Tag Archives: photography

Devotion in the Old City

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One can never get enough of walking through the Old City. Usually, when I take visitors around, we have a specific circuit that I like to follow: going from the Jaffa Gate to the Armenian Quarter and then to the Jewish Quarter, and then finishing up for a big lunch in the Arab Quarter. At some point, I will more fully describe this short tour of the Old City, but in the mean time, I’d like to focus on the interesting people that one can encounter.

Being the “center of the world” means that people are naturally drawn to the Old City. And, as opposed to old cities around the world, this one is a fully functioning city: there are large residential areas, Churches, Mosques, Synagogues, inns, hospices, monasteries, schools and grocery stores. One can walk for hours up and down the hills and see incredible human variety.

We’ll start with the Western Wall. In Hebrew it is called the Kotel HaMa’arvi (הכותל המערבי), which literally means the “western wall”. In Arabic it is called the Hayat Al-buraq (البراق‎ حائط literally: the Buraq Wall). The revered wall was built in 19 BCE by King Herod and is the last standing retaining wall of the Second Temple. Not being a religious person, the wall doesn’t do much for me, but I do enjoy observing the devotion of the visitors.

f/2.8, 1/400 sec. 50 mm, ISO 100

f/2.8, 1/400 sec. 50 mm, ISO 100

f/2.8, 1/4000 sec. 50 mm, ISO 100

Even cops, in their riot gear take a break for some devotion and praying. f/2.8, 1/4000 sec. 50 mm, ISO 100

From here we move to the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This is the site revered as the Calvary, were Jesus was crucified and later buried. I’m not going to devote a large part of this post to describing the Church. It is very big and impressive, and so deserved a post for itself. It is the meeting place for Christians in the Old City, and if you hang around there enough, you will be immersed in the great variety of humanity that visits the Church every day.

1/4000 sec. f/2.0, ISO 100, 50 mm

It turns out that even Franciscan monks have dry cleaning. 1/4000 sec. f/2.0, ISO 100, 50 mm

Looking at the Church from the other direction, one can see the Via Dolorosa, and there is always a lot of good people watching there.

1/640 sec. f/4.0, ISO 100, 50 mm

1/640 sec. f/4.0, ISO 100, 50 mm

On top of the church is a monastery for the Ethiopian Orthodox community. The community has no property in the church, but rather has a gathering place alongside the Coptic Monastery. It’s a small courtyard, and leads into a chapel and a church. King Solomon, as we know, had quite a bit of dealings with the Queen of Sheba, and legend has it that when the Queen returned home, she was pregnant with Menelik (who would become the first Ethiopian emperor).

f/5.0, 1/2000 sec. 50 mm, ISO 100

f/5.0, 1/2000 sec. 50 mm, ISO 100

But, like I say, the Old City attracts all religions. Often, because of Israeli policy and control over the Muslim holy sites, prayer is restricted on the Haram Al Sharif (or in Hebrew: the Temple Mount), and so people are forced to show their devotion in make-shift meeting places.

f/2.8, 1/320 sec. 50 mm, ISO 100

These young men are were not allowed to pray in the mosques, and so line up their prayer rugs and face the Haram Al Sharif. f/2.8, 1/320 sec. 50 mm, ISO 100

Walls and angles

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For those of us who live in Jerusalem, we see the Old City almost every day. For most of us, it still strikes us as being a sort of magical place. Kind of like being in a sort of time-travel, where cultures and religions mix, where there are constant noises and smells, and lots and lots of crowds.

Shooting the Old City is always challenging, since so many photographers have taken on the subject. I write here: “shooting the Old City” as opposed to “shooting in the Old City” since I like to try to think that the Old City is a character on its own accord. In this series of shots I tried to focus on the city walls: from the first few shots, I am standing on the Mount of Olives looking westward. This is a seldom used park, and for good reasons. You are in the heart of Eastern Jerusalem, and a bit exposed: I don’t think that I would want to shoot there unless I was in a big group (which I was).

The dominant part of the Old City is the Temple Mount or Haram El Sharif (Noble Sanctuary), as it is the home of the two prominent mosques: Mosque of Omar and El Aksa. All photos of the area include the two mosques, so I wasn’t too concerned with showing them, hence my use of a depth of field which would allow me to hint at the structures. You’d really have to know that they were there if you see the shots. So, first I’ll show the Mosque of Omar (or Dome of the Rock), and then I’ll let you see the abstraction.

(f/22, 1/60 sec, ISO 100, 80 mm).

(f/22, 1/60 sec, ISO 100, 80 mm).

I am leaving these in black and white, since I think that the mosque is so powerfully colored that I don’t want to distract from the overall scene.

(f/5.6, 1/640 sec, 100 ISO, 105 mm)

(f/5.6, 1/640 sec, 100 ISO, 105 mm)

As you get closer to the city, you can see the beauty of the walls. Many of the stones have been recycled over the ages, and I love the way they come together. I was luck this day, as there were some cloud (most of the year it is too hot for clouds).

(f/22, 1/5 sec, 100 ISO, 32 mm)

(f/22, 1/5 sec, 100 ISO, 32 mm)

Here, we’re walking from Jaffa Gate to the Zion Gate. Most of the walls were built during the Ottoman reign in Jerusalem. The walls were rebuilt between 1535 – 1538, under the orders of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. An interesting thing to note are the  arrowslits (or balistaria). If you notice, they are not correctly placed (they are too low and at incorrect angles): they were put in for show by the builders. They are purely ornamental.

(f/16, 1/60 sec, 100 ISO, 200 mm)

(f/16, 1/60 sec, 100 ISO, 200 mm)

Despite the monochromatic nature of the walls, there is often some color around them. The city has planted flowers where possible, and they always add some color.

(f/18, 1/40 sec, 100 ISO, 85mm)

(f/18, 1/40 sec, 100 ISO, 85mm)

In the future, I’ll add a lot more about the city walls: there’s a lot to show, and a lot of history.

When in the Old City or its environs, I don’t take Shooby: it’s too crowed and people are often not happy to see a big dog in crowded spaces. Besides, he’s always a bit stressed when in the Old City. So, no Shooby today.

Flooding in the Judean Desert

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This last week was one of constant rain. It began on Sunday, but it was short lived. By Wednesday, the storm was upon us, with heavy rain and gray skies.

Winters in the desert are probably the most interesting time of the year. The rain in Jerusalem naturally flows to the lowest point on Earth – namely, the Dead Sea basin. On the way eastward from Jerusalem, one passes many wadis (river beds), and as the rain in the mountains of Jerusalem pick up, the stream of water turns into a gushing river.

So, beginning on Sunday, I made it a point to travel to the Dead Sea as much as I could. I had a full schedule on Wednesday, but when I saw the heavy rains, I canceled my afternoon appointments, went home, collected my equipment, wrapped my camera in a plastic bag, got the dog, and put on my big rain boots.

My first stop was the area around Nabi Musa. This mosque named after the Moses (in Arabic: The Prophet Moses) lies on the ancient Jerusalem-Jericho road which was traditionally used by Muslims on the way to the Haj in Mecca. The current mosque was restored during the Ottoman Period in 1820.

I shot most of this series with my 18-35 mm lens along with my Lee Big Stopper. I made these into black and white for two reasons: (1) the desert is quite monochromatic and so the b/w works, and (2) being below sea level, the river beds bring down the trash from the city. Israelis and Palestinians are not too cognizant of the need to keep natural resources clean (to say the least!), so there were plastic bags and bottles. In the yellow desert, all of that plastic sticks out, but is “invisible” in b/w.

On the way eastward from Jerusalem, Nabi Musa is about 500 meters after the sea level marker (on the right).

You can see the flow beginning. In this photo we are looking westward - up the hill to Jerusalem.

You can see the flow beginning. In this photo we are looking westward – up the hill to Jerusalem. I shot this on Sunday November 15, 2014. I had originally intended to go do some chores, but saw the rain and realized that it would be a good morning for shooting. I grabbed my gear and went out (without the dog). In my haste, I forgot my Big and Little Stopper, so I had to try to slow things down (so I shot at f/22, 1/5 sec.)

A few moments of clear skies, you can see how strong the flow is in Wadi Og. (1.3 sec @ f/16, ISO 100). I love the way the Little Stopper keeps the motion. I didn't use the Big Stopper because the current was so strong.

A few moments of clear skies, you can see how strong the flow is in Wadi Og. (1.3 sec @ f/16, ISO 100). I love the way the Little Stopper keeps the motion. I didn’t use the Big Stopper because the current was so strong.

Coming back on Wednesday, and standing on the bridge, the flow is substantially stronger. Coming back on Wednesday, and standing on the bridge, the flow is substantially stronger. (1.5 sec @ f/11). I used the Little Stopper here as well.

Coming back on Wednesday, and standing on the bridge, the flow is substantially stronger. Coming back on Wednesday, and standing on the bridge, the flow is substantially stronger. (1.5 sec @ f/11). I used the Little Stopper here as well.

f/11, 1/20 sec. 16 mm, ISO 100

Shooby enjoys the water, and especially finding floating things to chase and play with. f/11, 1/20 sec. 16 mm, ISO 100