Happy Easter!

We got up at 4am this morning to go up to the Mount of Olives for the Easter Sunrise Service held at the Victoria Augusta Hospital.  It was a beautiful morning, a bit breezy, and very dark when we arrived! 

As it started to get light, there was a thick haze on the horizon, so it took longer for the sun to show it's face.  But, when it did, the colors were beautiful.  Happy Easter.

Passover Celebration!

This entourage just went past our house! 

Baking Bread

Can you smell it baking???  Yesterday, our apartment smelled divine!  Because it is now Passover, when the Jewish people don't eat or drink anything with leavening agents.  Therefore, all of those things are not available in the shops.  So, I'm baking bread!  I love baking bread, but it IS time consuming.  But, I'm using a method from the book, 

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery that Revolutionizes Home Baking  by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois

It is so easy, and tastes delicious, too!  If you're a bread baker, or would like to be one, I suggest trying it out.  The recipe is here:

 http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/2010/02/09/back-to-basics-tips-and-techniques-to-create-a-great-loaf-in-5-minutes-a-day

Maundy Thursday

Yarabba ssalami amter alayna ssalam,
yarabba ssalami im la'qulubana salam
(God of peace, rain peace upon us, fill our hearts with peace.)

Yarabba ssalami amter alayna ssalam,
yarabba ssalami im'nah biladana ssalam.
(God of peace, rain peace upon us, give our land peace.)

photo: window inside Church of the Redeemer, Jerusalem

Palm Sunday

 

The church bells were ringing on Palm Sunday morning.

We walked to church, thru the Old City into the Christian Quarter and entering the Muristan area where there are numerous churches.

 

It was looking a bit deserted at 8:50am.  We were nearing the Church of the Redeemer on the right, where we were going to attend services.   An ELCA Lutheran Church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City, there are services in English, German, and Arabic.  http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jerusalem-church-of-redeemer.htm

 We passed this door, making note of it's existence, just in case we may ever need to use it!

The entrance to the chapel area of the church is smaller than the main entrance.
The English speaking service began in the beautiful courtyard and then proceeded up to the chapel. 

 

Walking out of church the street had awakened, shops were set up for a day of business! The dome you see at the roof lines is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where there were many more people gathered for this day. 

The main entrance to Redeemer Church.

 I love old doors!  And this church has beautiful ones. Look how different the door is on the outside vs. the inside.  And here is a close up of the handle and lock. 

 This is a side entrance door.  I love the stone carvings around the doorway, and the metalwork on the fence.

 Now, turn to your right and look up the street.  That is the Greek Orthodox Church. And the next photo is the entrance to a shop area that sells really nice stuff!

 

 

How about some pomegranate juice???  It's actually very expensive right now since the fruit is not in season, yet.  We had an Arabic coffee and mint tea instead.

Next up..............Maundy Thursday.

Off to Mt. Zion

We started our walk over to Mount Zion by going thru the Jaffa Gate.  It is the Gate closest to our apartment, so is very easy to get to, and is one of the main gates in which to enter the Old City.

We walked inside the city, mostly next to the wall, thru the Armenian section.  The street is very narrow, and the cars are as careful as I've seen them be, which is not to say you should not be very, very cautious!  We are looking thru this tunnel at the Bell Tower that belongs to the Dormition Abbey on Mount Zion.

We arrive at Zion Gate and exit to the area outside the city wall. The hill you see in the distance is part of the Mount of Olives.

This little walkway takes you back to the  Dormition Abbey. 
The statue is King David.  

Here is another picture I took the week before from a park that we walk to .You can see in this photo the distance between the Abbey and the bell tower. 



Those of you who are my Facebook "friends" saw this picture..it is the view of the Mount of Olives from Mount Zion.  

Next to the Dormition Abbey is this Franciscan Convent, one of many in and around Jerusalem.  I took this picture, because it has the Jerusalem Cross on it.  I will be doing a blog on the Jerusalem Cross.

There is much more to Mount Zion than I took pictures of...we will be back several more times I am sure!

We exited back thru Jaffa Gate to the pedestrian plaza.  If you look at the building right in the center of the picture, with the glass around the top, that is our apartment building!

Remember, you can click on these pictures so that you can make them larger!

I'll be back with more pics in the next day or two...Please enjoy!

Good Friday

The view from my terrace this morning !  A beautiful sunrise over the Old City of Jerusalem on Good Friday morning.  This has been a week of preparation.  For Christians beginning on Sunday with the Palm Sunday services, the procession into the Old City from the Mount of Olives, and various other processions thru the Old City.  For Jews, preparing their homes for Passover .  The markets have been full, with people and special foods.

I have a lot to share from this week...it will probably be broken into several blogs. 

Answers to last weeks Quiz:  the buttons are my light switches.  They each have a Hebrew word for what they control!  Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't, and sometimes they do more than they're supposed to! Then I gave you an easy one...flour. 

Thanks to all of you for your participation!