Murals like historical photos

.

Finally, some murals to contribute to Monday Murals meme. 
These were on sidewalk level of a tall building in Rishon LeZion, now our fourth biggest city.
Rishon was founded in 1882 by Jews who came from the Russian Empire to farm the land of Israel. 

Here is the same old water tower in real life.

See the bell tower in back of the orchestra?   
Not many farmers could afford clocks or watches back then, so they relied on the bell-ringer to signal the times of day (or to warn of emergencies). 

Here is the same bell today, in front of the old synagogue and next to the history museum. 
You can ring it! 
.

The bells of Sonnenhof

.

The monastic Community of Grandchamp is centered in the French-speaking region of Switzerland and it has a smaller branch, called Sonnenhof, in the German-speaking area.
Here are some pictures of the Sonnenhof chapel during Advent.

Simplicity and silence play a major role in the life of the nuns and their volunteers and retreat guests.

The Community focuses on this icon, the "icon of the Holy Trinity," which depicts the visit of the three angels to Abraham and Sarah at the Oak of Mamre.

A small bell is struck once to open each of the four daily offices (prayers).

You can just see her silhouette here in the darkness in the cloister outside the chapel, but the sister is ringing the bell to call everyone to compline, the last prayer of the night.

This is the bell and knotted rope, with the village of Gelterkinden below.
.
UPDATE: To the folks dropping by from inSPIREd Sunday meme--you can see more about my monastic life as a volunteer for 2 months in the posts starting in November.
(Linking to inSPIREd Sunday blog.)
.

Der Sonnenhof, built in 1799

.
Here are some views of Sonnenhof, "the House of Silence [or: of Stillness]," where I was welcomed for several days by the six Grandchamp Sisters who live there.
It is a branch of the Community of Grandchamp, in the German-speaking part of Switzerland.

 
The back of the house.

The house was built in 1799.
See all about it at the sisters' website!

Seen from afar, alone on the hill.
It is indeed a quiet and secluded place, very special.

A sister rings the bell four times per day as a call to prayer.

The covered cloister leads to the chapel.

The view from the front door.  Below is the village of Gelterkinden.

Guests who come for retreats leave their shoes at the door.

The entrance, with mountains reflected.

Another bell.
Bells are important in monastic life as a call to prayer and meals.
They mark the rhythm of the daily life.

A vine in winter on the wall.
.
See my previous posts about Sonnenhof and about Grandchamp, where I am volunteering for two months.
.
(Linking to Our World Tuesday.)
.

Orthodox Holy Week in a dome

.

Orthodox Christians are now in Holy Week.
Here are all the events of Holy Week, starting with the raising of Lazarus, in one beautiful dome.
Click on the photo 2x to see all the details.

The dome is on the Orthodox church, St. Elias,  on the summit of Mount Tabor.

.
Kali thinamis, good strength, to the Orthodox Christian friends.
It has been a very long and strict Lenten fast for them.
.

Ring in the new year

.

Bells of the Greek Orthodox within the Holy Sepulchre

I will be glad to ring out the old year, so stained with blood, destruction, and plagues. 

Let's ring in the new year and strive for a more humane and just 2015. 

January 1 is World Day of Peace.  Make it so! 

.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem "Ring Out, Wild Bells" was written in 1850.

See how timely it still is.

.

City Daily Photo bloggers are today posting their favorite photos of 2014.

Take a look.

Most are from cities outside the Middle East so I reckon they will be happy pictures. 

.

Best wishes for a good year to you all! 

.

Jerusalem International YMCA carillon

.

A special treat in the weeks before Christmas is to hear carols right in the middle of west Jerusalem.
They come from the high tower of the Jerusalem International YMCA ( affectionately known in Hebrew as Yimca).

The carillon has 35 bells and was dedicated in 1935.
It is the only carillon in the Middle East.

The heaviest bell is a C tone and weighs 1,500 kilos.
It carries the inscription "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will to men."

The bells remain stationary but their clappers are moved by handles and a set of cable transmitters and springs.
In the playing room below the bell terrace, the oak playing console has 35 handles and 12 foot pedals, each connected to a clapper.

The YMCA carillon is played by Jerusalem-born Gaby Shefler.
His specialty is arranging Israeli music for the carillon.

To see how he plays and to read more, please enlarge the photo above.
(Click on it once and then click on the photo that appears.)
.
For more about the grand old Y you can see my previous posts:
"Angels we have heard on high . . ."  and  "YMCA, YMCA . . ."
or click on my label YMCA to see all four.
.
For fun see the Y staff and friends do a flashmob at the Mamilla mall, partly to the song "YMCA.".
.
UPDATE: Nice news in the Times of Israel: YMCA kids play at peace in Israel Museum
.

In the Russian bell tower

.
Ascension Day was my first time to visit the Russian Monastery of the Ascension.
(I showed you some of the graves there last Tuesday.)

Everyone knows its tall landmark bell tower; you can't look toward the Mount of Olives and not see it rising on the crest of the mountain.

And guess what!
This was the only way up the tower.
Needless to say, I climbed to the first level and not to the very top.

Right next to the convent we saw this big Muslim cemetery and a mosque.

Beyond, one sees the modern tower of the Hebrew University Mt. Scopus campus.
(You can enlarge all the photos here.)

To its right is the tower of the Lutheran Augusta Victoria.
Off to the top right, in the haze of summer heat--the eastern desert.
.
While we were up there looking out in all four directions, our tower's bells rang!
.
The guidebook says

Sent from Russia to the Holy Land port of Jaffa [on the other side of the country] in 1885, the bell weighed eight tons and was too heavy to transport by horse.
In the end a special wheel-shaped wagon was built to house the bell, which was pulled, pushed, and rolled by Russian pilgrims--most of them women--all the way to the Mount of Olives.
The trip took three weeks and several pilgrims fell by the wayside.
But eventually, singing hymns, the group reached Jerusalem and the bell was lifted into the tower.

Aviva Bar-Am, Beyond the Walls: Churches of Jerusalem

.
I hope you enjoyed this tour for Our World Tuesday and just a glimpse of a Muslim cemetery for Taphophile Tragics. Shalom!
Linking also to inSPIREd Sunday.
.

The Maronites

.

Shalom! Want to visit the Maronites today for That's My World?
Mighty nice place for ABC Wednesday's M-Day too.
.

Just ring the bell.
Well, OK, not THIS bell.
.

Look for the doorbell near this sign in the Old City, not far from Jaffa Gate.
.

Foyer Mar Maroun is a beautiful old (1895) guest house for pilgrims.
.
Their nice website says it has 27 rooms and that "The house is managed by Maronite Nuns from the congregation of St. Therese of the Child Jesus [Therese of Lisieux], who are also responsible for other parochial activities concerning the Maronite Parish in Jerusalem."
.

"The Maronite church is an Eastern Catholic Church on the seat of Antioch, in full communion with the Holy See of Rome.

Historically, the origins of the Maronite Church are to be found amongst those monastic and lay people who gathered around the saintly hermit Maron, an early 5th-century Syriac monk venerated as a saint. These Christians who accepted his way of life and worship were soon identified as 'those of St. Maron - the Maronites.' "
.

This is the only Maronite church in Jerusalem.
The local community is small.
Most Maronites live in Lebanon (see the Cedar of Lebanon on the altar?).
.
The liturgical language is Syriac (Christian Aramaic).
Hear some hymns in this ancient language at YouTube.
.

The roof of the Maronite monastery and guest house has a panoramic view.
Here we are looking east over the Old City and the Temple Mount to the Mount of Olives.
.
Would you like to book an overnight here? I would!
.

For the Japanese

.
Our hearts and prayers are with the people of Japan on this day of disasters.
And for friends like Kay of Musings who wait for the tsunami to hit Hawaii as they wait for word from relatives in Sendai and Tokyo.

( If you wonder why a Japanese Zen Buddhist temple bell hangs in a Jerusalem park, please see here.)
.

Braids, brooms, benches, buckets, and bells

.
UPDATE June 11, 2017:  For Western Christians today is Trinity Sunday.  But for Orthodox today is All Saints.  In Israel it is called the Feast of All the Saints of the Holy Land.  Here one of my earlier posts about the beautiful old Russian Orthodox Gorny convent and church in Ein Kerem, near Jerusalem.  See other posts about it here.
.
Bells, buckets, benches, brooms, and braids -- all for ABC Wednesday -- and all were found at the Gorny Convent (aka "Moskovia").
.
Russians built the convent in 1871, but the big church was "on hold" for over a century. Just a few years ago it was finally finished, complete with golden domes.
Click on the photo to better see the black bells in the belfry and the braided trees in the three pots.


Anyone know how they DO that braiding?!


Black-clad Russian Orthodox nuns often work with brooms around the brown benches near the older, smaller church.
.

Hung between the trees is a simandron (or nakos in Arabic).

Why this had to replace church bells during Ottoman times is explained in an earlier post.

And to hear my video of the simandron being hammered on (in an Armenian church), please click here.

Buckets are indispensable when you live in a rural setting.

Gorny (or Gornensky) Convent has a huge area within its walls.

It clings to the side of the mountain near Ein Kerem.

From my village it is just a 45-minute walk, but entering the gate is like stepping into another time and place, much removed.

(For more about Gorny see the official website of the Moscow Patriarchate - Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem. They also have a video of the convent in one of our rare snow days.)

.

UPDATE: Jedediah supplied a webpage about braiding a money tree, also with videos.

Vielen Dank, Jennifer!

.
(Linking to inSPIREd Sunday, the meme about houses of worship.)
.

Stone eagles on Mt. of Olives

.
We have been talking much about the Augusta Victoria complex on Mt. of Olives this week.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Ascension has a 60 meter tall bell tower.
When the church was built in the early 20th century, the four heavy bells came by ship from Hamburg to Jaffa.
BibleWalks.com says that bringing them from the coast "required rebuilding the road from Jaffa to Jerusalem."
.

Two stone eagles stand in the garden.

The Adler with folded wings is a German imperial sign representing unity and power.

.

What Kaiser Wilhelm II built in 1907-10 as a pilgrim hostel adjoining the church is today a hospital serving the Arab population of the Jerusalem area. (Photos will come soon.)
.

The sign shows some of the other nice things that call Augusta Victoria home.

.

Redeemer church restorations and reflections

.
R-Day at ABC Wednesday

Regretful rethinking of plans was called for this morning.
I had come to the Old City for a haircut but found all the Muslim places of business closed.
Then I heard loud booms and realized (hoped!) that it was from the Muslim ceremonial canons.
Right! It was Id il Adha holiday starting today!
.
Redeemer Church was right near, so I went in.
Its bell tower is the tallest structure in the Old City and the view must be great.
But the only way up is by a narrow spiral staircase. Sorry, I can't do that, not even for the blog!
.
Restorations!!
Yay, work is going on down in the bottom!
The present church was dedicated in 1898 by Kaiser Wilhelm II. But under it are medieval remains of the Church of St. Maria Latina. It was first built in the 8th century by Emperor Charlemagne.

I'm anxious to see what they do with it.
Please enlarge the photo to read all the sponsors and plans.
.
Reflected in the door of a chapel is the cloister.
The two-storied cloister is the best-preserved in Jerusalem.
Once the fighting Crusader monks of the Hospitaler Order of St. John lived there.
.
The cloister and the courtyard are a green oasis of peace and quiet in the middle of the bustling Old City.
.

The bell tower and dome of the German Lutheran Church of the Redeemer.

And way behind it, on the crest of the Mount of Olives, is the tall tower of the other Lutheran church at Augusta Victoria, named for Kaiser Wilhelm's wife.

.

Id mubarak to any of you celebrating the holiday today.

.