New Video on my trip to Karakorum mountains

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I7tgSubcbk

I'm back!

I'm back in the USA after a year in Jerusalem (and two weeks in Central Asia).  I'll start blogging again soon, using all the materials I've been gathering over the past year.

On a value of prayer

So I was kicked out of another church today.  This time, Russian Orthodox church of Alexander Nevsky.  (What has Alexander Nevsky to do with Jerusalem, you might ask.  Don't.)  

The church has "judgement gate" an old Roman/Herodian gate, onto which the gate of the Holy Sepulcher was built, so it has the largest archaeological remains of Constantine's original church.  There was a nun praying there, intensely chanting and occasionally bowing.  So I set up my tripod and camera and went to work.  I took two 360 panoramas, and several dozen other pictures of everything of interest, all the time taking care not to disturb the nun in her prayers.  After about a half an hour of photography, the nun stopped her prayers, looked and me, and said, in Russian, "you can't take pictures here."  Considering I was actually done photographing, I didn't object, but was quietly expelled.  I don't know if the nun was so intense in prayer that she hadn't noticed me, or if she was annoyed for a half an hour, but refused to stop her prayers to throw me out.  At any rate, because of her intense devotion, I got to take all the pictures I wanted before being expelled.  

The outer wall of Constantin'e Church

Herodian stones = stones with Herodian bosses reused in the Holy Sepulcher, quite possibly from the Temple Mount.

The inner wall of the main gate to Constantine's Holy Sepulcher

The nun at prayer before the stone where Russian  tradition holds Christ fell while on the way to Golgotha.

I'm an anti-Semite?

So, I'm walking down the street minding my own business, and American-Israeli walks up to me and says, "will you sign a petition to Pres. Obama calling for an undivided Jerusalem?” I said no thanks and continued on my way. On the way back I saw this guy again and he asked the same question I said no thanks. Couple days later, I'm walking through the same place, the Mamila mall, and the same guy is there asking the same question. So I said to him, “sorry, you asked the same question yesterday.” And he says, “did you sign the petition then?” I said no, and he said, “why not?” So I said, “do you really want to get into a political discussion?” And his reply was, “anyone who does not support an undivided Jerusalem with Israeli control of the Temple Mount is an anti-Semite.” I started laughing and walked away. 

Nice evocative video on Heavenly Ascent

by David Larsen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bSjS1DphbA

Israel's Stonehenge (Gezer)

Some new slides from Gezer
Aligned Standing Stones

And Edfu in Egypt:
Exterior
Great Hypostyle Hall

Video on the High Place of Gibeon and tomb of the prophet Samuel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoeUbd3sUqc