Pillars & Foundations

Church or Basilica of the Nativity, Bethlehem, West Bank, Israel It's been a long time coming for me to post some of the last photos from our trip to Israel, and our tour into the Palestinian West Bank this past May. I felt this particular post would be timely. I'm very thankful to have visited this site as part of a West Bank tour. My wife were very lucky to arrive when the line for the Grotto of the Nativity, where I believe there was a chance circumstance where it was closed and re-opened and we were in the right spot at the right time. Our guides told us that often there is not enough time to wait for those on busy bus tours. History: I want to point out some high level details about the site, and leave some connections to other resources, as there is far to much for me to cover here. Wikipedia notes that an original basilica was built between 330 and 333 AD, only to be destroyed in 529 during the Samaritan revolts. Much of the church is said to be unchange...

Qubbat al-Sakhrah, Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem I was lucky to visit Dome of the Rock on a recent trip to Jerusalem. There are set times that tourists may visit the site each day, and you need to proceed through a security checkpoint run by the Jordan government. Non Muslims may not enter the actually buildings themselves, however the grounds are certainly a site to behold. Of note the dome is a Muslim "shrine," not a mosque. My photographs can't come close to capturing the vibrancy of the colors, or the occasional wafts of smell of incense and food coming from the surrounding dense old city. The grounds are large, an in spite of the substantial queue of people and demand to enter, it still has a feeling of serenity relative to the bustling surroundings outside of the walls. The Dome of the Rock was first built in 691-692 of the Common Era (CE) and was rebuilt following a collapse in 1022-1023. Further information on the site, buildings, and t...

Church of the Holy Sepulchre Church of the Holy Sepulchre is one of the most unusual structures, let alone, "churches," I've visited in my history of exploration. A maze of pathways, domed rooms, grand halls and seemingly subterranean chambers, controlled by different orders of Christianity hide in the old city. Somehow it is both built grandly on a hill, but hidden around the corner amongst the alleys and bustle of vendors, tourists, and food markets.  The Church is thought to contain both the site of the crucifixion as well as Jesus's empty tomb. The Church was consecrated in the year 335 and is currently divided amongst the Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Coptic Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox, and Ethiopian Orthodox denominations.  In this view of the main entrance a ladder can be seen below the left of a pair of windows. This ladder is known as the immovable ladder and is called such because the denominations who run the church agre...

The Western Wall, Jerusalem, Israel The Pillars & Foundations blog has documented exploration of my surrounding communities as well as travels abroad, with a topic focused on the spiritual centers I've had the opportunity to visit. Recently I completed a trip to Israel and my goal is to document several of the notable sites during my exploration. The Western Wall , considered the holiest sight in Judaism, is one of the remaining segments of a retaining wall that made the foundation of the Second Jewish Temple constructed by Herod the Great. The wall is made of enormous limestone blocks and it dates as early as 19 BCE. The Romans demolished the Second Temple , and this segment of the wall was one of the only portions that survived. I first saw the wall as part of a tour of the old city when we were in the Jewish Quarter. One stop on this journey provided a great view of the area. To get close to the wall one must go through a security check. Once through the chec...