Fun shadows on the outside of the old Turkish city wall that encloses the Old City.
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Now they are part of Hey Harriet's Shadow Shot Sunday.
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The building and tower behind the wall are part of a monastery.The Franciscan Order opened one of the first printing presses in Jerusalem in this monastery complex and operated an organ workshop.
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That same spire from the first photo was beautifully illuminated for the week of the Jerusalem Festival of Light in July..
It is atop San Salvador/San Salvatore/St. Savior Church, built in 1885.
This is the Parish church for the Christian Quarter of the Old City.
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This is a building of rugged beauty. It seems as if we are climbing to heaven over that steep staircase of lovely shadow. The night lights are to savor...
ReplyDeleteoh, how beautiful!
ReplyDeletesuch a wonderful building.
Those stairs sure cast a large shadow. A really good ShadowShot for sure! The bluish light and deep shadows for Chanukah make for a lovely ShadowShot too. Have a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteA lovely contrast between the sturdy stone buildings and the delicate lights!
ReplyDeleteRalph shalom, well, maybe to heaven but not into the building. I don't think those stairs are in use. When enlarged, the photo shows barbed wire at the end of the stairs.
ReplyDeleteTo savor St. Savior, good one!
Angie, and that is just the back door. Someday I'll show you the main entrance and the church inside.
Frayed, yes, everything is built of stone around here. The special (temporary) colored lights really softened it up, the tower. I could hardly take my eyes off it that night.
Cassie, your comment made me realize I had to change the wording in my post and I did. The Light Festival I referred to was not THE Festival of Lights (Chanukah) but a new annual thing that the Municipality does in and around the Old City for one or two weeks in the summer. Sorry for being misleading at first.
Glad you thought so too, that the stairs made an unusually big shadow.
So beautiful building. And amazing shadows.
ReplyDeleteLove this, Dina! Have a wonderful, wonderful cool day today.
ReplyDeleteGreat shot! I love the flowing shadows of the stairs. At first sight, it almost looks unreal.
ReplyDeleteyou awe me!
ReplyDeleteWarm Aloha from Waikiki :)
Comfort Spiral
It's really bright the idea of the Franciscan Order to open a printing press in Jerusalem.
ReplyDeleteWonderful the night shot too.
What beautiful shots the stairs a amazing.
ReplyDeleteThat long shadow sure does add an interesting dimension to this old stocky building. I wonder why they felt the need to use barbed wire to close the entrance... (I do have a thing about barbed wire; it's so violent by nature) - wouldn't a simple wrought iron fence suffice? I'll be back to see the front of the building.
ReplyDeleteThe old buidlings you share with us are amazingly gorgeous! We don't have anything like that here in Brisbane. The stair shadows are wild! The steps just keep going and going it seems. Walking up those would be quite a workout!
ReplyDeleteThe Christian community there only has one parish church? Interesting information.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful stone walls.
Hi Dina! Hope you are enjoying the summer ;-) It is for sure humid and hot here in the center!!! Have been a few weeks in Denmark and that was for sure nice. 25-30 degrees but with a low humidity. What lovely pictures and stories you have on your blog - as usual..... Would like to hear if you have any ideas for accommodation in Jerusalem - not to expensive. We are always staying for one day but would be nice with a real holiday in Jerusalem! Shavua tov!
ReplyDeleteLoved both of these photo's thanks for the informative history.
ReplyDeleteTina, shalom. Too bad you couldn't stay in Denmark until the sharav heatwaves are over .
ReplyDeleteSorry, I don't have any first-hand knowledge about accommodations in Jerusalem. The hotels must be very expensive.
The pilgrim places should be more reasonable. Or the convents.
Maybe call the Rosary Sisters on Agron Street. Or Notre Dame de Jerusalem. Or the Sisters of Zion guesthouse in En Kerem.
If you want inside the Old City, ask at Ecce Homo convent, or the Franciscans' Casa Nova. Maybe the Knights Palace. Lutheran Hostel? Austrian Hospice?
The Christian Information Center near Jaffa Gate might have a list of places and prices. See
http://www.cicts.org/CICmainin.htm
Please get in touch if you are coming to vacation in Jerusalem. :)
Hilda, I read that about it being the parish church on a website. Hope it is true.
ReplyDeleteSan Salvatore is a BIG basilica.
But remember we are talking only about the Christian QUARTER inside the Old City, not the whole Christian community of Jerusalem. The Old City is only 0.9 square kilometers in area, and the Christian Quarter is less than a quarter of that (the Old City is comprised of the Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and Armenian Quarters).
I remember this church vaguely, but not the staircase.
ReplyDeleteFrancisca and all who wondered about the stairs --
ReplyDeleteThis is the only place I know of where there are outside stairs on the city wall. And the wall is 4,400 meters long. About 8 old gates are the normal and only ways to enter and exit the Old City.
I don't know when and why these stairs were put up. (Will try to find out.)
Barbed wire, with all its ugliness, seems to be the most convincing way of keeping trespassers off the top of the wall and out of the monastery.
Dina, I'd somehow overlooked the point that this was part of the city wall. But now I can't help wondering what on earth those stairs are there for in the first place? They certainly don't look to me to be very sturdy for use or that hard to remove entirely...? (Still not convinced barbed wire is the only solution for keeping people out, sorry. :-) )
ReplyDeleteThank you for the additional information, Dina! Helped me understand better.
ReplyDelete