Tuesday 4 February 2014 Common scenes of the Jerusalem Center

Scenes of things around the Jerusalem Center that we see every day.

View of the Old City from our apartment 206. Dome of the Rock (gold dome), Dormition Abbey on Mount Zion (behind the Dome), Huerva Synagogue (white dome), one of the many Muslim Mosques where call to prayer is heard 5 times each day (tower on the right side in the photo).

Sign for the turnoff to the Jerusalem Center. The Jerusalem Center is called the Mormon University. If you ask a taxi driver to take you to the Mormon University, he will know where to go.  If you say Brigham Young University or the Jerusalem Center, he may look puzzled.

Stone engraving on the road into the Jerusalem Center.  The road is a dead end.  It leads to the Jerusalem Center and then a little beyond to some homes and a Yeshiva for Jewish students.  The neighborhoods in the immediate background are Wadi al Joz and Sheik Jarah.

Main walk-in entrance to the Jerusalem Center.  The gate is kept locked and is controlled by security  or by an access card residents swipe to open the gate electronically.  Security is very serious about restricting access to the Jerusalem Center to only  those who are authorized to enter.

 Firas, one of the security employees at the Jerusalem Center.



Walkway into the Jerusalem Center 8th floor from the main gate.

 

There is a Menora designed into the blue gate at entrance to the Jerusalem Center building.

Hallway on the 8th floor. Our offices are at the end of the hallway, on the left. Outside the window is the home of the Pope's representative to the Holy Land.

Stairs from the 8th level. There are 130 stairs between our apartment on level 2 and level 8. If we get to the 8th level and realize we forgot something, there is a 260 stair round trip ahead of us. There is an elevator between levels 6 and 8, and another elevator between levels 5 and 6. 

The mosaic on the wall is on loan from the Israeli Antiquity Authority.  It dates from the Byzantine time period (3rd - 6th century). It was discovered during construction of the Mamila Mall, near Jaffa Gate, on the opposite side of the Old City from the Jerusalem Center. Mamila Mall is a newish, modern outdoor mall in West Jerusalem.