ONLY IN CANADA, YOU SAY!

Today is January 31 and our 2nd snow-day. Yesterday we woke up to blizzard-like conditions here on the Mount of Olives and looked down on a “paralysed” Jerusalem. It’s impossible for cars and buses to drive up At Tur St. from Wadi Joz. The hill must be close to 45 degrees, and without snow-clearing equipment or proper tires, there’s no chance of getting up the hill.

Donna and I have enjoyed the leisurely mornings with schools being closed for two days and the hospital administration absent. Living right next door, I went in to my office today to check email, and was the only one there. Fortunately some staff live in hospital dorms and so essential services were maintained. Nobody from the Guest House has been able to get to work, which has provided the opportunity for some pleasant socializing and good conversation over breakfast and lunch.

Yesterday we went out into the garden and made a snowman, much to the amusement of our Guest House friends who got a kick out of the crazy Canucks out in the blizzard. Our pix tell the story.

IN SUPPORT OF GAZA

Getting ready in Jerusalem

Collecting supplies at Erez Checkpoint for Gaza residents

Canadian volunteers presence

This past weekend we had the opportunity to participate in a peaceful protest that was organised to bring food and supplies and to show solidarity with the people of Gaza under the slogan “Stop the siege on Gaza: A demonstration for Gaza and Sderot”.

Some background: During the past week and a half, Israel tightened a 7-month blockade of the Gaza Strip preventing supplies from entering the area, claiming it to be a response to the Hamas rocket fire into the community of Sderot in Israeli territory. However, it has been seen by the broader community as collective punishment.

The prevention of basic food, water, baby formula, iodized salt necessary for healthy growth, medical equipment, and fuel has put the innocent majority of the 1.5 million Palestinian residents at risk. As well, Gazans desperately in need of cancer treatment have been prevented from leaving Gaza to get to Augusta Victoria Hospital, the only centre in Palestinian territory that has a linear accelerator for radiation treatment. The siege has also made the militants more popular because everyone is being thrown together as victims.

So on Saturday, January 26, a cold drizzly morning, we gathered in West Jerusalem to join up with a convoy coming from various parts of Israel to converge upon the Erez Crossing into Gaza. We drove through heavy rainfall, a blessing for the near drought conditions we’ve been experiencing this fall and winter, only to join the rest of the convoy under clearing skies and slightly warmer temperatures. As one woman expressed, “Rain for the soil and sun for the soul!”

It was a moving experience to be part of more than 1000 people—Israelis, Palestinians, internationals, the young, old, and all ages in between—converging on a meeting spot just outside the Erez Wall. As we followed a truck carrying many of the supplies that we’d brought for the Gazans, people waved flags and shouted slogans to “End the Siege”.

It was shocking to see the huge wall with the ferocious pit bulls and German shepherds guarding it. The Israeli police and military were out in large numbers but it was truly a peaceful demonstration.

Under the same slogan a demonstration was being held by Gazans inside the Strip. Speaking by phone from the Gazan side, the demonstrators were told that “We are joining hands today in the pursuit of peace, justice, and security for all—for Palestine, Israel, Gaza and Sderot”.

A 17-year-old resident of Sderot told of the stress of living under the threat of the Kassam rockets and expressed her thoughts, “I don’t trust either my government or Hamas to bring peace; but the fact that we are here together, Arabs, and Jews might be a beginning and it brings me hope.”

As of today, Thursday, the supplies are still housed in a Kibbutz on the southern side of the Gaza wall awaiting clearance by the Israeli authorities. To read more about the demonstration, go to www.aljazeera/eng.net ; click on Middle East; then Israel bars aid convoy to Gaza.

LIFE AFTER ISTANBUL

Bougainvillia in Guest House Garden

Augusta Victoria Hospital Corridor

Rosemary Radford Ruether

Daniel Barenboim in concert at

Ramallah Cultural Palace

Apologies to all our faithful readers for the inexcusable hiatus! Since we came back from our Christmas break in Istanbul we’ve been busy.

The weather here has been cold, but not like in Canada. We had a few days of about
- 3 to -4C at night and 5 to 6C in the day time. Today, January 25, it was + 8 to 10. The grass is now bright green and some flowers are still blooming.

Donna resumed her duties in the Palestinian Lutheran School System this week and experienced the “joys” of going through the Bethlehem checkpoint twice a day 4 days a week. The Israeli soldiers manning the checkpoints get pretty loud and aggressive at times. She’ll be giving an update on her work in the schools and archivist duties soon.

Dale is busy at Augusta Victoria. Management is focusing on preparations for a major inspection by the Israeli Ministry of Health at the end of January. As if that isn’t enough, AVH is preparing its part of the LWF annual report, and the Midterm Development Plan for both of which Dale is doing his share of research and writing. Construction of a new paediatric ward is underway. It will house ten beds and a child-friendly chemo therapy area. We are still waiting for CIDA’s decision on a proposal Dale prepared before Christmas to fund the addition of 12 beds to the present geriatric ward. In the network of six East Jerusalem Palestinian hospitals AVH has developed specialty care in adult and paediatric cancer treatment, adult and paediatric dialysis, geriatric care, and diabetes care. AVH is an exciting place to work in!

Apart from our work, we’ve done a few interesting things in January. We heard Dr. Rosemary Radford Ruether discuss her new book "America, Amerikkka: Elect Nation and Imperial Violence". She has enjoyed a long and distinguished career as a scholar, teacher, and activist in the Roman Catholic Church, and is well known as a groundbreaking-figure in Christian feminist theology. She talked about the dangers posed by nations who think of themselves as “chosen”, namely, the U.S. and, of course, Israel.

That same weekend, we attended a Barenboim-Said Foundation Concert at the Ramallah Cultural Palace in Ramallah. Daniel Barenboim played 3 sonatas by Beethoven to a standing ovation, plus Chopin’s Nocturne as an encore. Although he is a pro-Palestinian Israeli, and not very popular in Israel, the beautiful hall was packed with Palestinians, internationals and dignitaries from the Palestinian Authority and numerous consulates, including the Canadian. The concert was held to dedicate a new grand piano that had been donated by a couple of German women who had been impressed with Barenboim and the Ramallah theatre.

Dale attended a symposium at the Notre Dame Centre on whether or not Annapolis and George Bush’s visit to Jerusalem and Ramallah would bear fruit. One thing his visit did do was cause a day of major traffic snarls and business closures for kilometers around Jerusalem – all in the name of security. The opinion of the Palestinian on the street is that Bush is more trouble than he’s worth. Every Palestinian knows that U.S. policy favours Israel.

This past Thursday Dale played bridge with, among others, Mordechai Vanounou. He is an Israeli engineer who blew the whistle on Israel’s nuclear programme a number of years ago and spent 18 years in prison, 15 of which were in solitary confinement. Mordechai is now a Christian, a member of Redeemer Lutheran, and unable to leave Israel. He has just been sentenced to 6 months community service for breach of parole. An interesting guy! Google his name and read about him on his website.

Last Saturday we had dinner with a friend from the guest house, an Australian drama and English teacher, at the Seven Arches Hotel on the Mt. of Olives just above the Garden of Gethsemane and Dominus Flevit (The Lord Wept) Church. Beautiful view of Jerusalem from the restaurant!

Well, that’s the catch-up. We’re probably going to the Erez checkpoint at Gaza tomorrow to take part in a solidarity demonstration for the Palestinians in Gaza who are being blockaded by the Israelis and deprived of food, fuel, medicine, and access to cancer care at Augusta Victoria.

We’ll write about that later.

...ISTANBUL..NOT CONSTANTINOPLE!

Hotel Alzer

The Serpent Column

Obelisk of Constantine

German Fountain


Hagia Sophia

Blue Mosque

Kariye Museum

Dec. 28 at Sultana's

Basilica Cistern

Dervishes

Cruising on the Bosphorus



The Spice Bazaar

Topkepi Palace

The Grand Bazaar

Dolmabahce Palace

Barons II

After all the Christmas festivities we left very early on December 27 for our 2 ¼-hour flight to Istanbul. We’d booked a 7-night package deal through Expedia but were a little apprehensive about what to expect having never done anything like this before. However, we were delighted with our arrangements. We lucked out with our spotless little 21-room heritage hotel, the Hotel Alzer, friendly service, and perfect location in the Sultanahmet . We’d highly recommend it! http://www.alzerhotel.com/ Every morning we enjoyed a sumptuous breakfast on the 6th floor overlooking the Marmara Sea, Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia.

During our 6-day stay, we had a relaxing holiday and still managed to see the main sites in Istanbul. It is the only city in the world built on two continents, standing on both shores of the Bosphorus where the waters of the Black Sea mingle with those of the Sea of Marmara. The Golden Horn divides European Istanbul in two and it was in the southern area where we spent much of our time.

Our hotel was conveniently located near one end of the Hippodrome (horse race-track), all that is left of the once magnificent arena (historians report a seating capacity of 30 to 60,000) built in the 2nd century during the reign of Roman emperor Septimius Severus, and expanded to colossal dimensions under Constantine the Great. Here we viewed daily the Obelisk of Theodosius, an Egyptian column from the temple of Karnak. It rests on a Byzantine base and has 3500-year-old hieroglyphics.

Right in front of our hotel was the Obelisk of Constantine Porphyrogenitus which was once covered in bronze, subsequently stolen by the Crusaders. Between the two monuments are the remains of a spiral column of intertwined snakes, originally erected by the Greeks at Delphi to celebrate their victory over the Persians.

At the other end of the Hippodrome stands the octagonal, domed German Fountain, a gift from German Emperor Wilhelm II, made in Germany and installed in 1898.

On the other side of the Hippodrome stands the elegant, imperial, six-minaret Mosque of Sultan Ahmet I. Built between 1609 and 1616, it is known as the Blue Mosque owing to the dominant colour of the paint used to decorate its magnificent dome and interior, and the walls of the galleries on three sides of the nave that are covered by more than 20,000 handmade tiles from Iznik.

Across the road and beautiful park area is the Hagia Sofia, or Church of Holy Wisdom. This ancient basilica was built by Constantine the Great in the 4th century and reconstructed by Justinian in the 6th and is one of the architectural marvels of all time. Its immense dome rises 55 meters above the ground and is 31 meters in diameter. The interior contains stunning Byzantine mosaics.

Across the tram lines from Hagia Sofia is the entrance to the underground Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnici) so named because of a basilica once situated on the cistern. Built in the 6th century it supplied water to the palace complex nearby for regular summer use but also for times of siege. Fine brick vaulting is supported by 336 Corinthian columns; two Medusa heads which serve as the bases of two of the columns were discovered during a restoration project in 1984.

In the same neighbourhood is the Topkapi Palace, a maze of buildings that was once the great palace of the Ottoman sultans from 1462 to the 19th century. The first courtyard is a magnificent wooded garden. To the right are the palace kitchens, now housing a collection of crystal, silver and Chinese porcelain; on the left is 400-room Harem, the sumptuously decorated quarters of the wives and concubines of the sultan. The third court exhibits the sultan’s ceremonial robes and the famous jewels of the Imperial Treasury.

On the same grounds are located the Museum of the Ancient Orient which houses Hittite and other older archaeological finds, the Istanbul Archaeology Museum which contains an outstanding collection of Greek and Roman statuary, and the graceful Cinili Kosk or Tiled Pavilion, one of Istanbul’s oldest Ottoman buildings.

In a farther part of the city is the Kariye Museum, the 11th century church of “St. Saviour”, which after St. Sophia is the most important Byzantine monument in Istanbul. The walls are decorated with superb 14th century frescoes and mosaics on a gold background.

Almost next door to our hotel, the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts was built in 1524; formerly the Ibrahim Pasa Palace, the grandest private residence ever built in the Ottoman Empire, it is now used as a museum for many beautiful Turkish and Persian miniatures, Seljuk tiles, Korans and antique carpets.

A tram ride away across the Golden Horn and built in its beautiful waterfront location on the Bosphorus lies the Dolmabahce Palace; built between 1843 and 1856, it was home for some of the last Ottoman sultans. Ataturk, the “father” of modern Turkey, died here on November 10, 1938. The Ambassadors Hall is still used to meet with and entertain dignitaries from all over the world.

Mosques and museums weren’t the only attractions in this beautiful city. No trip to Istanbul is complete without a cruise on the Bosphorus. We had a beautiful sunny day for our 2-hour round trip from the Eminonu harbour. Following that we took a ferry to Uskudar and spent an hour in the Asian section of Istanbul.

Shoppers can’t miss the smaller Arasta (Old) Bazaar of the Blue Mosque, or the larger Spice Bazaar (Misir Carsisi) behind the Yeni Mosque. Here the air is filled with the enticing aromas of cinnamon, caraway, saffron, mint, thyme and every other conceivable herb and spice. But the most amazing bazaar is the Kapali Carsi (the Grand or Covered Bazaar). In this labyrinth of streets and passages are more than 4,000 shops with each trade having its own area. You will find goldsmiths, carpets, Turkish arts and crafts, leather, suede, cafes, etc.

For entertainment, one evening we attended the Sema (Whirling—Dervish—Ceremony) at the Railway Station performed by the Mevlevi Brotherhood, founded completely on love and tolerance. On Dec. 28, we spent our 45th anniversary at Sultana’s Restaurant for their 1001 Nights Belly Dancers Show with dinner in the Harem.

We saw the New Year in at Hotel Alzer’s New Year’s Eve multi-course dinner in the 6th floor dining room. We were seated with three people from the French part of Switzerland and had a chance to practise our French. At midnight we had a spectacular view of the fireworks that were being set off all over the European and Asian parts of Istanbul as well as the beautiful lights of the Blue Mosque in front of us.

We dined twice at Barons II, a Kurdish restaurant where you select your entrees on entering, and on our last night enjoyed a lovely meal and view from the top floor of Bodrum’s restaurant across from Hagia Sophia.

At 5 a.m. on Jan. 3 we left Hotel Alzer to fly back to Tel Aviv and return “home”. It was a wonderful holiday--we’d recommend Istanbul to anyone who hasn’t been there. We wish you all a safe, happy, and healthy 2008!

CHRISTMAS: DO NOT BE AFRAID

Carolling at the Brown's

Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem

Bishop Younan leads the recessional at the

Christmas Eve service

Manger Square in Bethlehem

Church of the Nativity in the background

Traditional location of Jesus' birth located in the Church of the Nativity

Christmas Eve dinner in Manger Square

Christmas morning before service at Redeemer Lutheran followed by brunch at the Holman's

Christmas afternoon in the guest house garden

Christmas dinner at the guest house

We knew that celebrating Christmas in Jerusalem was going to be different. It was a given that we would miss our family and friends. We couldn’t have the traditional Christmas gatherings we hosted in Kitchener, not here in our modest little guest house room. We knew we would have to pass through the separation wall and Israeli security to get to Bethlehem on Christmas Eve. If Joseph had been bringing Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem, their papers would’ve had to be in order. It just wasn’t going to be the usual Hallmark Christmas we’d enjoy back in Canada. So, what was Christmas going to be like in 2007?

Let me say first off that we looked much more closely than usual at the cards we received from family and friends. The messages in the cards were like hugs. And we were particularly overwhelmed by cards we received from Lutherans across Canada who had read about our work here in the Holy Land and wanted to wish us a Merry Christmas. Those good wishes helped to ease the heartache of not being with loved ones.

We also benefited from the kindness of those living around us. The special pre-Christmas events that we mentioned in our last article made the season festive for us here. We appreciated being invited to the Brown’s annual Carol Sing on the Sunday before Christmas. There we were treated to some wonderful traditional Danish food, in addition to the contributions of all attending, and to joining our voices with the talents of the musicians as we sang beloved carols and Christmas songs.

Christmas Eve really began about 3 o’clock in the afternoon. The Arabic, German and English congregations of Redeemer Lutheran Church gathered just outside the Jaffa Gate to board chartered busses to go the 5 pm worship service at Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem. The Israelis did their usual check but made the passage through the wall a little easier than usual. They even invited some bus passengers into a guardhouse to receive chocolates and good wishes. It was really a public relations photo op for the Israeli authority, but a pleasant change from the usual tedious routine.

In Bethlehem Christmas Lutheran was packed to the rafters, and then some. The Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, the pastor of Christmas Lutheran, was the worship leader and was assisted by the three Redeemer pastors. Pastor Raheb’s homily was based on the words from the scripture lesson read from Luke 2:10-11 “But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.’” Pastor Raheb focused especially on the words “Do not be afraid”.

He told us in his sermon that he had just been to a conference of Middle Eastern leaders. He saw how fear paralysed them, preventing them from living life to the full and focussing on a better future. Fear forced them to emigrate or become radical fundamentalists. Pastor Raheb told us that the birth of Jesus, which took place 2000 years ago just down the road from where we were worshipping, freed us from fear because Jesus’ birth showed us that God is in control. The sky is the limit and we are free to concentrate on the endless possibilities that are here before us. Jesus has set us free with the promise of God’s grace, Mitri proclaimed, and so we are free of fear and free to be agents of change for the better. We together can tear down the separation walls of this world. There is so much to do in bringing justice to the world that we don’t have time to be afraid.

The beautiful Palestinian Christmas hymn we sang after the homily sums up Mitri’s message beautifully. It’s called Laylatal Milad (On the Night of Christmas), and the refrain goes like this:

On the night of Christmas – Hatred will vanish
On the night of Christmas – The earth blooms
On the night of Christmas – War is buried
On the night of Christmas – Love is born

Words of hope in such a troubled land!

Bishop Dr. Munib Younan pronounced the blessing and benediction, and we were dismissed to the Peace Centre next door to Christmas Lutheran for a glass of wine and fellowship.

With a friend from our guest house, we ended Christmas Eve in Bethlehem by mingling with the 1000’s of pilgrims who had invaded Manger Square. We listened to the wonderful carols sung by the mass choir performing in the square, enjoyed a traditional meal of mousakan, revelled in the carnival-like celebration, and then made our way back through the Wall to the Mount of Olives and the guest house.

On Christmas morning at 10 am we worshipped at Redeemer in Jerusalem. It was a bittersweet occasion because we learned that Bishop Younan’s mother had died on Christmas Eve sometime after worship as result of injuries sustained in a fall.

Pastor Mark and Marcia Holman invited the whole congregation to their apartment for a potluck Christmas Day brunch at noon, and I think most of us showed up. It was a great fellowship, and then Donna and I walked up the Mount of Olives to the guest house. But that wasn’t the end of the Christmas festivities.

Long time residents Tony and Toshiko were busy preparing a Christmas dinner for twenty people including those of us left at the guest as well as some expatriates living on the Augusta Victoria Campus. We pitched in, and the result was a traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings. Yum! It helped all of us who were a long way from loved ones to overcome the loneliness of separation.

By midnight everything was cleaned up and we retreated to our room to make our eagerly anticipated telephone call back home. What a joy it was to speak to our daughters, grandchildren, and the rest of the family who were just sitting down to dinner at Deb’s, Donna’s sister’s home. A wonderful end to a wonderful day! The only thing that would have made it better would have been to be there with them!