Get yer Holy Sepulchre placemats

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For ABC Wednesday,  C is for CIC,  the Christian Information Center at Jaffa Gate, just inside the Old City.
I like to drop in and see what new exhibit they have, or what activities are publicized, or what is on their bulletin boards.

A year ago, in May, I was somehow taken aback to find table mats for sale.
Imagine eating breakfast on a placemat of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Only $5 each.
Really.  Click on the photo twice and take a close look.

The big poster with the Stations of the Cross is pretty nice, though.
Only 4 Euros.
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A parrot near Ecce Homo

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A bird cage on the Via Dolorosa?
Enlarge the photo with a click or two and see the parrot's tongue.

 

Someone is giving him a hand--encouraging escape?

Jesus too was held in a cell right near this place.
The arch you see spanning the Way of the Cross is the Ecce Homo Arch.
In the Praetorium prison Roman procurator Pontius Pilate said the words "Ecce homo!"
John 19:5 reads "Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, 'Behold the man!'"
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(A post for Camera Critters.)
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A capital idea. (And a bloody Ashura)

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 An ancient capital reflected in the glass ramp that leads to

the Church of the Flagellation,  which was originally built by the Crusaders in the 12th century.
The Convent (monastery) of the Flagellation now belongs to the Franciscans.

The external wall of the sanctuary is the 2nd Station of the Way of the Cross, marking the imposition of the cross.
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(A post for Weekend Reflections.)
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UPDATE: 

I see that many readers are freaked out by the name Church of the Flagellation (or Scourging).

It refers, of course, to the whipping Jesus got from the Romans in that place. 

But by some strange coincidence, I now notice that today is Ashura, a major Shi'ite holiday marked by bloody self-flagellation. 

I just saw a YouTube video from Lebanon but will spare you by not giving the link.

The Shi'ite men walk through the street in procession, rhythmically whipping their bare back with chains, or hitting their head and chest, or cutting their scalp with razor blades or swords.

The street is literally running with blood.

The most shocking is to see a few fathers cutting on the head of their young sons! 

I would hope our neighbors in the surrounding countries  could find better ways to publicly express grief and mourning for Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, killed in the battle of Karbala in 680. 
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For Tracy's meme in Brisbane

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Are our streets really "paved with gold"?

Jerusalem's Old City by night is full of shadows.
Here the striations (grooves) in the 3rd century Roman pavement make nice shadows.
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In a previous post you can see more of these paving stones and read how they came to be incorporated in today's Via Dolorosa.
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For Tracy's meme, Shadow Shot Sunday.
Tracy lives in Brisbane. Please pay her a visit or contribute a shadow to brighten her day.
She suggests contributing to the Queensland flood relief appeal.
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God bless Australia in this difficult time!

For the Armenians

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In honor of this day, let's visit the Catholic church of the Armenian rite located in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City.

This khachkar, or stone-cross, greets you in the courtyard.
Yes, today, April 24, is the Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day.

I read on an Armenian website that "A liturgy for the Armenian Genocide victims will take place in Armenian churches of Israel and Jerusalem Patriarchate of the Armenian Apostolic Church on April 24. The liturgy will bring together Israeli Knesset and government members, as well as representatives of the Armenian community of Jerusalem."

The main altar.

Down in the crypt everything is darker.

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This, the 4th Station of the Cross on the Via Dolorosa, commemorates where Mary saw Jesus passing with his cross.

The tradition is that Mary fainted or swooned or expressed her sorrow with convulsions of grief, hence the name of the churches that have stood on this spot since at least the Middle Ages: the Church of Our Lady of the Spasm.

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A solitary nun sat in silent contemplation in the small glassed-in modern chapel in the crypt.

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Whatever the historical facts and numbers of victims really are, may God bless the Armenian people, who carry their painful memory like a heavy cross, unacknowledged by many countries.

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UPDATE: Nestor at "Every day is a holiday" has posted a short thoughtful history of the events.
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A shop on Via Dolorosa Street

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How can it be Friday already??
Time again for James' meme, "Weekend Reflections."

I was trying to get a picture of an example of the famous Armenian tile work in a ceramics shop window in Jerusalem's Old City.
Now I see a whole street came with it, along with the sign Via Dolorosa Street.
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Good Friday. Polish art on the Via Dolorosa

Via Dolorosa, Via Crucis

Today's ABC Wednesday is brought to you by the letter V. Contributing blogs have various other Vs. Visit them at mrsnesbittsplace.

V is for Roman numeral V. The 5th Station of the Cross where Simon of Cyrene takes the cross from Jesus. Via Dolorosa is the Way of Sorrows.

Veronica wipes the face of Jesus at the House of St. Veronica, the 6th of the 14 Stations of the Cross in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Videotaping a procession.

Asian pilgrims walk the Via Crucis or Way of the Cross.

Very narrow streets, very many visitors.
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