Saturday 20 September 2014 View for church,and lunch with Nimati, Mohannad, Eman, Mohammad

This is our view during church.  It will be hard to go back to looking at the speaker.

 

After church on Sat. Sept. 20, our friend Namati invited us to dinner at her daughter and son-in-laws new apartment.  Mohannad and Eman are the couple in the wedding photos from an earlier blog.  Before a Muslim couple marry, the groom gives the bride money to buy pretty dresses and personal items for herself.  Some brides change into the dresses during the wedding reception.  Eman wanted to wear her wedding dress all evening so she wore the dresses at a women's party for her (shower) after she got married.  Mohannad is showing some of the dresses.  There were about 10 dresses.
 

Namati is the happy mother of the bride.

 

Here are some pictures of their apartment.  They rented it about 6 months before they got married to guarantee they would have a place to live.  Mohannad's brother has had to postpone his marriage because they have not been able to find an apartment.  Housing is hard to come by and is very expensive.  Mohannad said that half of his salary goes for rent.

kitchen

Eman and Linda are in the living room.  The couple completely furnished their apartment when they first got married.  When Blaine and I told them about our first couch- a $5 special that was left in our house at Dartmouth, they laughed.



This is the second bedroom they have turned into a sitting room.  Eman designed the couch and had it made.   They love bright colors.  Mohammad likes the comfort.



Namati  made the dinner, Ma'loubeh, which is an upside-down meal made by putting a platter on top of the pan and flipping it so that the meat is over the rice when serving.  It is delicious.  Namati came to their house to make the dinner.  Eman said she doesn't know how to cook yet.  She and Mohanned are learning together.  Sounds familiar.



Namati is a wonderful cook and hostess.



Mohammad (Namati's son), Namati, Eman, Mohannad, and Linda



and Blaine.



Mohammed is a cute, likable, eighteen year old who is helpful to his mother and sister.





Wednesday 17 September 2014 Gaye Strathern's class

 

Blaine and I get to sit in on classes at the JC if we have the time.  This semester the religion professors are Gay Strathern and Ron Anderson.  Jeff Chadwick teaches Ancient Near Eastern Studies.  This is the New Testament class taught by Gay Strathern at 8:00 a.m.

 

What a treat to sit in on the classes without having to do the assignments or tests.

Tuesday 16 September 2014 Religious Jew apartment building

We have seen a sign in Mea Shearim advertising a model apartment.  Blaine and I stopped to go through it to see what an orthodox apartment would look like.  We couldn't find the model so one of the construction workers called the office to have someone take us to the model.  The first question they asked was if we are religious.  I answered Yes, but not in the Jewish faith.  The apartment has 2 sinks in the kitchen for kosher cooking.

 

 

It also had timers on all of the window shades to let in light without doing any work on the Sabbath.



A sliding metal cover over the windows turns the room into a "safe room". aka bomb shelter  Also twin beds so husbands and wives sleep separately while she is having her period.



The shower was in the corner with no shower stall around it.

Some of the other features were a Sabbath elevator that stops on every floor on the Sabbath so you don't have to push any buttons,  a timer for all of the lights in the house so you don't have to flip any switches, and close access to the synagogue so you don't have to drive a car on the Sabbath.  All of this for a mere 3 1/2 million shekels or about 1 million dollars.  It is a 3-bedroom, 2 bath unit that will probably house a large family.  The average  size of an ultra orthodox family I've been told is 8 children.
 

The apartment building is under construction and has been the whole time we've been here.

Monday 15 September 2014 Siraj al Quds, Hurva Synagogue

Monday, Sept. 15, we stopped at a school for visually impaired and sighted children.  It is called Siraj al Quds, and is run by a blind man named Nur.  BYU bought the school athletic equipment and a fooz ball game. The philosophy behind this school is that blind children need to learn to adapt to a normal environment and sighted children need to learn how to be helpful to those with disabilities.

 

 On their exercise bikes

The children are very active and aggressive.



Nur would like the JC students to paint a mural on this wall.



 

Don't you think a mural would look good here?

 



The children have a very small playground behind the school.



The slide area was not as popular as the fooz ball table BYU gave them.



The fooz ball table is locked up to control the students use of it otherwise it would be in use continually.  A side note:  Since returning home, we got an e-mail from Nur saying the IDF had come to his home unannounced and demolished it with heavy equipment.  He lives on the dirt road running through the bottom of the Kidron  Valley.  His family have lived there since before the War of 48.  He said he had no idea what was going on except that the Israeli government is trying to take over the land outside the Old City.  Nur went to the police in that area and they said they had no idea the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) were going to do that.

 



We went into the Jewish Quarter of the Old City to tour the Hurva Synagogue.  Shortly before the fall of the Jewish Quarter during the 1948 War of Independence, soldiers of the Jordanian Legion blew up the Hurva Synagogue.  Few of the walls were left standing.  After the liberation of Jerusalem during the Six Day War, one of the synagogues four arches was reconstructed becoming a symbol of the synagogue and of the entire Jewish Quarter. In 2000 reconstruction was started being true to the original. Remnants of the walls were integrated into the new structure.  The restoration was completed in 2010.  The building serves as a synagogue as well as a yeshiva where Jewish men can study during the day.

 



Our tour guide, Bataya, lived in the US before she came to Jerusalem to make Aliyah.  Her husband is retired and studies at the synagogue every day.  She said his goal is to create something with God I think she meant like a relationship. I wanted to ask her if he was a better person because of his study.



The synagogue has a balcony for the women.



The tour took us under the synagogue where they have found the remnants of a ritual bath, Mitva.



The holy torah is kept and read in the front of the synagogue.



An unused mosque sits directly outside of the synagogue.



We went up in the top balcony for this view.  We also went out on the roof for a complete view of the Jewish Quarter.

 

On our way home we walked through the Palestinian Quarter.  Kids are the same everywhere.  They all like to stop at the local candy store on the way home from school.  This just happens to be in the Old City.

Sunday 14 September 2014 Meeting with Nur Al Ain Institute

Sunday, Sept. 14 we walked into the Old City to do humanitarian work.  We met with NurAlAin Institute for the blind.  Hospitality is very important here.  Where ever we go, they always have a drink and something to eat.

 They don't speak English so the woman on the left was our translator. 

 

They would like humanitarian kits and help with their computer lab.
 

They have a nursery for children,



and a covered patio for socializing.

 

After leaving the blind association, we walked past a florist where they were decorating a car with flowers for a wedding.  I think it is a much nicer tradition than tin cans and shaving cream.



We walked in the Jewish quarter where the kids were getting out of school.  The girls all carry a "My Little Kittie" bookbag.



They're typical little girls running and skipping home.



Friday 12 September 2014 Western Wall Walk at Sunset

On Friday, Sept. 12, we walked with the students to the Western Wall to usher in Shabbat.  With a big group we can walk through the Kidron Valley which is a Palestinian neighborhood.  It is a dirt road with animals grazing and homes lining the street.

 

A group of children were hanging over their fence to greet us.  Blaine made a big picture of this to take to the children's mother.