Jerusalem Knights festival

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Look! A knight and his steed once again within the walls of Jerusalem's Old City!

The knight's real feet were up on little stilts, well-hidden.
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The horse's movements were so life-like that even the tough policeman stopped to pat his white head.
BTW, they tell me that 15th century armor weighed 25 kilograms while the 21st century infantry soldier carries an equal weight of equipment.
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Enlarge this big map of the Old City hanging near the Jaffa Gate to read what to expect along the route in the Christian Quarter.

The Jerusalem Knights festival is taking place every Thursday night during October.

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You don't really have to look for the signs to know which direction to walk,

you just have to go with the flow.

Oi, I've never seen so many Israelis crowded into the narrow lanes of the Old City.

Pity those who came with baby strollers.
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But after seeing the royal reception, a leper, Greek muse, court jester, witch, Merlin and the giant, buffoons, jugglers, peddlers, etc., it was nice to hear the handsome troubadour sing.
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The slave market.

The royal music box, looking like the first computer.

Action at the Muristan Square!

The juggler twirled two flaming sticks next to the fountain.

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All these talented young people in the festival were from the Balbalu street theatre.

Old-style music under the arches.
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Not to worry, big guns are normal here.
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Hope you enjoyed this special tour for That's My World Tuesday.

Shalom from Jerusalem!

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Grand Priory of the Hospitaler Knights . . .

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A cat enjoys the shadow of a flagpole in the Old City of Jerusalem, providing fodder for both Camera-Critters and Shadow Shot Sunday.

Please enlarge the photo to read the history!

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The complex in back of this stone is called the Muristan (bimaristan meaning "hospital" in Persian).

After the Hospitaler knights left their headquarters on the Temple Mount, they took up residence in the Muristan.

The order was founded during the First Crusade and is also known as the Order of St. John.

These knights, entrusted with caring for the health of Crusaders and pilgrims, built a hospital here.

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As you can learn from the inscription, "the Grand Priory in the British Realm" followed their example in more recent times.

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Knights Palace

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K-Day today at ABC Wednesday.

At the end of Freres Street, next to the Latin Patriarchate, near the New Gate, in the Christian Quarter, inside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, is a small hotel.

It's the Knights Palace!

Before the middle of the 19th century, Jerusalem had no hotels. Only after mid-century, when tourism per se began to the Holy Land, were hotels built.

Pilgrims who came on pilgrimage had hostels for their meagre needs, but wealthier tourists from abroad wanted more comfortable accommodation.

Knights Palace dates mostly to the 1880s.

Even the restrooms in the lobby go with the knightly motif.

Some of the 50 hotel rooms (on the right, not the left!).

The Knights Palace website is here.

For a time, the building served as a theological seminary.

As you might guess from the KHS Knight's photo on the wall, the building is also the base in Jerusalem of the Knights of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

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AND . . . today is Michaelmas, the Feast Day of the Archangel St. Michael and All Angels!

As Nestor writes in his blog Every Day's A Holiday!, "Perhaps because of his position as the leader of the army of angels in Revelation, Michael became the patron saint of knights, whom fighters called upon in times of battle."

Happy Michaelmas to all Christians who are celebrating the feast day.

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Knights then and now

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II bestowed honorary knighthood on our president yesterday, appointing him Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George. Since Shimon Peres is not a subject of the Commonwealth, he (thankfully!) did not have to kneel upon receiving the honor and he may not use the title "Sir."

He is the first Israeli to be knighted. Mazal tov, congratulations Mr. President!

Photo: Amos Ben-Gershom, GPO ([Israeli] Govt. Press Office) in today's Ynet

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All this business of titles and honors is quite foreign to modern Israelis.

And knights?! The last time we had knights in the Holy Land is when Europe's Crusaders came riding in, killing and plundering.
They massacred the Jews as well the Muslims of Jerusalem.
Their kingdom here was short-lived, from 1099 to 1187.

(Click to enlarge for easy reading.)

The exhibits are in the wonderful Tower of David Museum of the History of Jerusalem.

From their website:
The orders of knights combined two Christian ideals: chivalry and chastity. Four such orders were based in Crusader Jerusalem: the Templars, the Hospitallers, the Teutonic Knights and the Knights of St. Lazarus.
The orders, each in its own way, took responsibility for the safety and well-being of pilgrims, and the treatment of the wounded and the lepers. Some of the orders provided an important military force to defend the kingdom as a whole.