old city jerusalem...interesting and diverse...

one weekend i visited jerusalem and

was able to meet and spend time with

donnovan and elana graber

elena and i overlooking the western wall

in the jewish quarter of the old city...

the western (wailing) wall

young orthodox boys run ahead of their older brothers

as they come back from praying at the wall...

the arab quarter of the old city was very busy

as it is during the muslim holy month of ramadan

when for a whole month muslims are required to

fast all day and only eat at night...

buses line the streets bringing muslims from other

cities to the mosque in jerusalem to pray...

walking through the arab quarter of the

old city at night...

after prayers, people flood the streets of the

arab quarter of the old city...

muslim holy men talking with young

men sitting in the plaza...

elena and i overlooking the kidron valley...

down in the kidron valley

(below old city jerusalem)

looking up at the highest corner of the

old city walls...

it is believed that it is from this corner that

satan tempted jesus to jump, as it is the highest

place on the old city walls...

elena and i standing on a tomb in the kidron valley...

now on the other side of the valley,

behind us is the golden gate of the old city...

at this time the golden gate is sealed closed,

but it will be the gate by which the Messiah

will enter at His return...

christian graves in the kidron valley,

below the golden gate...

some believe that those closest to the golden gate

will be the first to ressurect at the return of the Messiah

repair men on top of the golden gate...

police blocking a road

(i'm not for sure why...)

a street in the old city...arab quarter...

another old city street...

an ancient roman game still visible

carved into the floor stones...

up on top of a hotel, we can look down

at the activity in the street below...

elena and i on the roof of the hotel,

very close to the muslim dome of the rock mosque...

israeli settlers who managed to purchase this building

in the arab quarter of the old city

have posted guards at all times

to ensure their safety...

another roof-top sight -

wash hung out to dry...

a palestinian mother and daughters

sell herbs and spices along the street...

random things i have been doing...

at a falafel stand in ramla...
(ramla is the closest town to where i live...)

the guy is frying up fresh falafel for us...

(falafel is made from garbanzo beans and spices,

fried in balls and then put in pita

with humus, tomatoes, pickles, lettuce, french fries, etc)

making falafel...

an outdoor market - called a "shuk" (shook)

ilana (the midwife i'm working with) at the shuk

(notice how the lady on the right who is selling the stuff

has a white bag on her head to keep off the sun...)

the beautiful andalusian horse for which

"andalus ranch" is named...

andalus ranch, a beautiful stables in the israeli

countryside, where i have been helping out

several days a week...

andalus ranch offers riding lessons,

as well as specializing in theraputic riding

for mentally and physically disabled children.

here karen, one of the head theraputic instructors

gives a lesson to a young boy...

a beautiful sunset on the beach in tel aviv...

tel aviv at sunset...

planes fly over to land at the

ben gurion international airport

in tel aviv

me on the beach in tel aviv...

fishermen going out with their nets...

an interesting indian instrument played

by the father of one of the births

that i assisted with...

bethlehem...

i enjoyed a picnic with some very sweet Fillipinos

who work here in israel as care givers...

me with rosalie...

after attending a palestinian church in east jerusalem,

i was invited to also visit their sister church

which is in bethlehem.

driving to the church in bethlehem

a pastor from india who is in israel helping at

The House of Prayer gave the message in english,

which was then translated into arablic.

i stayed overnight in bethlehem, which is under the

control of the Palestinian Authority,

and is not accessible to israelis.

a bethlehem bus stop.

with jihan...

(one of the friends i made in bethlehem)

inside the church of the nativity in bethlehem...

built on the traditional site of Christ's birth...

holding an ude - a traditinal arabic instrument

jerusalem...

friday evening nataliya and i went outside of jerusalem

to enjoy a peaceful evening...

here i stand by a plaque commemorating trees

planted by the kennedy family

a museum...we weren't sure exactly what it

was about because it was closed for Shabbat.

overlooking the hills around jerusalem...

some boys and their horses enjoy the warm,

quiet afternoon...

nataliya and i at another overlook...

we were able to find a quiet place and pray together

it was very peaceful...

the name of the community in jerusalem

where nataliya lives...

nataliya and i also visited the church where

john the baptist is buried...

a spring where tradition says that mary the mother of jesus

met elizabeth the mother of john the baptist...

a stone walkway

an arbor covered with vines...

a perfect place to rest on a hot, summer afternoon...

a huge, massive aloe plant!

a chevy pickup...NOT a common sight in israel!

saturday afternoon, nataliya and i met up with daniel

and his friend, nate.

daniel is another friend that hannah and seth

met while in israel in 2007.

we all had lunch together...some awesome tasting

lamb at an armenian restuaraunt in the old city...

we went to another ancient church in

the old city...

(i'm sorry, i forgot the name...there are too

many old churches! lol)

crosses carved out by pilgrims who came to

this church during the crusaders time...

a holy stone that people were lining up to

kiss...i think they say it was where Christ

was laid while in the tomb...

but can't remember exactly!

candles lit by pilgrims...

an arabic butcher/meat shop...

have some fresh meat somebody!!

even though it was Shabbat, in the arab

section of the old city, business was as usual...

(arabs do not honor shabbat, and are not required

by israeli law to do so in their sections of the city...)

on the via dolorosa...

behind me is the pool of bethesda

where jesus healed the impotent man (john 5)