al Aqsa Mosque

(Baden's 1999 Mediterranean Jaunt / Overview)

Fuji Superia 400 / Pentax ESPIO 90MC (1999-10-30 ~11:30)
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The al Aqsa Mosque was in the Moslem quarter in Old Jerusalem. I thought the golden dome was a real contrast to the mayhem and squalor surrounding it. The interesting thing was to see all the satellite dishes on the rooftops, which was probably one of the only noticeable differences in the last 500 years. The other was the solar water heaters visible on the rooftops. These were ubiquitous in the whole middle east and Greece, and I thought that they were a better invention than the wheel, as they heated water up to about 70 C, even in cloudy conditions.

To get this photo, I was led by an unscrupulous Palestinian 'guide' to an enclave where, admittedly, not many tourists go. It was more or less a pillbox for the Israeli soldiers who overlooked and guarded the Wailing Wall, where there was a massacre a few years ago. Doesn't that theme sound familiar for the whole region, religion and violence?

The guide was going to show me around Old Jerusalem for 50 shekels, but it ended up costing me 70 shekels (C$25) for about 15 minutes.

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