If you´re reading the comments next to the photos it would make more sense to start chronologically with the oldest posts. If you´re just interested in the images browse as you see fit.

And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus...

St John 19: 38, 41-42

And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull. And they give him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not. And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take. And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

St. Mark 15: 22-26

Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

St. Matthew 26: 36-39

What I thought was the continuation of the festivities associated with the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Jewish state turned out to be a celebration of the city instead. Jerusalem Day attracted thousands of the cities residents to an open air concert beneath the shadows of the Western Wall. Among the milling crowds were circles of dancing men who seemed to come straight out of the film The Fiddler on the Roof. It goes without saying that it was quite a party.

This is a photo of the Dome of the Rock taken from the Mount of Olives. Jerusalem is the meeting place of three of the world´s religions and as such can offer a "religious education" to those who would but sit and observe what goes on in and around these holy places. Sometimes moving, now and then confusing, and from time to time a little funny.

The Dome of the Rock is the centerpiece of the Temple Mount and the third holiest site for Muslims after Mecca and Medina. Non-Muslims are not allowed to enter either the Dome or the Al-Aqsa Mosque but can freely walk around the remainder of the area.

The Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Ethiopian and Coptic churches believe that the location where the church now stands was where Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected, so for them it qualifies as one of the holiest sites

in Christendom. Believers may kneel beneath the altar and view the stone that held the cross on which Christ was crucified. They can also kiss the stone on which he was prepared for burial or visit the shrine set on the spot where he was supposedly buried.

The whole area in front of the Western (Wailing) Wall has been designated an open-air synagogue. At any time of the day you can see people reciting verses from the Talmud, stuffing prayer notes into the already crowded fissures of the wall, or quietly reflecting with heads bowed.

Israel

My first day in Jerusalem I decided to do the Ramparts Walk. Gazing out from atop the high walls I noticed another high wall that is currently being built to effectively separate Israel from the Palestinians. I´m no security expert, but from what I´ve heard the wall has been most effective in limiting the number of suicide bombings in the country. On the other hand, it has become a most effective symbol of discriminatory acts levelled against the Palestinians who have dubbed it the Apartheid Wall. For good or bad, it is also a symbol of the tensions and daily facts of life in this troubled region.
The same day I witnessed a small group of demostrators walking through the streets of the city with banners that read: A Palestinian State---Never. Of all the peoples in the world I would think that the Jewish people understand what it is like to long for a homeland and to know the profound joy and pride of now having one. For those few waving their signs and flashing their posters that afternoon, I wondered how they could have so little sympathy for those whose same longing has not yet been fulfilled.


Many and sharp the numerous ills
Inwoven with our frame;
More pointed still, we make ourselves
Regret, remorse and shame;
And man, whose heaven-erected face
The smiles of love adorn,
Man´s inhumanity to man,
Makes countless thousands mourn.

Robert Burns

Before I move on to the final country I visited in the Middle East, let me say a few words about Syria. A typical conversation in the street would invariably start with something like this:
Syrian: Welcome to Syria.
Me: Thank you.
Syrian: Where are you from?
Me: For the past nine years I´ve been living in the Czech Republic, but originally I´m from America.
Syrian: Oh. Well, when you get back home, please tell them that we´re not all terrorists.
So, there it is, I´m conveying their wishes. I found Syria to be an interesting, beautiful and hospitable place. We should not judge the people of a nation by the highly publicized acts of a radical few. Nor should we assume that the opinion and beliefs of an entire people reflect the misguided ambitions of their political leaders. I would hate to think that someone would stereotype me as an American by the images they may have seen from Abu Ghraib. May I add that I spoke with several Syrians who have lived or studied in either Britain, America or Canada and was impressed with their command of not only the English language, but also western culture. Most Syrian children study English in their schools and can see American programs on their satellite television. I feel confident in saying that they understand us much better than we understand them. Do you know many of your friends, acquaintances or family members that have studied in a Syrian madrassa, lived in Damascus or Aleppo or speak fluent Arabic?
On another note, I saw a program on CNN the other day about how the U.S. government continues to complain about the lax security along the Syrian-Iraqi border. They accuse Syria of not doing enough to stem either the flow of jihadists into Iraq or the insurgents seeking temporary shelter in Syria. The fact that we have serious problems controlling the flow of human traffic across our own borders is totally discounted. To add to the problem, current U.S. sanctions against Syria forbid the import of night vision equipment because of its potential military application. I wonder how our own border patrol would do if we severely restricted their capabilities by removing their night vision devices. Along a 300 mile stretch of desert border I guess the best a Syrian soldier could hope for is a full moon. Finally, the Syrian government makes a valid point that the current problems along the border did not start until the U.S. invaded Iraq, yet now Syria is supposed to shift strategic military forces and equipment at their cost to satisfy the demands of a country who caused the situation to occur in the first place. How ironic!

The centerpiece for Islamic worship in Damascus, the Umayyad Mosque has been around since A.D. 705. Actually converted from an earlier Byzantine Cathedral, you can see in the photo how the columns have been incorporated into the overall design of the building. The mosque has a spacious, airy interior and the shrine you see before you supposedly contains the head of John the Baptist, considered to be a great prophet by both Muslims and Christians.

Hey, who is that rube with the camera? Why it´s me at the Azem Palace in Damascus, Syria. Who would have thunk it?!

The prayer hall is breathtaking with its lush carpets and arched mirrored ceilings reflecting the lights of the chandeliers. The homeless of the city are more than welcome to spend the night sleeping in this luxurious place. At the time of my visit they were effectively doubling the size of the courtyard by building one of equal size next to it complete with retractable roof to keep out the winter chill. A kind of soup kitchen was also in the works to provide food for the hungry.

The Sayyida Ruqayya Mosque is a modern Iranian-built Shiite mosque in the old city of Damascus. It is dedicated to the daughter of the martyr Hussein, son of Ali, who died when she was six years old. People come to visit her final resting place and offer up prayers in honor of her memory. Architecturally speaking it is a gorgeous place of worship with elaborate decorations from floor to ceiling. I´m indebted to a local guide for showing me around this part of the capitol.

After reading about it in my guidebook, I had to visit the ancient norias of Hama, even though time was at a premium. For centuries now these wooden wheels have been dipping into the Orontes lifting river water into small aqueducts that route it to irrigation channels for the surrounding fields. Because both the wheel and the block on which it turns are made of wood it makes a distinctive mournful groaning noise that can be heard throughout the streets and alleys of the old town. One local resident recalled his childhood days swimming near the Al-Mohammediyya, the largest of the wheels. He said the plaintive notes emitted with the spinning of the wheel could rival the best of any symphony.

.................... With sunlight streaming down from the ceiling of the vaulted halls, it´s a pleasant experience to simply wander through the corridors and rooms of the inner castle. Among the many things to see are the stables, the baths, the Great Hall, the keep, the Armoury, several warehouses, the Pillars Room, the Loggia (photo of the Gothic facade above right), the Vaulted Room, the Long Room, the Chapel, the guard´s quarters, the courtyard, the oven and well, the Tower of the Daughter of the King, and last but not least, the latrines.

No, it´s not the royal commode. After a long, hot , weary day on the battlements an ancient warrior could retreat to the cool recesses of the castle´s baths and enjoy a cool soak or wash up in one of the basins.

Hooray! Oh Noooo! This most likely would have been the reaction of an enemy soldier if he had managed to breach the outer walls. Now you have to swim across the moat (hard to do in heavy armor) and somehow scale the smooth stone walls while at the same time avoiding the hail of arrows and crossbow bolts and perhaps a dousing with boiling oil. Maybe Oh Nooo isn´t strong enough.

The Crac des Chevaliers or Crusaders Castle sits on a flattened hilltop with commanding views of the surrounding area. It´s the epitome of what one would imagine a crusader fortress to be--- impregnable defensive walls, round watchtowers, even a moat. The 12th century knights expanded the already existing fortress into the awesome structure you can witness today. They did such a good job that the castle walls were never breached. However, as the number of garrisoned knights dwindled and the armies of Islam lay siege, the writing was on the wall (figuratively of course) that there would be no reprieve. In a deal between combatants, the Crusader knights agreed to give up the castle in exchange for a safe passage home. Not a bad deal when you think about it. In the end, the castle´s thick stone ramparts had saved their lives.

The Towers of Yemliko can best be described as a set of multi-storied family crypts and burial chambers. The one I visited, Elahbel, was five stories high with vertical niches in each side wall that could fit possibly five to six coffins stacked on top of each other. The niches could be sealed with a slab of stone that had the bust of the person who had died carved in it. As this would be a little costly it seems that mostly the well to do folks were interred here. Those coming from more humble circumstances probably settled for an anonymous grave in the desert.

The Temple of Bel was dedicated to the most important god of the Palmyran pantheon. Situated in the middle of high-walled courtyard, it is one of the largest and most intact structures of the entire complex.

Everbody loves a show at least they did before you could download a pirated copy of the latest Hollywood premier. Tragedy or comedy? Aeschylus or Aristophanes? Take your pick. This theater was actually covered by sand until the 1950s, which makes me wonder what else might the deserts and jungles of the world be hiding

The Temple of Baal Shamin was dedicated to the god of storms and fertilising rain. During its long existence Palmyra was fed by no less than five springs and the hills were covered with cedar trees. The desertification of the area is attributed to natural climate change but may also have been affected by rampant deforestation. A warning for our time. Hmmmm.

The tetrapylon was used to mark the junction of two streets. The main street runs pretty much east to west and a smaller street that connects the forum with the Temple of Baal Shamin runs north-south. On a side note, one of the strangest experiences of my entire journey was on the day I caught the bus from Beirut to travel to the Syrian border. As we made our way up a small grade passing a landscape of barren scrub desert the buildings of the border crossing came into view. Lo and behold, set next to the various immigration and passport control halls is one of the biggest Dunkin´ Donut shops I´ve ever seen. For years now, Syria has had its name on America´s list of state sponsors of terrorism, but don´t let that throw you. Come on in and have an Apple Fritter or why not try a Jelly-filled?!

The colonnaded main street runs for almost 800 meters and leads to a funerary temple. The Qala´at ibn Maan, also known as the Arab Castle, sits on a hilltop west of the site. Many structures have been carefully reconstructed as the shifting desert sands covered much of what was toppled during the quake. Those buried fared quite well, protected as they were under the wind blown layers, while those on the surface faced the furnace of the summer heat, the chill of the winter night and the abrasive blasts of howling sandstorms.

Syria

Palmyra in the heart of Syria´s desert was a city that enjoyed unsurpassed wealth due to its strategic location along the Assyrian caravan trade route. The city´s most famous person was the half-Greek, half-Arab queen Zenobia who claimed that she was a direct descendant of Cleopatra. She had the audacity to challenge the power of Rome, but the strength of her army did not match the heights of her ambition. In 271 A.D. the Palmyran forces were soundly deafted by an army under the command of the Roman emporer Aurelian. This marked the beginning of the end for this fabulous metropolis. The Muslims ransacked the place in 634 and a devestating earthquake in 1089 finished it off.

Tripoli was the last city I visited and the place of my last photo in Lebanon. The typical concrete block of flats and office buildings that form the skyline of most Lebanese cities are seen in the back fronted by what remains of the old town with its mosques, minarets, madrasses and hammams. The remaining bullet pocked walls of some abandoned houses near the citadel in the foreground are a reminder of the violence of the recent past. Shortly after taking this photo I thought I heard gunshots from the old city below. About fifteen minutes later, when I entered a small square a couple of blocks from my hostel, three armored vehicles and nearly fifty rifle-toting troops quickly encircled and closed off the area. A local shopkeeper told me that one man in a heated argument had pulled out a pistol and fired it in the air to emphasize the point he was making. With tensions high, the army was quickly called in to calm the situation. It seems that one small spark could potentially ignite a new conflict. By the way, the shopkeeper also told me that a man had been killed at the citadel just the day before. Wow! Nice to know...

A favorite pastime for those in both Beirut and Byblos, fishermen gather on the rocks below the ruins to test their luck with rod and reel.

Also a biblical city, Gebal, was the most important trading port on the eastern Mediterranean in the 3rd millenium B.C. The name was changed to Byblos by the Greeks who came to power here in 333 B.C. The word bublos means papyrus, which came from Egypt and was then shipped onward to Greece. Not much is left of the sprawling ruin apart from the crusader castle that now dominates the site.

I had some time on my hands and the whole complex to myself in the warmth of the mid-afternoon so it was a pleasure to simply wander at will exploring the many nooks and crannies admiring what once was and imagining what time had erased.

Flower in the crannied wall,

I pluck you out of the crannies,

I hold you here, root and all, in my hand,

Little flower- but if I could understand

What you are, root and all, and all in all,

I should know what God and man is.

Alfred Lord Tennyson

Did the man who carved these words in stone realize that two millenia later a tourist from a part of the world that he never knew existed would be taking a photo of his handiwork with a digital camera and wondering what his life must have been like living as he had in ancient times?

These long since toppled columns of the Temple of Jupiter are in the far right corner of the Great Court. Each of them lying on their side is taller than I am. Part of the feeling you have when you are there is that the whole complex dwarfs you. It´s really that big.

Six massive columns are all that remain standing of the great Temple of Jupiter but they attest to its once magnificent splendor. The cornice stones use lion´s heads as ancient gargoyles spouting water from their roaring maws. Again, I couldn´t help but be caught up in the detailed work of the stones.

I was astounded by how ornate the Temple of Bacchus is. These designs and busts were carved in the ceiling stones and set atop these columns almost 2000 years ago.

Baalbek is by far the most impressive ancient site in Lebanon. Bearing the name of the Phoenician god Baal, the Greeks called it Heliopolis (the Sun City) and when the Romans arrived they made it a major worship center for the god Jupiter. Its temples were built on such an extravagant scale that in their day they were reputed to be one of the wonders of the world. The Temple of Bacchus pictured here was known in Roman times as the "small temple".

Most of what you see at the archaeological sites today are remnants of the Greek, Roman, or Byzantine periods. This is a picture of the pedestrian road which was originally roofed to provide shade from the Mediterranean sun. In the background you will notice the remains of a U-shaped hippodrome that was built for chariot racing in the 2nd century A.D. It was one of the biggest of its kind and could hold more than 20,000 cheering spectators. That should give you some idea of how large and influential the city must have been.