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Lost in the Hebrew Sector:
I took this shot on the run through the bazaar. Something about the strong silhouette and the worried faces spoke to me. Turned out much better than I thought it would.
Today is my twenty second birthday. Normally I would post a selfie today, but right now we are involved in helping with the relief effort after the tragic tornado that ripped through Alabama. We have fifteen extra people in our house right now, and I’m about to leave to help clean up. Please pray for all the folks who have lost homes and loved ones. -
A man who insists on hearing bad news immediately.:
After the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, we spent some time in the Bazaar, shopping for silver jewelry and for candid shots of the locals. :P
This gentleman looked like a Mafioso a bit, but in fact owned a tiny restauraunt where we enjoyed some very tasty sandwhiches. I saw him collecting and counting his days money, and new I had to get the shot. He was under a sort of tent, and all the light was bouncing off a nearby stone wall, which lead to the splendid light setup I enjoyed. I was very lucky. -
The Haze of Worship:
This is a different view of the same area… this one featuring the rather eastern looking shrine covering the location of the (now destroyed) traditional tomb site. Soon after we entered, a group of nuns and monks lit up an enormous amount of candles… making a tremendous amount of smoke, which created this neat effect.
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Incense Lamps:
This was taken in a small alcove off the main rotunda. It’s a traditional location for the place Jesus was laid, and it’s a very small cave, with an even smaller cave with place to lay a body inside it. When we first entered, there was no one in there, and we had time to look at everything. Suddenly, a whole mass of people entered. We were trapped at the back. It was kind of suffocating, and impossible to move. It was like being held under the water by a waterfall. It took quite some time to extricate ourselves, but we eventually escaped and went further and deeper into the structure.
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Devotion:
While making my way around the dome for the previous shot, I came upon this little scene: Several nuns, lighting their tapers from a priest’s candle. I stepped in, took the shot, and left. There were many little acts of worship going on, but this one seemed most picturesque and somber. The dark tones and little specks of candlelight pretty much summed the whole mood of the building. It was a quite place, a place of sadness if nothing else. It was only afterward I noticed the Canon strap around the priest’s neck. :-P
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The Church of the Holy Sepulchre:
It’s hard to describe how huge this building is. There are at least three floors in the main atrium, all be-gilded and ornately decorated. There isn’t a square inch that hasn’t been carefully decorated by some artisan so long ago. It’s pretty impressive, and even more so with the amount of people pressing through it at all times. Even though it’s packed with people of all nations, almost unable to move, the air is still fresh and doesn’t feel close. It also remains quite cool. However, the golden dome and gothic arches were nothing compared to my favorite room, (which will be revealed on Monday!)
