As we have had a very late night, this will just be a short dispatch. We visited the Temple Mount today, seeing Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock up close. We were all extremely disappointed, however, that entry into the two sites is now forbidden for non-Muslims. That said, exploring the Mount (although only briefly because guards quickly herded us off) was quite an experience. Several of us discussed the hope of one day returning so that we might be able to visit the interiors of the holy sites after a more peaceful modus vivendi is established.
After the mosque, we toured archaeological ruins south of the Temple Mount. We then had our traditional lunch – this time served in a pita – after which we had an hour of free time to explore the city and do some shopping. We then re tuned to Ecce Homo to listen to Ophir discuss Israeli-Palestinian relations and later an influential professor and community leader about the Temple Mount and the Palestinian perspective.
We then had another quick dinner, after which we went to the home of an orthodox Jewish family. We talked to them both about the current conflict and about Jewish orthodoxy. We just returned, and it is already quite late, so I will stop here. All is well, and we are having a wonderful time.
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-Charlie
(Picture: Dome of the Rock with Dome of the Chain in the foreground)
Hello! I happen to know there is at least one stargazer in your group, so I wanted to pass along this news story:
ReplyDeletePARIS (AFP) – A few lucky people in the Indian Ocean will be treated to a rare event on Monday when an annular solar eclipse will transform the Sun into a dark disc with a blazing ring-shaped corona around its rim. According to veteran NASA eclipse-watcher Fred Espenak, the total eclipse track will run from west to east on Monday from 0606 GMT to 0952 GMT.
For those watching from the fringe of the track, the Sun is partially obscured, as if a bite has been taken out of it.
In an annular eclipse, a tiny shift in distance that results from celestial mechanics means the Moon does not completely cover the Sun's face, as it does in a total eclipse. Instead, the Moon covers most of the Sun's surface, and a ring-like crown of solar light blazes from the edge of the disk.