I'm sorry to take such a long break from posting. I've been out hiking in the desert the last few weekends, and I've gotten a little behind on everything. To make up for it, here are pictures from the Easter madness in Jerusalem. My fiancee, B.'s and my plan was to go to the Old City and find the chaos, which we did. Here are a few of the thousands of worshipers waiting to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where Jesus' tomb is believed to be. The different Christian denominations have historically not been able to share the space, so almost 1,000 years ago, the Ottomans handed the keys to the church over to two prominent Muslim families, who, to this day, are in charge of opening the church every morning and locking it at night. (Really!) So, on the Saturday before Easter, thousands of people come to wait for the church to be unlocked. Once it is, there is a huge ceremony. This picture was taken while we were pinned to the wall covering our ears waiting for hundreds of bagpipes to parade through.
After everyone is let in, they take candles and light them inside the church, and then bring them out into the world to symbolize the resurrection. Most of the pilgrims wandering around yesterday looked a little bewildered by the whole thing. And the shopkeepers looked like they couldn't wait for the day to be over. After a few hours of fighting the
crowds, B. and I collapsed onto the bus with our backpacks stuffed full of herbs, frankincense, fruit and a new blender. It was a strange and lovely spectacle in this city that seems stranger and more beautiful by the day.
I'm sorry to take such a long break from posting. I've been out hiking in the desert the last few weekends, and I've gotten a little behind on everything. To make up for it, here are pictures from the Easter madness in Jerusalem. My fiancee, B.'s and my plan was to go to the Old City and find the chaos, which we did. Here are a few of the thousands of worshipers waiting to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where Jesus' tomb is believed to be. The different Christian denominations have historically not been able to share the space, so almost 1,000 years ago, the Ottomans handed the keys to the church over to two prominent Muslim families, who, to this day, are in charge of opening the church every morning and locking it at night. (Really!) So, on the Saturday before Easter, thousands of people come to wait for the church to be unlocked. Once it is, there is a huge ceremony. This picture was taken while we were pinned to the wall covering our ears waiting for hundreds of bagpipes to parade through.
crowds, B. and I collapsed onto the bus with our backpacks stuffed full of herbs, frankincense, fruit and a new blender. It was a strange and lovely spectacle in this city that seems stranger and more beautiful by the day.
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