt. Surreal.

Once there was life here, people came and shopped, but now it’s just a ghost town

On the bottom level (now 4 floors underground), we find a nuclear bomb shelter.

And we reach the immense and ghostly parking lot, where if you’re lucky you can see the permanent residents of the building: bats.

The eerie and surreal Tel Aviv Central Bus Station

Going, going, gone

Posted on January 6, 2019 by Tom G

The Dead Sea is dying.

Already, in 2019 more than two thirds of the sea have disappeared, replaced by industrial pools. This human-caused ecological disaster is happening because of two primary reasons: the diversion of waters flowing into the sea by Jordan, Israel, and (what’s left of) Syria, and the increased industrialization in the sea by Israel and Jordan.

Human activity over the last 30 years has succeeded in destroying this natural treasure which began to be formed over two million years ago. It is just part of our continuing destruction of the planet.

Over the years, I’ve traveled the length of the western shore of the sea, from the Lido junction all the way to Neot HaKikar. I’ve seen the beauty from the mountains above, from the shore line, and now from the middle of the sea looking west and east.

I was luck to meet Jacky and Orit Ben Zaken, from the Mitzpe Shalem kibbutz. Jacky, an old sailor, is the only person licensed to sail on the Dead Sea. We set off, members of our 5046 photography club to observe the salt formations and learn about this impending catastrophe from Jacky.

Jacky brought us to areas of the shore which are inaccessible by land. The formations were breathtaking and almost psychedelic.

The layering of different color silt creates an almost surreal image.

This is really a breathtaking way to see the Dead Sea, and we are all anxious to go back with Jacky and visit other, less explored, parts of this amazing and surreal landscape.

Incidentally, I was thrilled to see an article about the disappearance of the Dead Sea, and about Jacky in the New York Times. If you want, you can read it, by clicking here.

Otherwise, you can make a reservation with Orit (Jacky’s wife) by calling her via their Facebook page – נופי מלח – Salty Landscapes.

Prayer, devotion, and community among the Samaritans

Posted on December 30, 2018 by Tom G

Not far from Nablus, in the west bank, we arrive at the small village of Kiryat Luza early in the morning during Succot (the Feast of the Tabernacles) and we join the early morning prayer of the Samaritans.

This small group are a small ethnoreligious group who date their ancestry to the Biblical tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. Their roots are ancient, by some accounts beginning with the entry into Canaan, or by others beginning with the Babylonian exile. In any extent, this indigenous group broke off from mainstream Judaism during the time of the kingdom of Judah (between the ninth and the fourth century, BC).

Samaritans believe that theirs is the true religion of the Israelites, as mainstream Judiasm underwent changes during the Babylonian exile.

During morning prayers, sons, fathers, and grandfather commune and read an ancient text. The air of devotion is palatable in the synagogue.

The two Samaritan communities are very small, totaling about 800 people altogether. About 400 live in Kiryat Luza, and the rest live in the Israeli town of Holon. Despite being recognized as a religious entity, the religious monopoly in Israel (the Chief Rabbinate) requires that Samaritans undergo a conversion to Judaism in or to be considered as Jews. During the ceremony we witnessed we were amazed to see some visitors from the Ultra-Orthodox community as well as some discussions between the two groups.

Most Samaritans speak Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic, or a mix and their prayers are in Samaritan Hebrew or Samaritan Aramaic, written in the Samaritan alphabet (which is related to ancient proto-Hebrew, and is undependable by Hebrew readers).

Following the indoor prayer session, all head out for the outdoor ceremony on the hillside of Mount Gerizim.

Abandoned

Posted on December 23, 2018 by Tom G

Seeing decrepit and abandoned buildings does something to my soul. It’s not every abandoned building, mind you, but some are interesting. It’s often the mix between old and new, deserted and party sites, graffiti and trash that move me. One such place is an old abandoned army base called Beit Zeit Camp. It is situated between the town of Beit Zeit and Ein Karem in the Jerusalem forest. Easy to get there, and beautiful.

In the early 1950s this was an army base built as a huge emergency storage facility for the Jerusalem brigades in cases of a Jordanian incursion into Jerusalem or its environs. The equipment was all removed during the 1967 Six Day War. Later on the base became a general emergency storage facility and was used by the Logistic Brigade until it was finally abandoned around 2012.

A mixture of half-destroyed buildings, trash, and graffiti.

As you take the winding road, you will pass many heaps of the buildings on your right. Keep going, after about 1km, you arrive at the area where the army did not demolish the building.

70 mm, 1/200 @ f 11, HDR
Even Frisbee enjoys the ruins

As one moves further down the road, the buildings are still standing. They are a mixture of decrepit and abandoned structures and hang-outs.

If you want to venture in and take a peek, these are very long buildings, built into the hillside, and are sort of bunkers. Inside, you will find a mixture of different things. You have some tables and sleeping areas, apparently inhabited by passers-by.

41mm, 1/50 @ f 14, HDR
For some of the buildings, the graffiti is beautiful and intense.

45mm, 0.6 sec *@ f* 14, HDR
If you want to venture in, you can see that people have recently been here. There are paper cups, matches, bottles, and some clothes scattered around.

These long, cavernous bunkers are filled with interesting art, and apparently some interesting installations.

And for some reasons, heaps and heaps of bottles.

All of these structures fit organically into the beautiful landscape. It’s a mixture of beauty and filth, old and new, utilitarian and stoner-heaven. Definitely worth a visit.

Oh, the irony!

Posted on February 22, 2015 by Tom G

Sometimes life is more ironic than fiction. This is certainly true about today’s walking tour. Today we’re visiting the Muslim cemetery in Mamillah. Mamilla is a stone’s through from Jaffa Gate in the Old City and has been of use to Jerusalem residents since biblical times.

The cemetery was founded in the 13th century and remained in use until 1927. The word “Mamillah” is actually the mispronunciation of the Arabic “maman Allah” – “comes from Allah.”

1/15, f/11

Despite the fact that most Jerusalemites have walked through the cemetery at some point, very few actually know the story of the area.

According to tradition, the first people to be buried in the cemetery were soldiers who fought against the Crusaders. Perhaps the most famous was Sheikh Dia A-Din Abu Muhamad Al-Alami who commanded the siege of Acre in 1291.

Today, the cemetery is absolutely filthy, it is a repository for trash and is neglected by all. How embarrassing. If anybody around the world would treat a Jewish cemetery this way, all Hell would pay.

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A beautiful tomb is that of the governor of Safed, Al-Kubki who was buried here in the 13th century.

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Built in the traditional Muslim style, it is covered with graffiti, and as I tried to look in to the tomb, I saw that it was filled with trash. Shame!

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Over the last century, there were lots of different plans to build here. Actually, the cemetery was much larger, and at some point (1927) the Mufti Amin Al-Husseini wrote a fatwa making burial in the cemetery forbidden. Haj Amin wanted to change the purpose of the area to allow for commercial development, and the Waqf sold part of the land to the city. If you cross the street to Hillel street, you will see a lone tomb in the street.

1/80, f/11, ISO 100

But, we still haven’t gotten to the most ironic part of the story. The city of Jerusalem has been actively trying to develop this land. It’s expensive real estate, after all. Smack in the center of the city.

Some genius got the idea that it would be a good place for a museum. A museum for what you may ask? What sort of museum could one build on a Muslim cemetery? Wait for it —

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That’s it! Who would build a “Museum of Tolerance” on a Muslim cemetery??

Really, you can’t make this stuff up.

Monastery of St. John the Baptist Prodomos

Posted on February 15, 2015 by Tom G

It really never ceases to amaze me. I will be walking through the Old City, I’ll see an alley way and venture in, and I’ll discover something new that I didn’t know existed until then. This is exactly what happened when I came across the Monastery of St. John the Baptist Prodomos on Shouk Abtimous Street of the Christian Quarter.

1/640, f/5.6, ISO 100, -1 EV

The monastery is owned by the Greek Orthodox Church and is OLD. Today’s church is built on a much older structure. I initially fell in love with the courtyard. Stunning. I loved the blue colors (reminds me of Greece) and the drinking wells.

1/500 sec at f/4.5

1/50, f/5.6, ISO 100

The church, built in the 5th century was demolished by the Persians in 614. During Crusader times, it was known as the “Knights of St. John Hospital.” The Crusaders renovated the current structure. It was purchased in 1674 by the Franciscan Order.

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1/40, f/4.5, ISO 2500, 1 EV

Perhaps most interesting is what’s below the modern church. If you ask one of the Sisters, and give a small donation, they will open the iron door to the Byzantine church. It is was discovered and excavated in 1890. The excavators found a reliquary and a piece of the Holy Cross and other relics of St. John, Peter, and other Apostles.

1/25, f/2.8, ISO 640, 1 EV

1/25, f/2.8, ISO 2000, -1 EV

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It’s amazing to be standing in a structure that was used 1500 years ago!

So many surprises on Agron St.

Posted on February 8, 2015 by Tom G

I think that I must drive on Agron St. about twice a week. It’s a major road between anywhere and everywhere. Usually, I don’t pay too much attention to the buildings, although I know that there is the American consulate, the beautiful new Waldorf Astoria hotel, and a monastery or two. This week I decided to explore two buildings along the eastern (or bottom) part of the street.

My first stop is a beautiful and old building called Beit Habib Bshara, at Agron 22. This is a one floor square building with a ceramic roof and has four apartments. Habib Bshara was a Christian-Arab who worked as an architect in Jerusalem and designed this beautiful building at the beginning of the 20th century.

1/25, f/11

It’s perfectly symmetrical, and you can see the beautiful arched entrance. Notice the beautiful art deco iron works. You can also see that the stone has a reddish tint to it. The store on the bottom left is the oldest bicycle shop in Jerusalem (Yedidya). Everyone bought a bike from them at some point (I bought a few!)

1/60. f/6.3

1/100, f/6.3

The building is on a corner of an alley way (Zamenhof street), and it you go down the alley, you’re in for a treat. For those of you who are interested who Zamenhof was … he invented the language Esperanto (aka “Doktoro Esperanto”). We come to some lovely residential buildings.

1/125, f/6.3, -2/3 EV

1/100, f/6.3, -2/3 EV

Walking a bit further, we find more beautiful buildings and a small and lovely community garden. Hidden from view, unknown to many, but lovely!

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1/50, f/5.0

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We go back to Agron St and turn right. The next building is a gem (Agron 24). This two floor building was built in the 1920s and 1930s and is called Beit Lorenzo, after the Christian-Arab family (Lorenzo).

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Here the red stone is very pronounced. Notice on the top right, there is a balcony floor. I see that they intended to add another floor, but the war (1948) got in the way, and the family fled (or were chased out).

If you walk through the central gate, you come into another hidden Jerusalem gem. You will see that there are actually two buildings – one on Agron street and another recessed in from the street. Separating them is an amazing garden.

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And as you walk further in, you see the courtyard in all its splendor.

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1/8, f/7.1, -1/3 EV

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The original owners were a Christian-Arab family; you can see the Madonna on the roof of the central building. I spoke with a resident (Yisrael) who has lived there since 1949 (after the 1948 war, the building was abandoned and taken by the state and then re-sold), and he told me that despite one of the residents being a very orthodox Jew, they all decided to leave the Madonna intact, out of respect for this beautiful building.

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There’s a lot of construction going on around the area (that’s what you are seeing behind the Madonna).

There are so many other beautiful buildings on Agron St., and I’ll write about them at some point. It’s just wonderful to really explore the area after passing it by so often. How many other gems are there in the city?

Mark Twain and Herman Melville in Jerusalem

Posted on February 1, 2015 by Tom G

This week I took a day hike through the Old City looking for the two primary hotels used by travelers from the in the 19th century. Of note, Mark Twain was in Jerusalem in 1867 and he wrote about his experience in “Innocents Abroad.”

Finding Mark Twain’s hotel was easy, as it is an infamous building just inside the Damascus Gate. Twain stayed in the Mediterranean Hotel for only two days. The building was then purchased from a Christian owner in the 1880s by Moshe Wittenberg who renamed it as Wittenberg House. In the 1980s Ariel Sharon purchased one of the apartments – a thorn in the side of the local Palestinian residents as he didn’t actually live there – it was simply to create a provocation to have a settlement in the Arab section of the Old City. The apartment was eventually sold to the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish group, Ateret Cohanim.

I specially like the windows in the building. It took me a few minutes to find a good angle.

1/1000 sec at f/5.6

Actually, there were three versions of the famous Mediterranean Hotel. Twain stayed in the one near the Damascus Gate. Herman Melville stayed in the one at the Patriarch’s Pool not far from Jaffa Gate. It is almost impossible to get a shot of the front of the building of the one at the Patriarch’s Pool, as the road in front of the building is narrow. But the angle makes for an interesting shot. I still haven’t found the third incarnation of the hotel. But I will!

1/800 sec at f/4.5

However, the back side of the building faces the Patriarch’s Pool. This ancient reservoir has many names: Hezekiah’s Pool, the Pool of Pillars, or the Pool of the Patriarch’s Bath. It is 73 m by 43 m and can hold about 11,356,235 liters! Today, it is impossible to get to the pool, except through the good graces of Al Quds University.

Walking to the pool, we enter a beautiful courtyard and walk through a sort of ante-room, with a beautiful vaulted ceiling.

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1/500 sec at f/4.5

You’ve got to love the couches!

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1/640 sec at f/5.6

Unfortunately, it is a filthy! Here in this shot you can see the back of Melville’s Mediterranean Hotel. I hope that for him it wasn’t so disgusting.

But, there’s still a great view of the city from the pool (looking north – west).

1/1600 sec at f/5.6, ISO 200

Ethiopia Street

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Tom G

One of the most beautiful streets in all of Jerusalem is Ethiopia Street. It is located just off the Prophets Street, and abuts both the downtown triangle of West Jerusalem on its south, Mea She’arim on it’s north, and the Old City on the south-east.

Connecting Ethiopia Street to the Prophets Street made it into an important street; however, during the Ottoman times, it was just a foot path. When the British came to Jerusalem in 1917, the Prophets Street was paved and along with it its tributaries. Originally named Abyssinian Street by the British, the name was later changed to Ethiopia Street.

Building on the street started in the 19th century, when Ethiopia was under the reign of Emperor Melenik II (1844 – 1913) who reigned Ethiopia from 1889-1909. Along with his Empress Consort, Taytu Betul (c. 1851-1919), Melenik II built over a dozen beautiful buildings in Jerusalem. This entire area was call the Habash Neighborhood (named after the Al-Habash on the Horn of Africa).

Menelik II

Tayto Betul

Ethiopia is one of the most ancient of Christian communities in the world. Some say that it dates back as far as Philip the Evangelist and the 1st century. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has deep ties to Jerusalem. Ethiopian monks came to the Holy Land in the 5th Century and were originally located in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and later on in the new city (more about that in a future post).

The church on Ethiopian street was initiated in 1882 after receiving Ottoman permission and built in 1884 by the Emperor Johannes and is called Kidane Miharat (Covenant of Mercy) in a beautiful area called Dibra Ganet (Mount of Heaven); it was finally opened in 1893.

1/500 sec at f/8.0, ISO 100, 100 mm

The blessing on the gate says: “This church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and was opened by His Majesty, King of Kings of Ethiopia Johannes in the year of St. Mark, 1874.” Since the date is from the Ethiopian calendar, it is actually 1882 by the Gregorian calendar.

The church has a black dome with an Ethiopian cross on the top and is round. There are two entrances: one for men and one for women.

1/1600 sec at f/8.0, ISO 100, 16 mm

I really love the inside, the light is fantastic. In these shots you can see the round structure and drums which are used in ceremonies.

1/1000 sec at f/8.0, ISO 100, 21 mm

1/125 sec at f/4.0, ISO 500, 16 mm

1/60 sec at f/4.0, ISO 320, 35 mm

1/125 sec at f/4.0, ISO 500, 16 mm

I was really lucky to catch this shot of a monk studying. The entire place was very peaceful

1/40 sec at f/4.0, ISO 2500, 30mm

.Next to the compound, at number 8, is the former Ethiopian consulate. I loved the royal symbol at the top of the building.

1/1000 sec at f/4.5, ISO 100, 16mm

1/2000 sec at f/8.0, ISO 100, 200 mm

In the church compound, I found another royal symbol.

1/2000 set at f/8.0, ISO 100, 200 mm

There are other beautiful buildings on the street, but they are all difficult to see as they are behind fences. There are so many beautiful buildings and lovely alley ways.

1/320 sec at f/8.0, ISO 100, 35 mm

1/80 sec at f/4.5, ISO 100, 16 mm

1/60 sec at f/8.0, ISO 100, 16 mm

1/60 sec at f/8.0, ISO 100, 17 mm

One of the interesting ones is the house where Eliezer Ben Yehuda lived and died (number 11). Ben Yehuda brought the Hebrew language back to life in the early part of the 20th century. He died of tuberculosis in this house.

1/125 sec at f/8.0, ISO 100, 16mm

I specifically liked the balcony!

1/100 set at f/8.0, ISO 100, 35 mm

Snow in Jerusalem

Posted on January 18, 2015 by Tom G

Almost every year now it snows in Jerusalem. Winters seem to be colder and colder, and this combines with Jerusalem’s altitude (about 850 meters or about 2800 feet above sea level), mean that it will be cold and blustery.

1/160 sec at f/11, ISO 100

But with every year, it becomes harder to shoot the city in the snow. First of all, the snow usually lasts about 1.5 days. The weather just isn’t cold enough to sustain snow and ice. And secondly, the city usually shuts down. Roads are closed, and people are cautioned to stay indoors. So, it’s hard to get anywhere and see anything. And third, most shots of the snow involve the Old City and snow. It’s been done a million times.

This snow storm was followed by a lot of rain, and so the snow didn’t last more than a dozen hours. On Friday afternoon, it was clear and most of the snow had melted only to be followed by another flurry in the evening. I woke up early Saturday morning and saw that the roads were clear so I immediately headed out to see if there was any snow in the desert.

1/200 sec at f/11

And then I drove to Mt. Scopus (the Hebrew University) and then to the Mt. of Olives where there were some nice views.

1/125 at f/11, 200 mm

1/2000 at f/4.0. 70 mm.

1/500 at f/7.1, 200 mm

I then headed down to the Old City and to the Damascus Gate. For the first time in my life, I found parking directly opposite the city gate. I guess that it was too cold for the locals to venture out.

1/2000 sec at f/2.8, 25 mm

I continued to look around for some interesting angles.

1/640 sec at f/9.0, 90 mm

1/500 sec. at f/9.0, 90 mm

	Tom G on Going, going, gone
	Tia on Going, going, gone
	Antoine R. Rahil on So many surprises on Agron…
	Tom G on So many surprises on Agron…
	Antoine R. Rahil on So many surprises on Agron…

J-TTL: Photography and History in Jerusalem

A photographer's guide to Jerusalem