Holy Lift Off
Possibly takes the cake for my favourite ceiling in the world. I love the geometry, the symmetry and how the lines at the top of the ceiling have an amazing depth to them.
This is one of the ceilings of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of Christianity's most important religious sites. For many Christians around the world, it is at this place in Jerusalem where Christ was both crucified and buried and for Greek Orthodox believers, the centre of the world.IsraelMiddle EastAsiaChurchOrthodoxAncientUNESCOarchitecturePillarsColumnssymmetricsymmetryTravelTourismReligiousHolySpiritualPilgramageJesus ChristArmenianGreek OrthodoxWonderRoofMonumentHistoricalCrucifiedEthiopian OrthodoxCathedralCeilingJerusalemChurch of the Holy SepulchreHoly SepulchreIndoorStoneLandmarkResurrectionDomeWorship
Praying for the Lost
Orthodox Jews pray and mourn the dead in the ancient cemetery on the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem.
From Wikipedia: "The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet ( Arabic: جبل الزيتون, الطور, Jabal az-Zaytūn, Aț-Țūr; Hebrew: הַר הַזֵּיתִים, Har HaZeitim) is a mountain ridge east of and adjacent to the Jerusalem's Old City.[1] It is named for the olive groves that once covered its slopes. The southern part of the Mount was the necropolis of the ancient Judean kingdom.[2] The Mount has been used as a Jewish cemetery for over 3,000 years, and holds approximately 150,000 graves, making it central in the tradition of Jewish cemeteries.[3] Several key events in the life of Jesus as related in the Gospels took place on the Mount of Olives, and in the Book of Acts it is described as the place from which Jesus ascended to heaven. Because of its association with both Jesus and Mary, the Mount has been a site of Christian worship since ancient times and is today a major site of Christian pilgrimage for Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant Christians."AsiaIsraelMiddle EastMonumentPeopleTravelCemeteryPrayDeathBurialHistoricAncientjerusalemPalestineContestedOrthodoxJewishJewMournMount of OlivesHolyRuinsHillsideTombJudaismRememberSpiritualReligiousReligionStoneRockGroupLandmarkCliffHillRoman
Holy Arches
The Dome of The Rock in Jerusalem. One of the most sacred Islamic sites in the world.
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Crocs on the Temple Mount
Finally on my fourth trip into Israel I was able to visit the Temple Mount and see the eye-popping Dome of the Rock, one of the most famous mosques in Islam, built in 691 CE commemorating Muhammad's journey to heaven.
Each time I had visited Jerusalem I had missed the Temple Mount entirely. Either because I was on a tour that decided to skip it or much to my own chagrin, I had poorly planned my visit and missed the small time slots allowed for non-Muslims to visit.
Thankfully this time I was not going to miss it and ended up going up the non-Muslim ramp beside the Western Wall in the early afternoon. Upon reaching the summit of the Dome of the Rock, I was greeted by the woman above who was asking for any spare change any tourist may have had. The one thing I couldn't help but notice was she was wearing Crocs on her feet. That's globalization for you.AsiaIsraelMiddle EastPeopleTravelCrocsJerusalemTemple MountGoldMosqueMasjidTempleHolyMuslimArabIslamReligiousSacredWomanPersonOutsideUNESCOWonderarchitecturewonder of the worldGolden DomeReligionBeggarBeggingDome of the RockLandmarkTourismTourist
