Camels in waiting

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Does this camel have its own prayer rug to kneel on?

The camel's handler was busy on his phone while waiting for paying customers.

A second dromedary was hitched to a fire hydrant, probably hoping someone would want to take a short ride just for fun.

From our bus I could see more camels on the other side of the highway.

It's a long outdoor market selling ceramics and souvenirs.
Gas station and restaurant.
And everyone knows the Last Chance coffee bar here.
It's on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, and it's your last chance to make a pit stop before the desert, before making the descent to the Dead Sea, hundreds of meters below sea level.
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(Linking to Camera-Critters.)
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Correction! -- The REAL conservator appears!

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Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate it today!
(I couldn't find a decorated indoor tree in the Negev to post, so this one up in our Meitar Forest will have to do. )

Being Jewish I don't do Christmas, but I DID get a present just now in the form of an unexpected comment.
Jerusalem Hills Daily Photo blog is honored and surprised to hear from Georgios, the actual restorer from Golgotha in the Holy Sepulchre!
He wrote

Dear Dina . My name is Georgios and i am the man in the foto. I am Greek and i was working in the conservation of the wall paintings in Greekorthodox chapel in Golgotha. We were 3 professional conservators from Greece and we restored and cleaned the wallpaintings ,the icons and the Jesus on the Cross. It was an unbeliavable and fansinating experience. Thank you for your fotos.

This is the man in my recent blog post title Overhead Work in the Holy Sepulchre.
If you missed it, please take a look now at the four photos of Georgios at work.

After trying to find information online about the conservation work, I confess that I  assumed him to be a different expert, and thus made a big mistake in that post.   :(
My apologies to all!  That will teach me to be more careful in reporting and to "assume" nothing.

Shalom dear Georgios,
Thank you so much for miraculously showing up here in the blog on (new calendar) Christmas Day!  Thanks for your graciousness in forgiving my case of mistaken identity.  And thank you for sharing with us how it felt to give your help to such a holy place as the Holy Sepulchre.
I wish I could have talked with you; I was so moved watching you work.  God bless you for your loving contribution to Golgotha.
May you have a blessed Christmas season.
With much respect,
Dina
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All candles brightly burning

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The 8th, final, candle of Chanuka tonight!

Tomorrow is the last day of the festival of lights.
The name of the 8th day is Zot Chanuka.  See why here.
According to tradition this last day is the essence of the holiday. 

Still unlit candles,  just waiting for their chance to shine.
What a difference, eh?  
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Chag sameach, happy Chanuka!
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Overhead work in the Holy Sepulchre

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In the 12th Station of the Cross I was surprised to see a man working ABOVE the heads of the many pilgrims and tourists.
I was there at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre a few weeks ago.
Had to take the pictures in the dark, so click a few times on the photos to enlarge them and see a bit of detail.

Everyone was waiting in line for a chance to kneel under the Greek Orthodox altar and touch the stone of Calvary.
Being Jewish and not Christian, this is not something I do, so I was quite happy to instead watch the work going on overhead.

UPDATE, CORRECTION!  The restorer's name is Georgios and he is from Greece (and not from the Jericho school, as I had wrongly assumed)!  Do see his wonderful comment below!
I also made a new post about him here.
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UPDATE: See also https://religionnews.com/2016/03/25/mosaic-restoration-jesus-calvary-jerusalem/
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(Linking to  inSPIRED Sunday  and Our World Tuesday meme.)
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A message from the Mosque of Omar

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In Jerusalem's Old City last week I peeked through the locked gate of the Mosque of Omar and was surprised to see this sign in the courtyard. 
It is apparently sura 3:51 of the Quran which quotes none other than Jesus! 
The banner says
[in Arabic:] There is no god but Allah. 

"Jesus Said:

'I am indeed a slave of Allah,

Allah is my Lord and your Lord,

so worship Him Alone.' "

The mosque, with its tall minaret, is right across the lane from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  
I wonder how many Christian pilgrims on their way to the church  pause a second to look at the mosque and at the unexpected message on its wall. 

The Mosque of Omar, built in the 1460s, has a fascinating story in itself.
You are welcome to read about it in two of my earlier posts. 
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Tomorrow is Friday, the Muslim holy day, and al Aksa mosque will be packed.  After the prayers big protests are expected against Trump's declaration on Jerusalem.  Palestinian officials have called for "days of rage."  Let's hope and/or pray that no one loses his life. 
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(Linking to inSPIREd Sunday.)

Choosing a prayer spot

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How many of us would conquer any shyness and just do the prayers wherever we find ourselves when the set prayer hours arrive?
Just put off your shoes, kneel down, and do the prostrations?
In Israel you see Muslims (well, mainly men) praying in many public open spaces.
Like this Bedouin father on the lawn at Beer Sheva's Soroka hospital last week.

While exploring the medical center's sprawling campus I discovered this dedicated [Muslim] "Prayer Room."

The door on the right, as you can see from the water running out, is the place to do ritual ablution before prayer.

Soroka's Prayer Room is open at these times during morning, noon, and evening for the five obligatory prayers.
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UPDATE: I read now that Soroka was the first Israeli hospital to open a Muslim prayer room, sometime before 2003.
After a petition was filed in 2013, the High Court of Justice instructed the six largest hospitals to also build such a prayer room.   See article in Haaretz .
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While this is not exactly the "inspirational" religious architecture that bloggers share every weekend at inSPIRED Sunday, still, I'm linking it to the meme.  And also to Our World Tuesday.
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Homemade gifts--but with a difference!

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City Daily Photo bloggers have as our December 1st theme the idea of gifts.

Lucky me--my sweet daughter recently came up to Israel from down in Australia for a short visit.
And she came bearing gifts. 
I was excited to see for the first time the fruits of her labor, her artistic ideas made into physical objects on her new laser engraving and cutting machine!
Like the replica of the Golden Record that was sent into space 40 years ago. (If you're too young to remember the launch of NASA's Voyager I and II, Naomi wrote about the record on her website.)

Another gift I love is Naomi's pleasant-to-the-touch cork coasters.
As she explains,  "These cork coasters are laser engraved with an image of a labyrinth inspired by the famous Notre-Dame de Chartres Cathedral labyrinth in France. The labyrinth has for centuries attracted people to walk its lines in meditation. Even on this smaller version, running your finger along the lines can bring about calmness and serenity."

These little hearts are really offcuts from the wood and acrylic that Naomi works with.
I gave a few as symbolic gifts to new friends and it really won their heart.

Just for fun take a look at some of Naomi's 90 unusual creations at her online Etsy crafts store called Eclipse9Laser.
You'll even find Tolkien- and space-themed Christmas tree ornaments now!
And more new and unexpected things every week.

As Naomi explains,
"In my previous life I was a university lecturer and researcher in aerospace engineering. I also worked as an engineer for Lockheed and NASA, designing satellite systems. I love all things aerospace, engineering and science.
Now I'm making cool (ok, geeky) laser engraved gifts and items - things that I love and find exciting. I hope you love them too!"

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A bizarre accident, 2 smashed cars

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This big Border Police vehicle managed to do a lot of damage to two parked cars on a main street of my town early last Friday morning, thankfully without injuring any people.

Police were already there investigating, and this one was measuring distances with his meter measuring wheel.

A parked towing wagon had also been hit and was on its side. 

I really wonder how and why this happened.
Click one or two times on the photos to get the full "impact."
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Gray on gray

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It was a cool gray day in Jerusalem today, with a few drops of rain.
Heavy clouds were sitting on Mt. Scopus at the end of the street.
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(Linking to SkyWatch Friday.)
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Olive oil by the barrel

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T is for tugging.

Dani, the in-charge of Kibbutz Gezer Olives had just driven two heavy barrels of our fresh oil back from the olive press.

And they had to be off-loaded to the entrance of the kibbutz bomb shelter where the oil would later be bottled.

American volunteer Ashlea took a whiff.

Dani made the taste test.

Ashlea got a capful of the precious fruit of our olive-harvesting labor.

Luke, a WWOOFer from New Zealand, tried it too.

Only I, as reflected in the pure oil, was busy with the camera and mercifully too busy to drink.
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UPDATE May 2018:  A brief video of the Kiwi volunteer Luke was just published! He talks about his good experience at Kibbutz Gezer.

(Linking to T-day at ABC Wednesday and OurWorld Tuesday.)
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Donkeys and olives

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My new friend, Malka! 

"THE HOME OF MALKA AND RACHEL" says the sign. 
Last year the donkeys lived in the kibbutz olive grove, grazing on the underbrush and contributing manure fertilizer.
But this year they were spotted eating olives (!) so they were moved to their own paddock, at least until we harvest all the olives. 

Nothing like a good dust bath on a hot day. 
Yes, it's still hot and dry in Israel, despite it being "winter." 

After she saw Malka roll over, Rachel had a go at it too. 

Two donkey friends and a cloud of dust. 

They are so sweet! 
Gotta love donkeys.
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(Linking to Camera-Critters.)

Volunteer fun in the olives

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Still having fun harvesting olives at friendly Kibbutz Gezer.
Starting my third week as a volunteer.
Here you learn new and exciting things every day.
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The olive harvest is in full swing!

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This is my 6th day living and volunteering at a nice kibbutz in central Israel. 
We are working hard harvesting olives.
The main method to get the olives off the branches is to "comb" them off with a plastic rake thingy. 

We spread long long tarps on both sides of the trees. 
The olives we "comb" fall onto the tarps, making a sweet sound. 

Finally we push and pull all the olives into the center of the tarp, kneel beside the pile and fish out a few twigs, and then pour the beautiful olives into a crate. 

More about life in the big olive grove in the coming days.
If you'd like to learn more about the place and the philosophy, please see one or all of these:
Olives 101
The Olive Blog 
Kibbutz Gezer Olives -- Facebook page 
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Come and join us, there's still a few beds left for more good volunteers! 
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Jerusalem tolerance: 2 wheels vs. 2 legs

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Our group of 28 older citizens of Meitar was touring Jerusalem last Tuesday.
We had just exited the New Gate and were trying to get through the narrow passage between the Old City wall on the left and the tramway on busy Paratroopers Road on the right. 
We had to quickly scoot over when a string of segway riders came whirring by! 
I was delighted but one of the oldies voiced his disapproval to the tourists for usurping his space. 
Maybe it was just envy, because I see on the SmartTour website that 
"All participants must be between the ages of 16-70, not pregnant and of a maximum weight of 270 pounds."
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An electrifying kiss

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Suddenly crazy dazzling streaks across my laptop and TV screens, then a huge flash of light outside my window and a loud PATZ!!  And then my place and the whole neighborhood were plunged into darkness. 
I grabbed a big flashlight and walked down to the corner to check the big electric pole, the one that says "HIGH VOLTAGE,  DANGER OF DEATH!"

Our town's security team was already there, calling the Electric Company's emergency repair line.
Curious neighbors were milling about and pointed out to me what had fallen from above to the hard pavement below.

One pigeon sitting on one high tension wire had touched a second pigeon sitting on a parallel wire, forming a short circuit and causing the big bang and their own electrocution!
Totally charred wings, so sad.

The poor pair of pigeons had only wanted to kiss each other good night.
Even in death they were locked together. 
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(Linking to Our World Tuesday, signs signs, and Camera Critters .)