Moon over Meitar

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The moon gets so big so quickly, no?
This picture of the crescent moon with some planet under it is from just two weeks ago, and tonight our moon is full and harvest-y. 

You see people in Meitar's athletic field, a grassy soccer field surrounded by an oval running track. 
On the left is our new "Culture House" and next to it Meitarim School. 
You can click a few times to enlarge the photos. 
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(Linking to SkyWatch Friday.)
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Night hike to a Byzantine-era cistern!

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A cistern from the Byzantine period, right in my town's backyard, near the Meitar Forest!
Some 1,500 years ago people (farmers? monks? villagers?) collected and stored rain water  down there in a big plastered cistern.

I edited the first photo lighter so you could see the nice handwork, how the folks carved out the stairs and entrance in the soft chalk.
But actually we were out there in  the dark, after 8:00 pm!

The group of about 20 was fortunate to have our neighbor, Dr. Zeev Zivan, as our gude.
The hike was part of the worldwide Jane's Walk  global festival of citizen-led free community walks.
Here Zeev was explaining the blaze for the Israel National Trail.

The whole walk to the wilderness was only an hour and a half but we were blessed to witness both sunset and moonrise.
I came home exhilarated, feeling lucky to live so near the desert and its ancient history!
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The stuff of archaeologists' dreams

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The "4th International Festival of Light in the Old City of Jerusalem" is in full swing.

This animated line of dig "volunteers" swinging buckets of excavated dirt from one to another was my favorite part!
It looked so life-like I wanted to join them!

Enlarge the photo and you can find the one guy down on the ladder, heaving the heavy buckets up over his head.

Meanwhile projectors went on and off, highlighting different areas of the big dig going on at the Givati Parking Lot.
It's just outside the Old City wall, next to the City of David.

Adding to the atmosphere was the background music--the clicking of many small pickaxes on ancient stones.
From time to time pictures of the discovered treasures lit up the back wall.
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These scenes in the quiet Jerusalem night were heartwarming; I felt proud and lucky to be an archaeology worker in Jerusalem.

This best part of the Light Festival could very well be an illustration of what archaeologists dream about at night.
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Written on stone

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Yesterday the nation celebrated Jerusalem Day.
Forty-five years already since the Six Day War ended, allowing Jerusalem to be put back together.
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The photo is from June 2010 when the Jerusalem Light Festival lit up Damascus Gate in many grand ways.
Yes, it's true, We love Jerusalem.
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Lights out! Earth Hour tonight in Israel

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Lights out!
Tonight Israel takes part in Earth Hour.
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And for the sky-watchers at SkyWatch Friday here is a full moon rising over Jerusalem (on the horizon) as seen through my neighbors' gate lamp globe.
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Israel is doing the lights out thing tonight instead of on Saturday night like the rest of the world's 6,000 participating places.
Flipping electric switches (which is considered work) would be complicated for Jews who strictly observe the Sabbath, which ends sometime Saturday night.
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Twenty cities will be powering down tonight in this order:
20:00 – Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Yerucham, Modi’in-Maccabim-Reut
20:10 – Jerusalem, Dimona
20:20 – Petach Tikva, Nes Tsiona, Ra’anana
20:30 – Netanya, Rehovot, Arad, Eilat, Yavne
20:40 – Ashdod, Givataim, Herzlia, Bat Yam
20:50 – Holon, Haifa, Yokneam
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Life and Environment, (Israel's umbrella organization for environmental NGOs), will announce its Green Globe awards today in recognition of outstanding contributions to the environment as well as its annual Black Globe for damage done by an individual or entity to the environment.
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I just hope we can see a lot more stars for even one hour without all the light pollution.
Good night!
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Jerusalem by night

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Our Calatrava bridge is still quite new and I still find it exciting when our bus passes under it, especially at night.

(And especially when I am in search of bridge shots for Louis la Vache's "Sunday Bridges.")
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From the bus you get a nice view of the "strings" of the Bridge of Strings.

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And even the sidewalk has lights inside it.

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Zion Gate by night

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On a cold and rainy night last week we walked out of the Old City of Jerusalem through the Zion Gate.
But not until this little car exited. There is no room for both pedestrians and a car.
The bigger cars have to maneuver, with at least one backing-up, through the angled gate.
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They can blame the Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. He built the city wall (on top of a much older one) in 1540.
He made the Zion Gate, as well as the Jaffa and Damascus Gates, angled in order to prevent invaders from charging straight through.

Archers could shoot arrows from the top of the wall.
Through the opening just above the arch the defenders could pour boiling tar or oil on an attacking enemy.
Iron rods could be pushed out from the long slits on the left and right of the gate to stop enemy chariots.
The sharp turn to the right made it hard for horsemen holding a sword or javelin in their right hand to overcome defenders on the inside attacking them from their left.
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Even in modern times the Zion Gate has suffered, as the many bullet holes from the 1948 War of Independence testify.


The pavement around the gate, when wet, is only slightly less slippery than it looks.
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Zion Gate underwent six months of restoration in 2008. A good photo of the work on the Sultan's dedicatory plaque is here.
Wikipedia has a brief history of the gate.
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Hope you enjoyed your night journey to the Holy City.
For more tours around the blog world, check in to That's My World Tuesday tonight.
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Zero degrees C in Jerusalem tonight

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I braved the driving, freezing rain this afternoon to go up to Jerusalem.
An American friend is here on a whirlwind guided tour and this was the only free hour she had.
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The group's Inbal Hotel enjoys a view of Mount Zion.
That is the church and bell tower of the Dormition Abbey on the horizon.
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Here is the Dormition up close. The basilica was dedicated in 1910.
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Pastor Suzanne dragged me out into the cold and wind and rain to visit the Old City and, just outside the Old City, Mount Zion. All for night shots.
Can you tell that my friend is a photo blogger? :-)

Hagia Maria Sion, as the Dormition is also called, is an abbey of Benedictine monks.

Their website is in German and English.

For more pictures and info you can also click my "Dormition" label.

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Jerusalem is beautiful by night!

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Al-Aksa by night

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Night in the Old City.
Al-Aksa has a dome of black lead, but illuminated at night it shines like gold.
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To learn more about the world's second oldest mosque and to see photos of its interior, please go to Sacred Destinations. To read about al-Aksa as told by Moslems, please click here.
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NIGHT is the August 1 theme at City Daily Photo which has grown to over a thousand bloggers.
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P.S. To answer Leif Hagen and other readers who asked why Jerusalem Hills Daily Photo does not appear on the portal of City Daily Photo . . . Well, when I began blogging I intended to join the group but soon discovered that it was impossible to limit myself to the one-photo-per-day rule; so I assumed JHDP would not qualify for membership.
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Would you believe?? There is a Monastery Daily Photo! Pay the blogger-monk a virtual visit and get the inside story of monastic life.
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Yalla, shalom and blessings to all.
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Bioluminescence

Tiny but awesome, eh? For three nights in a row this creature (actual size) was glowing in exactly the same place on the concrete steps outside. The last few nights it was on the wall next to the step.
Any of you nature mavens know what this bioluminescent insect might be??

I go out walking in the cool of the evening and often return after dark. Hope this doesn't sound pathetic, but it IS nice to have someone waiting for me with the light on. LOL!

Other animals, bigger ones, are waiting for your visit this weekend at Camera Critters.

Nightlife

"Nightlife" in our moshav. :) No "city lights" for us in this secluded rural village in the Jerusalem Hills. The only big, brightly lit buildings at night are the chicken houses. Cackle cackle!
Fine with me! And the glowing cat seems content as well.