Ah yes, Jerusalem

Well, I’ve been in Jerusalem for days and haven’t been able to get my head around what I’m seeing, hearing, thinking… My photos are of the place not the people because I didn’t want to intrude, but the people fascinated me. It felt like I was in another world. Made me realize how accustomed I’ve become to Europe. Sheesh… Now I want to go to Azerbajan and other really Really foreign places.

These two photos are of people rushing to the Western Wall in time for Shabbat.

These men are praying even while waiting in line to get into the Western Wall area. The police check bags as you go in.

And here’s the Shabbat crowd on Friday night:

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Jerusalem is a very intense place. Everyone and everything is full throttle. Focused, enthusiastic, spiritual, thoughtful, deep.

I’m actually in Beersheva overnight and it’s such a relief to be somewhere low key. Sigh!

The distinct and unfamiliar ways that Orthodox Jews dress really the me when I first got here. Now it seems perfectly normal to see boys with shaved heads and ringlets or to see men in black shoes black pants black long coats black hats with black beards and white fringes hanging down their sides. I like the wraps women use for their hair. Very becoming. All the local women and girls wear skirts, often long, often black but not always. Most men wear skull caps, but the young ones wear normal western casual clothes. It kept jangling to my eyes to see a completely western guy smoking and drinking but wearing a skull cap.

And then there are the Catholic nuns and friar. And the Arab men in their long shirts and vests, some with the full long robes. The Arab women cover their heads, but below that varies a lot: jeans, medium-length skirts over leggings, long skirts, and full black robes. What is it with black that everyone wears it?!

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Jerusalem reminds me of Assisi, although white stone not pink. The streets and alleys and buildings all use blocks of white stone. The effect is dazzling and calming, if that isn’t contradictory. I often felt as though I were on a stage set. Simple, good lines and angles. The simplicity of everything using the same materials means you take in the shapes more clearly. Your eye can rest on a detail or can step back and see the whole. Pleasing.