This is part 2 of the collection of photographs published in the 1969 book "Jerusalem" by Colin Thubron. All captions are from the book. The photographer was Jay Maisel.
A group of
Arab women in typical Palestinian clothes – long muslin or floral dresses with
ample muslin scarves – climb the steps up to the Dome of the Rock. The pillars belong to one of eight stairways
leading to the shrine.
El-Kas, the
cup is the principle abolition fountain in the sacred precincts of the Dome of
the Rock and the Aqsa Mosque.
It is
surrounded by low stone benches upon which men sit to perform the obligatory
washing of hands, heads and feet before praying in the Mosque.
In the
Muslim community, piety arouses sincere respect, and no more so than when a
householder proudly displays evidence of a pilgrimage to Mecca.
During his
absence, the family of a pilgrim to Mecca traditionally paints the outside of
the house with patterns and symbols.
The patterns
once served as charms to safeguard the traveller, but now they are simply
decorations that advertise his journey.
Restored to
its original lustre with modern gold-plated aluminium, the Dome rests upon the
perfect octagonal of the shrine.
Over a
hundred-thousand sheets of brass gilt – Legend says that they were sheathed
with pure gold – covered the first Dome of 691. When it collapsed in 1016, the
Dome was re-built in sombre lead.
The
entrances to the Dome are orientated exactly to the compass; the South entrance
shown here faces Mecca. “God, the Eternal” is written in the right-hand square
above the porch, and repeated in mirror image on the left one, while Koranic
verse in the shadows under the arch exhorts the faithful to pray in the
direction of Mecca.
The
entrances to the Dome are orientated exactly to the compass; the South entrance
shown here faces Mecca. “God, the Eternal” is written in the right-hand square
above the porch, and repeated in mirror image on the left one, while Koranic
verse in the shadows under the arch exhorts the faithful to pray in the
direction of Mecca.
Two rings of
marble columns with gilt capitals – seen through the open bronze doors – form a
double passage-way around the interior.
The wooden
ceiling is decorated with enamel paints, and the columns are linked by thick
beams, overlaid with stone and bronze.
Ancient
columns taken from Roman and other buildings lift up the gilded Dome.
Seventy
century mosaics gleam beneath arched windows, some containing 16th century
stained glass. They help make the building a treasure house from different
centuries.
Under the
Dome lies the shrine’s physical and spiritual centre – the scarred and
chiselled Rock itself. The mysterious light filled hole may have been used to
drain blood from animal sacrifices in Israeli times.
No one knows
who cut the ridges along the top and right-hand edge, but devout Muslims
believe they were made by the Archangel Gabriel as he struggled to keep the
holy Rock from ascending to Heaven with Muhammad. The reliquary on the Rock in
front of the thick column at centre-left holds two hairs from the prophet’s
beard.
A kaleidoscope of arabesques, the inside of the Dome is the masterpiece of 14th century artists imported from India, who worked in plaster.
The Arabic writing in the circular bands near the rim and in the centre has been inscribed and re-inscribed by successive Sultans in the traditional Muslim manner of recording benefactors and their gifts.
Stepping out
into a quiet street in the Muslim Quarter, an old Arab wears a tasselled Fez.
This headgear
dates from the days of the Ottoman Turkish rule in Jerusalem, which came to an
end in 1917 when the British took over.
The domes of
houses bubble up over the Arab Quarter in the Old City. Rising above them are
the black tips of a few cypress trees, and a recent growth – a forest of
television aerials.
Suleiman the
Magnificent, (above right) attended by two courtiers in the Turkish minature, ruled Jerusalem
from 1520-1566.
The last of
the great Sultans, he beautified the city in many ways, before three centuries
of decay and corruption closed over it.
(above left) On the
furrowed skin of an elderly woman, dark tattooed patterns still show clearly.
Today the practice of tattooing women’s faces is rapidly dying out.
(above right) In a simple
act of faith, and unaware of everything except her devotion, a Jewish woman
kisses one of the rough stones of the Wailing Wall. A magnet for Jews from all
over the World, the Wall attracts thousands of worshippers every year.
A woman
reaches from the woman’s side to comfort her son. (At the Wailing wall)
Stationed in
the men’s section to give out ritual scull-caps to those who need them, an
official drowses in his glass booth.
Impatient at
a dearth of prayer tables, this man has relinquished a cart to bring one to his
waiting congregation.
A bearded Hasid
lights Hanukah candles to symbolise the re-dedication of the Temple after its
destruction by Antiochus Epiphanes, over 2000 years ago.
An air of
timeless piety pervades a Mea Shearim Street, with black garbed men in peiyot
or side-curls and women wearing wigs over their shaved heads. (Above left)
An air of
timeless piety pervades a Mea Shearim Street, with black garbed men in peiyot
or side-curls and women wearing wigs over their shaved heads. (Above right)
Under the
watchful eye of their Rabbi, the boys in a synagogue school sit at their desks,
ready to interrupt their religious instruction for lunch.
Although a
page in his Talmud is torn, this rapt scholar can recite for his teacher the
missing passages from memory after years of study.
An elderly
Hasid continues a lifetime’s devotion by silently scrutinizing the Talmud. The
Hasidim believe that such study helps to bring them closer to God.
(Left) At a
synagogue door two Hasidim speak Yiddish: many hold Hebrew to sacred for daily
use.
(Right) Bending to
ask after a crippled friend’s well-being, a Hasid demonstrates the concern that
members of the Mea Shearim community show for one another.
 |
(Right) A young Israeli policewoman directing traffic in the heart of the new City of Jerusalem combines an air of command with a certain chic.
She is a Sabra, and Israeli born and educated Jew.
|
(Left) In
one of the new Jerusalem’s main Streets, afternoon sunlight gleams on the
traffic which is thickening as rush hour approaches.
Buses belong
to the Nationalised bus company loom over small European built cars.
Shoulder to
shoulder blocks of a New Jerusalem suburb reach upwards into a tranquil sky.
Constructed
on rolling hills to the North of the Old City, the development is occupied
largely by recent immigrants.
The Curved
roof of the shrine of the book, in the grounds of the Israel Museum copies of
the shape of the lids of earthen ware jars in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were
found. Some of the scrolls are now displayed in glass cases inside the shrine.
(Below)
A donkey
stands patiently in the rain, waiting for its load of petrol cans to be filled
with kerosene. The fuel will be delivered to homes throughout the city to be
used for cooking and heating. Jerusalem Winters can be dismal.
His head
swathed in the age-old protection of the kaffiyehs, an Arab takes his afternoon
ease on the municipal grass of a well-kept Park in the new city.
A beggar
woman huddles against a wall on the broad steps leading down to the Damascus
gate.
The ornate
outline of the upper portion of the Damascus gate in the cities Northern Wall
frames the silhouette of an armed Israeli soldier, on the alert after a warning
of terrorist activity in the Muslim Quarter.
Christianity
symbols are produced by the boxful for tourist consumption.
An Arab schoolboy glances back into
the shadows of an arched passageway.
Such crooked narrow streets, many with
stone steps, lace the Old City. The ramp facilities handcarts delivering goods
to houses and shops.
Beneath stone arches dating from
medieval times, a milling crowd of shoppers and tourists fills David Street,
one of the Old Cities main thoroughfares.
A blind man,
marked as a pious Muslim by his white turban, approaches a Mosque. The boy may
be his pupil or perhaps just a passer by fulfilling his duty to help those
whose disability shows that God has touched them.
(left) Among the
relics of the British mandate period that survive in Israel, are a few red
letter boxes, incongruously marked with the insignia of George V. Some are
forlornly out of action, while others are still used.
(Right) In a new use
for the past, the stump of a Roman column serves as the base of a street lamp.
Against a
background of posters, a vendor sells bread, eggs and falafel – an Arab
labourer’s breakfast.
(Left) Robed in
rich brocade, a priest of the Armenian Church is prepared for mass by an unseen
acolyte before the Tomb of the Virgin.
(Right) Shrouded
against the wind, an Ethiopian Monk rests by his roof top cell
A tall
windmill in the Jewish Quarter of Yemin Moshe marks the first tentative Jewish
attempts, dating from 1860, to settle outside the City walls.
On a
hillside west of the city rises the symbolic tree-stump form of the John F.
Kennedy Memorial, the gesture of a flourishing Israeli State.
Under
Jerusalem’s walls two men, identified by their dress as Jew and Arab, casually
reduce to human terms the gulf between their people.
This video contains near all the pictures from this blog, set to music. No Captions.
Hope you enjoyed this little look back in time.
Sandra Barr
