Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Foreign flags fly over the French Hospital

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In the previous post we went inside Jerusalem's French Hospital St. Louis.
Today I want to tell you, for ABC Wednesday, that foreign flags fly over the French Hospital!
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There's the flag of the Vatican.
Enlarge the photo if you don't believe me.


See the tricoleur above St. Louis? It was flown for le 14 juillet, France's Bastille Day.
And sometimes (or so the guides like to tell) you can even see our very own Israeli flag up there.

I'm pretty sure that the French Hospital is the only Vatican property in Jerusalem whose food is certified kosher by the rabbinate.
Jews and Muslims as well as Christians are hospitalized in this hostel for chronically- or terminal-ill patients, so the kosher certificate is important.

Six Sisters of Joseph runs the hospital together with 25 foreign volunteers and 60 staff.
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Sr. Hannah, an Israeli Arab, was very kind in guiding our group from Yad Ben-Zvi.
She even let us see the panoramic view from the roof.


Fortunately we hit the roof AFTER 16.00 hours.

In back of the laundry on the roof you can see another Vatican territory, that of the huge Notre Dame de Jerusalem.
(More about that pilgrim house under my label "Notre Dame.")
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Turning to the south you see the New Gate into the Old City.
The photo below is from 2009, when the tracks for the new light rail were still not complete.
This month the trams are making test runs along the tracks. Progress!


UPDATE Feb. 2014: An excellent little video about the hospice just came out.
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14 comments:

  1. I missed yesterday's post so had some catching up to do and I'm glad I did. Very interesting and cool alliteration for the title. ;-)

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  2. yeah, this is fascinating indeed.
    ROG, ABC Wednesday team

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  3. How wonderful to see that flags can provide peace, hope and calm.

    Impressed.

    Please have you all a good Wednesday.


    daily athens

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  4. Your posts are always so interesting, Dina. It sometimes seems you're giving us a look into a different world. Thank you!
    -- K

    Kay, Alberta, Canada
    An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

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  5. I always like it when ABC offers up some history too.
    Donna - ABC Team

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  6. This is funny: I'm pretty sure that the French Hospital is the only Vatican property in Jerusalem whose food is certified kosher by the rabbinate :)

    If I was terminally ill, I would also want to get into heaven by any means possible. Whatever it took.

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  7. So fascinating place. Many flags from all over the world for a real, lasting peace.

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  8. Many palaces and building in Rome are still flying Vatican colors outside the borders of Vatican itself.

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  9. Flags are always symbols of all kind of qualities and feelings: peace, war, hope,despair(white flag), joy, mourning( flag halfmast), nationality and pride. A flag is a thing to die for. In our concentration camp we were not allowed to own a Dutch flag. If a flag was found among your few possessions you were beaten.

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  10. Great post Dina! I forgot to say that!

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  11. A fascinating and fabulous post! I always enjoy coming by each week to see a slice of your life.

    leslie
    abcw team

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  12. Ciel missed one post, I've missed a handful! It scares me silly how fast the week goes by! I'm catching up to yours... amazing views from the roof, along with your foreign flags for F day! [No, I don't think there are a lot of black pigs... couldn't find out much about them, besides a hairless variety from the UK. :-D ]

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