Isreal

• The territory of Israel is not large, but its history is extensive and complicated. I thus have to invite you to the Wikipedia page for the history and geography of this country.

  Rick Steves is a great story teller.

• Rick Steves is a great video story teller. Let us look at his videos.
  1. Holly Land. History.

  2. Best of Israel. Jerusalem.

• Like many of you, I am interested in the life of Jesus. I have a a strong Christian background.

• Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and was crucified in Jerusalem. The city of Bethlehem is now in the territory of Palestine. Click here for the city of Bethlehem.

  Jerusalem is a big city now. It started with a small walled-city now called the Old City. Most of the historical sites are within this Old City. There are four distinct quarters within this Old City, there are Christian, Jewish, Moslem, and Armenian quarters. I can understand why there are Moslem, Jewish, and Christian quarters, but I still have to study why Armenians are so prominent in this city.

• In 2019, I was fortunate enough to visit Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in Israel. I took many photos, and I would like to share some them with you.
  1. I stayed at a Christian hotel called "Hotel Notre Dame" located just outside the Wall of Jerusalem. From the roof-top terrace of this hotel, I could see the entire city of Jerusalem.

     The most prominent place is the Golden Dome. Its history starts from the time of Abraham, and it is now one of the holiest places for Moslems.

  2. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is also seen. This church is under the two blue domes in this photo. One of the domes cover the area where Jesus was crucified, and the other dome is above the tomb of Jesus where he resurrected.

  3. The Wall with the "New Gate" is seen from the roof-top terrace. The New Gate is not so new. It was carved to the Wall in in 1889, but is new in the long history of Jerusalem. This gate leads to Christian Quarter of the Old City.

  4. There are of course many Palestine people in this city, and they are Moslems. However, there are a small number of Palestinians who are Christians. They come to this Christian hotel to enjoy themselves. They speak fluent English, and I spoke with them and had this photo with them.

  St. Helena in St. Peter's Basilica at Vatican City in Rome.

• Jerusalem consists of hills, and one of those hills is called Mount Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified. During the early Roman years, this area was a scary place where criminals were executed by crucifixion. Their ghosts were roaming around. Jesus was one of those so punished by Romans.

  This hill is now a holy place. During the Constantine period (304-337 AD) of the Roman Empire, St. Helena (mother of Improper Constantine) built a huge cathedral covering the spot where Jesus was crucified and the tomb where he was buried. According to the Christian doctrine, Jesus resurrected in his grave and ascended to Heaven (Sunday) two (three) days after the death (Friday).

  As a man of Christian background, I was keenly interested in visiting this cathedral for many years. In 2019, I was fortunate enough to visit Israel on my route to Minsk (Belarus) for a conference. I took many photos there.

• The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is in the Christian quarter of the Old City.
  1. Entrance to the Church. There are many visitors from many different areas of the world.

  2. As soon as you enter, there is the the spot where the body of Jesus was prepared for burial after taken down from the cross.

  3. Mosaic depiction of Jesus being prepared for burial.

  4. There then is a with large worship place with a giant pipe organ. This organ is played by a nun.

  5. Catholicon for the Greek Orthodox church is attached to the main worship place. The Christian affairs of this church complex are managed by the Greek Orthodox Church. Why the Greek Orthodox? For many centuries, this area was dominated by the Ottoman Empire, which included the territory of Greece. Thus, Christians in the Empire were Greek Christians.

• In the same building, let us go to the place where Jesus was crucified.
  1. These steps trace the final route Jesus took with his cross to the point of crucifixion.

  2. This is an image of Jesus on his cross.

  3. This is an Another view of Jesus on his cross. Two women are easily identifiable: Mary and Magdalene. How about the man. I think he is Nicodemus. My reasoning is from this webpage.

• Let us go back to the worship place. On the left side is the front facade of the Tomb of Jesus.

  1. This is a full view of the Tomb of Jesus.

  2. This is the dome above the tomb.

  3. I am touching the outside wall of the Tomb.

  4. This is the entrance to the Tomb, and many people are waiting to enter the Tomb.

• Also in the same cathedral building, there is a chapel dedicated to St. Helena. St. Helena initiated the idea of building this church and supervised its construction process. She was Emperor Constantine's mother and played the pivotal role in converting the Roman Empire to a Christian empire.

• Click here for more photos and stories of this church.

  1. Click here for a video about this church.

  2. The Garden Tomb was discovered in 1867, and is regarded as some Protestant Christians as the true burial and resurrection site of Jesus. It is about 5km north of the Church of The Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Some people worship there.

• Via Dolorosa is the route Jesus took with his cross from the Roman court of Pontius Pirate to Mount Golgotha.

  1. Many people these days walk through this route with a cross to show their respect for and belief in Jesus.

  2. They stop at the places where Jesus fell down and conduct prayer services.

• Western Wall is another important place in Jerusalem. Its history starts from King Solomon.
  1. I was there, and I touched the Wall.

  2. It is a very religious place for Jewish people. They worship and pray there.

  3. According to their tradition, men and women pray at different places. There is a wall between the two places.

  4. This area is guarded by Israeli soldiers, and this is their flag post.

  5. I talked with the soldiers in duty. They were with the M-16 rifles made in USA. I told them, they are like toy guns, compared with M-1 rifles American and Korean soldiers used in the Korean war. They said they heard about those heavy rifles, but have not seen them. I always enjoy talking with soldiers.

     During their Independence War (Palestine War, 1947-49), Israeli soldiers used German rifles. In 1945, German was dis-armed, their rifles were available in black markets. Israelis smuggled them into their territory.

  Armenians in Turkey (1997). They are Christians.

  The oldest Christian church in Yerevan (Armenia).

• Armenians in Jerusalem. This is an Wikipedia article about Armenians in Jerusalem. Armenia is a small country, but Armenians are known to be very proud of themselves. There are many Armenians in Turkey, because Armenia and Turkey share the same border. It is well known that those Armenians had problems in Turkey. Armenians are Christians and Turks are Moslems. I had a photo with two Armenian ladies when I was in Istanbul, Turkey in 1997. They are Christians.
  1. In 1998, when I was in Yerevan (capital city of Armenia), I was told that the first Christian church was built there. Indeed, I was at that church , and had a photo of myself there. At that time, the church was being reconstructed . It was an abandoned place for many years when Armenia was one of the provinces of the Soviet Union.

     Unlike Turkey, Jerusalem is far away from Armenia. The question is how and when those Armenians came to Jerusalem. Go to this Wikipedia page for an explanation.

• I took photos when I was there, and I would like same some of them with you.
  1. While I was staying at the Hotel Notre Dame, I met this Armenian lady with her Armenian dress. She was managing a small gift shop in the hotel selling traditional Armenian items. She said she made this handbag with her hands.

  2. There is an Armenian medical center in the Armenian Quarter.

  3. This show window displays ceramic products with Armenian decorations.

  4. The Armenian church serves as both the worship place and community center for Armenians. I am standing with Armenians at the entrance of this church.

  5. This is the mosaic depicting the world of Jesus above the entrance.

  6. This is the interior of the church. There are many items hanging from the ceiling. I assume this tradition came from the old days without electricity. The church had to be illuminated by hanging lanterns.

  7. Here is another view of the interior many things hanging. A priest is praying.

  8. This is the main altar of the church. Armenia style of course.

• Tel Aviv is Israel's largest city, even though its history is much shorter than that of Jerusalem. Tel Aviv served as the capital city of Israel until 1967 when the Israeli army captured the entire city of Jerusalem.

  This is a port city and became important while Britain was controlling this area including Egypt and Palestine (including the present territory of Israel). This Wikipedia page tells as much as you like to know about this city. However, this page does not tell much about the beautiful Mediterranean beach, where you can meet interesting people. I have a number of photos from this beach.

  1. This is the beach seen from the beach street of Tel Aviv. This is a Mediterranean beach facing west. The sunshine is bright during the afternoon hours. Sail boats are seen.

  2. This is the beach seen from the beach.

  3. Young people performing their talent shows.

  4. Shops and restaurants on the high ground.

  5. Eat-and-drink places closer to the water.

  6. One of the gift shops selling Israeli stuff.

  7. Everybody is relaxed informal.

  8. Group of young ladies making loud noises. I asked them whey they are so noisy. They said that it is a re-union meeting of an Israeli army unit. They gathered to celebrate the birthday of one of the unit members.

     I then congratulated her, and she accepted my congratulation. Then me too. One more me too. Very cheerful Israeli ladies.

• Ben Gurion International Airpoer in Tel Aviv.
  1. Israel is an important country and its transportation with the rest of the world is made through the Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv. This is Ben Gurion's statue at the entrance of the departure gates.

     David Ben Gurion was the first and third prime minister (1948-54, 1955-63) of Israel. This means that he ruled Israel for 15 years from the benning of Israel in 1948 for 15 years until 1963. Before 1948, he dedicated himself to Israel's independence. Click here for the Wikipedia page about him.

  2. The duty-free rotunda is bustling international area, many duty-free shops.

  3. This Samsung sign was quite visible at the rotunda. Samsung serves as the national flag of Korea in the world. Not many people know that both Israel and Korea achieved their independences in 1948 through the resolutions at the United Nations.

  4. While I was waiting for the flight from TelAviv to Minsk (Belarus) in 2019, I was sitting next to a Jewish mother with her daughter. They were born in Israel, but their parents came from Minsk. They were thus visiting the land of their ancestors. Many Jewish people in Israel came from Europe after 1945, and Israel is like a European country.

     In 2002, when I was in Krakow (Poland), I met a group of Israeli students. I asked them why they were there. They said they came to their home land. I then asked why Israel is not their homeland. They said their ancestors came from Poland.

     Like the United States, Israel is a country of immigrants. Unlike the United States, those immigrants are of the same ethnicity.

How did I talk to Einstein?

• Click here for his home page.
• His photo-biography.
• His Einstein page.
• His Princeton page.
• His Style page.

  
  I received my PhD degree from Princeton in 1961, seven years after high school graduation in 1954. This means that I did much of the ground work for the degree during my high school years.