Scavenger Hunt in Jerusalem's Nachlaot Neighborhood

What fun! This past Friday I had the opportunity to join another of Jerusalem Scavenger Hunts' wonderful events - this time for a scavenger hunt in Jerusalem's fascinating Nachlaot neighborhood.

Just like the Old City scavenger hunt I participated in last year Tali and her crew had everything very well organized from start to finish so that all we had to do was relax and enjoy. (So much so that yet again we came in, ummm, not first. Right. Let's go with "not first". It was totally worth our ever so slightly more relaxed pace though - we got to see so many amazing details and learn so many things we'd have missed if we were really cranking up the speed...)  Tali even arranged for the oh so yummy Village Green restaurant to provide bowls of hot delicious soup and freshly baked rolls for us all at the finish line.

 More scenes from the neighborhood...

Two area residents discussing the issues of the day

Window turned wall

I absolutely love this mural (above and below images) by Maayan Fogel, simply amazing

 
I can't recommend Tali and Jerusalem Scavenger Hunts enough (and not just because I just found a photo of myself with Old City teammates Lisa and Myriam in their photo gallery) - having now done two of their hunts my only real question is when is she accepting participants for the new route she'll soon be opening in Jerusalem's Yemin Moshe neighborhood! (In fact, we'll be hosting a bar mitzvah in the family next winter and I'm already planning to arrange a scavenger hunt as one of our key "where to take the visiting relatives" events!)

Thanks again Tali for another terrific time!

Making history come alive in Jerusalem's Jewish Quarter

This past Friday I had the privilege and good fortune to snag an invitation to a fantastically fun event - a scavenger hunt through the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City.

The event, organized for a group of bloggers by Jerusalem Scavenger Hunts, was run brilliantly from start to finish - the routes and stops were fascinating and Tali Tarlow and her crew didn't miss a thing - from the way they made history come alive with Tali's beautifully researched (and laminated! and spiral bound! and so so so well organized!) information packets and route clues to the stories they told to the directions so easy to follow that even someone as directionally-challenged (umm, that would be an understatement) as me could follow them. Heck, after the rainiest January in Israeli history (29 out of 31 days people - no wonder I was so miserable last month!) Tali even managed to rustle up a gorgeous blue sky and shirtsleeves sort of day!

The scavenger hunt itself was such great fun - and the company so stellar - that my group sort of, uhh, forgot that we were meant to be racing and took our time along the way (quality over quantity, right guys?), making sure to soak up every visual, mental and historical treat that was there to be found and finishing up a very respectable third place (out of three, shhh, don't tell...).

The scavenger hunt makes a great day out for an extended family group (I'm already thinking of the family coming over for Itai's bar mitzvah two years from now),  company fun day, or even just for something new to do with a group of friends - even those who've been to the Old City many times will be sure to learn something new and enjoy themselves in the process. Right now the scavenger hunts are conducted completely in English but will soon be available in Hebrew too, and Tali promises that there will be some great new routes added over the next few months as well.

Thanks so much for inviting us Tali, I had a fantastic day and this is definitely going into my "things to do with visiting relatives" file!

(Whoa, when did blogger start letting us format photos in line with the text? Cool stuff...) Oooh, I just realized that there are reds in the second image - perfect for this week's RT2 contribution, and windows and doors for Toby too!

PS If you're in Beit Shemesh tomorrow evening be sure to stop by the AMIT Mid-Winter Fair (Monday evening, February 6th; 7-10PM, Yeshivat Reishit/Genesis Center, 21 Rashi St.). Around the Island Photography will have a table at the fair - come by and say hello :).

Jerusalem Courtyard

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Click here to purchase this print on etsy, or here for an iPhone case or large-size stretched canvas or print.

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I'm playing slightly fast and loose with the "windows and doors" concept of Toby's wonderful meme this week (now on Mondays - yay!), but hey, a doorway is a kind of door, isn't it? Works for me :).

This particular doorway is into a small courtyard in the Old City of Jerusalem. I love the way the light falls golden on the walls and paving stones. When the light hits just right Jerusalem  truly is the Jerusalem of Gold of song and story.

I'm going to cheat a little bit more while I'm at it (in for a penny, in for a pound) and use this as my RT2 shot for this week as well, since that one went up so early. If you squint carefully you can almost see that the branches on the potted plants are in fact red, and there's a reddish brown paint splotch on the wall too. (Hey, I never said I was very good at conforming...)

Woman with Shawl

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Woman in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem (tweaked a bit for more of a painted effect - it's very dark inside the church and in the original image you could barely make out the woman at all.)

Visit Wordless Wednesday to see what other people aren't saying this week, and Wordful Wednesday to see what they are. More images from my Christmas Eve photowalk in Jerusalem's Christian Quarter can be found here and here. 

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My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography on Etsy and Society6 and bring home something beautiful today!

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If the photo you're wishing for is something you've seen here on the blog which isn't in one of my shops yet just let me know and I'll happily list it for you.

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File under: not something you see every day

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Thorny crowns on sale in the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City. I didn't see anyone actually buying one. Maybe the vendors hoped pilgrims would buy them to save for Easter time?

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My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography on Etsy and Society6 and bring home something beautiful today!

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If the photo you're wishing for is something you've seen here on the blog which isn't in one of my shops yet just let me know and I'll happily list it for you.

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Stained Glass Window

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Jerusalem's Christ Church, completed in 1849, is the oldest Protestant church in the Middle East.

Click here to purchase this image on etsy.

This one can do triple-duty for Wordless/Wordful Wednesday and Whimsical Windows, wouldn't you say?

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My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography on Etsy and Society6 and bring home something beautiful today!

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If the photo you're wishing for is something you've seen here on the blog which isn't in one of my shops yet just let me know and I'll happily list it for you.

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Poinsettia

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Beautiful red poinsettia in a Jerusalem church. 

Click over to this post for more images of Christmas in Jerusalem's Christian Quarter.

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My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography on Etsy and Society6 and bring home something beautiful today!

.

If the photo you're wishing for is something you've seen here on the blog which isn't in one of my shops yet just let me know and I'll happily list it for you.

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Merry Christmas from Jerusalem

I spent the day on a Christmas-themed photowalk in Jerusalem and couldn't think of a better way to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. As a Jewish country you don't see very much of Christmas here in Israel but what it lacks in size the tiny little Christian Quarter of the Old City sure made up for in spirit and pomp and circumstance.

So Merry Christmas from Jerusalem, where the rain thankfully held off until evening so I could get these shots to share with you:

 

Christmas Tree Outside a Jerusalem Church (St. Spyridon I think? I'm not sure, it was a side entrance and the church was closed.)

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Santa's looking very fit this year, don't you think? He certainly seems to be enjoying himself too.

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Appointed on June 21, 2008, His Beatitude Fouad Twal is the ninth Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem since the reinstatement of the Latin Patriarchate in 1847. Patriarch Twal, a Jordanian, is the second Arab Patriarch following his predecessor, H.B. Michel Sabbah (from the Patriarchate's official website). We had the incredible privilege of being invited into the Patriarchate to hear (and photograph! with permission!) Bishop Twal give his address to the assembled auxiliary bishops, priests and assorted dignitaries before the entire crew set off, with full regalia and a lot of pomp and ceremony, in their official motorcade for Christmas Eve in Bethlehem. Oh, and after the address they handed round brandy and chocolates to everyone, and we all ended up shaking all their hands and exchanging Christmas wishes in the receiving line as well. This guy is head of the Catholic Church for all of Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Cyprus. Definitely not something you experience every day.

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Procession of priests (note the incense burner) at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

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Decorations for sale in what seems to be the Quarter's leading (and only dedicated) Christmas store.

And with that, I wish you all a joyous holiday full of all things good. Check back later in the week for many more images from my visit to Jerusalem's Christian Quarter.

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JPIX - The I Can't Believe It's Nearly Hannukah Edition

My wish to you - may love and light fill your home and heart not just at Hanukkah but always.



Why can't I believe it? Because here we are in mid-November, Hannukah just a couple of weeks away and yet it's about 30 degrees outside. Good grief...

And now, without further ado and in no particular order whatsoever (i.e. in whatever order I managed to insert the photos and links), my very first attempt at hosting JPIX. Please excuse any formatting weirdness and the lack of those cute columns that everyone else seems to manage so easily which steadfastly refused to obey my command despite the stream of family-unfriendly words which escaped my mouth as I tried. Yes, I am the queen technodunce.


Wish me luck...
 

What makes art Jewish, from BookishIma





Hutzot haYotzer 2010 from Avital Pinnick



Ilana-Davita visited Lubeck Synagogue



Sheva loves her beautiful Rozie from the moon and back



Mara goes Sukkah hopping



Next Sukkot in Jerusalem from Leora's son



Leora's symbols for a sweet new year



Toby finds a flowery succulent



Devo shares a winter sky



Batya shares images from Tel Shiloh after the fire



Easy Up Sukkah Decorations from Batya



Cosmic X spotted light rail cars in J'lem



JBloggers meet face to face



Cosmic X spotted this funky car




Batya visits J'lem's Machaneh Yehuda Market



Mrs. S visited Apollonia

Frume Sarah's Rosh Chodesh Kislev



Imabima's Rosh Chodesh Kislev



and last but not least



Life is for Living


Whew, I made it. By the skin of my teeth, but I made it. There are some wonderful photographs and blog posts here, be sure to take the time to click through and see them. And if you'd like to see more of my photography you'll find plenty here around the island and in my online photography shop.


Happy viewing.

 Click here to submit posts for the next edition of JPIX.

Jerusalem of Gold

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Click to enlarge

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Jerusalem skies were hazy and dull (unlike the spectacular flowers) the day of a recent visit, and regular readers here know how much I loathe horrible, white, dust-filled skies (and how far I'll go to avoid them), but the amazing view from the hall did make a valiant effort at distracting me from the gray and the dust.
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Of course I could have simply photoshopped in a bright blue sky but I really suck at that I prefer the more artistic approach. After a bit of tweaking to and fro I processed this image with the Pioneer Woman's Seventies action to give it a vintage feel more in keeping with the fabled Jerusalem of Gold (since I couldn't convince my family to wait around for hours to go to the Light exhibit until the setting sun shone golden on the city's ancient stones.
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I quite like how it turned out, it reminds me of an old postcard.
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My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography and bring home something beautiful today!
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If the photo you're wishing for is something you've seen here on the blog which isn't in my etsy shop yet just let me know and I'll happily list it for you.
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