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...)

The daring young man on the... tightrope?

You really never know quite what you're going to find in Tel Aviv. Over Hannukah, it was Hagay, a self-taught tightrope walker. Silly me, I never even knew there was a tightrope on the beach, let alone anyone who knew how to use it. When I first spotted Hagay I was careful to stay quite far back, afraid to break his concentration, but the moment he was there he beckoned me closer - and started instructing me on what camera settings I should be using to capture the distortion of the "windmill" effect that you see on his arms as he quickly rocked back and forth. It was rapidly getting dark so I had to go pretty low but all in all I think they turned out pretty well. (I'm not sure what if anything Hagay thinks. I e-mailed him a few photos but never heard back...)

 

 

I haven't seen a Ruby Tuesday post for this week yet, but if there is one I'm all set, since Hagay was oh so thoughtfully wearing this bright red shirt ;).

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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!

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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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Charlie Brown Bokeh

For obvious reasons Israel really doesn't get into the whole Christmas decorations thing, which makes it challenging to take the kind of stunning holiday bokeh images you see all over the internet this time of year. One very small exception is our favorite beachfront bar. Since they cater to a lot of tourists they do decorate for the holidays, if you call a tiny Charlie Brown Christmas tree and a few LED lights decorating. Still, one does what one can, right?

And with that, I give you "Charlie Brown Bokeh" - a few glowy lights from one of the sadder looking trees I've seen. Buy hey, they are colorful.

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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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Graffiti Wall - South Tel Aviv

Section of a long wall in South Tel Aviv utterly filled with brightly-colored graffiti. Looking at the mailbox and surroundings I have a feeling the house inside is owned by renowned street mural artist Rami Meiri, but I wasn't able to confirm that.

Click here to see more Ruby Tuesday images from around the world.

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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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The Shopkeeper's Gift

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Click here to purchase this print on etsy, and here to purchase it as a laptop skin, iPhone case, etc. on Society6.

Lots of pinks, whites, and even glimpses of red in this gorgeous gerbera daisy, a gift from a shopkeeper's sidewalk stall when I stopped to admire it.

Brazilian Pepper Tree, I think...

A quick scan of Dr. Google's 2nd cousin the botanist says that this is probably a Brazilian pepper tree, which is not a pepper tree at all but rather one of the sumac family, and is a naturalized resident of southern California and a weed in the Florida Everglades. Not sure which of these two headings it comes under here in Israel, but it's definitely red.

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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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A bug's eye view

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A hibiscus flower as I imagine a bug would see it. (Just playing around with orbitals again. Check out the previous post for a really cool one.)

Visit Ruby Tuesday for more ruby red images, and a very happy Thanksgiving to all who are celebrating!

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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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In my neighborhood

I have no idea what this is, but it's blooming on a hedge nearby. Oh, and it has red in it, too.

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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.

.

Take me to your leader!

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A whimsical offering for this week's Ruby Tuesday. I saw this a while back at Tel Aviv's Hatikva Market and it reminded me of a funny little alien demanding assistance (perhaps asking to get the darn knives out of his eyes already?).
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Click here to purchase this image as a large-format print, canvas, or heck, even an iPod skin

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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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Partying like it's 1976

When I asked my daughter Maya what she wanted for her 8th birthday party she had lots of crazy, insane, over the top ridiculous very well-thought out ideas, but the one she held dearest of all was this, that there should be a disco ball.

Could've been worse, she could have asked for John Travolta...

Happy to oblige, my little disco dancing star.

And in case you haven't heard yet, holiday shopping just got a whole lot more interesting - and easier too! I've joined Society6, an online photography and art superstore where you can order framed prints, gallery wraps and even fabulous laptop skins and iPhone covers straight to your door. I love how they offer so many ways to share my work - in fact, I'm so in lust with those iPhone covers that it's making me with I had an iPhone to put one on! I'd love for you to come by and take a look for yourselves, and who knows, you might just find the perfect gift for that impossible to shop for someone...

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Chihuly redux

Anyone who's been coming around here for a while knows that I just can't get enough of Dale Chihuly's magnificent work, so what a treat to find that a number of his pieces were still on permanent display at Tel Aviv's Litvak Gallery even after the close of last winter's spectacular solo show.

Here's one of my favorites - a black and yellow basket with just enough of a red (ok, orangey-red, but definitely still in the red family) tinge around the top to sneak it in for this week's Ruby Tuesday ;).

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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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The Dark Gate - closeup

Closeup of my very favorite piece in the exhibition - Bohumil Elias' Dark Gate. 
Viewed in its entirety this piece literally took my breath away.
 
More red images can be found at Work of the Poet.

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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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Through the Rainbow at the Litvak Gallery

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What do you see through the rainbow? Tall ships? A cityscape? Africa? Something else entirely?

This image is actually the rainbow-colored reflection on the wall of a glass sculpture entitled Memorial Meeting by the groundbreaking Czech glass artist Vladimir Kopecky and is part of Freedom to Create: Beyond the Glass Curtain, an incredible exhibition featuring the work of 15 of the Czech Republic's best-known glass artists on display right now at Tel Aviv's Litvak Gallery. I was lucky enough to be able to spend the morning wandering the exhibit, camera in hand. This reflection is just a teaser - over the coming days I'll be featuring images from this stunning exhibition so be sure to check back often.

Visit Ruby Tuesday for more reds (and yellows and greens and blues and all the hues of the rainbow) from around the world.

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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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Reuse and Resist - Street Art in Tel Aviv

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Spotted last week near Tel Aviv's Nachalat Binyamin crafts market...

If you look carefully, you'll see that that bright red writing also includes a link to the Reuse and Resist website. Have a look, they've got a good message to get out about the power of art in public spaces.

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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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Painted Turtle

Hauled out of the lake this summer by a passing teenager to show my kids, then returned to the water a moment later. Can you see his red stripes?

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The Parenting Brigadoon - Good First Day of School Pics

Like mothers all over the world, I force gently and lovingly encourage my children to pose miserably joyfully for that elusive Brigadoon of parenting - a good 1st day of school picture.

Here, on the cusp of 5th and 2nd grades, is this year's attempt, and believe me, this was the best of the bunch. Maya's still fairly willing. Her brother on the other hand... Still, they're pretty cute, if I do say so myself. (Oh, and they're actually both wearing shirts with their respective school logos but I've waved my photoshop wand and caused the logos to disappear - no reason to unduly tempt the internet nasties...)

More red photos can be found over at Ruby Tuesday, which I'm rejoining after a long and unintended summer break :).

Name that Photo Contest!

(You'll forgive me if I go for that "purple with a hint of magenta is in the red family" thing, right? Especially since I'm desperate for your help? I'm not above groveling you know. *grovel grovel grovel*)

This is one of a series of three images I created this weekend of a purple (oops, I mean reddish-tinted of course) chrysanthemum. I'm really pleased with how the turned out and would like to list them in my etsy shop. The only catch is I'm utterly and completely stumped for titles, or at least for titles that aren't "Purple Chrysanthemum 1, 2 and 3". 

So here's where you come in:

Put on those creative thinking caps you've all got and suggest some titles, either for the series or for the individual photos. If I choose your title for the etsy listing I'll send you a 5x7" (or metric equivalent) copy of your choice of the three images.

To keep things straight we'll call the photograph featured here "Purple Chrysanthemum 1". Purple Chrysanthemum 2 is here and Purple Chrysanthemum 3 is here.

Leave your entries in the comments please, and have fun with it. I can't wait to see what you come up with. (Ok, actually I'm desperate, so please play. Pretty please with a cherry on top?)

UPDATE: THEY'VE BEEN NAMED AND LISTED AND CAN BE FOUND HERE, HERE AND HERE. CLICK TO SEE THE IMAGES AND THEIR NEW TITLES IN MY ETSY SHOP.

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My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography 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 my etsy shop yet just let me know and I'll happily list it for you.

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Cherries!

I'd be out buying some of these deep red beauties right now - and trying hard not to eat them all before I got back - if both of my kids weren't home sick today. Looking at the empty cavern that is my refrigerator I'm afraid we'll all die of scurvy long before whatever virus this is gets us!

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My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography 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 my etsy shop yet just let me know and I'll happily list it for you.

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