City Of Peace Photo

Photographer’s Note

Jerusalem , Yerushaláyim is the capital of Israel and its largest city in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of 125.1 square kilometres (48.3 sq mi) if disputed East Jerusalem is included. Located in the Judean Mountains, between the Mediterranean Sea and the northern tip of the Dead Sea, modern Jerusalem has grown far beyond the boundaries of the Old City.

The city has a history that goes back to the 4th millennium BCE, making it one of the oldest cities in the world. Jerusalem is the holiest city in Judaism and the spiritual center of the Jewish people, contains a number of significant ancient Christian sites, and is considered the third-holiest city in Islam. Despite having an area of only 0.9 square kilometer (0.35 square mile), the Old City is home to sites of key religious importance, among them the Temple Mount, the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque. The old walled city, a World Heritage site, has been traditionally divided into four quarters, although the names used today—the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Quarters—were introduced in the early 19th century. The Old City was nominated for inclusion on the List of World Heritage Sites in danger by Jordan in 1982. In the course of its history, Jerusalem has been destroyed twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, and captured and recaptured 44 times.

Today, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the core issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem has been repeatedly condemned by the United Nations and related bodies, and Palestinians foresee East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. In the wake of United Nations Security Council Resolution 478 (passed in 1980), most foreign embassies moved out of Jerusalem, although some countries, such as the United States, still own land in the city and pledge to return their embassies once political agreements warrant the move.

(from Wikipedia, edited by serp2000)

JanD, Budapestman, ManuMay has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

JanD (15053) 2009-10-14 2:17

Howdy Serp2000!
Wonderful cityscape. Perfect shot. Ideal title. Good work.
Regards.

Budapestman (42810) 2009-10-14 3:31

Hi Serghei,
a very beautiful panorama with famous architectural details, the composition is spectacular, the lights and sharpness are superb, excellent POV. Great view, Have a nice day!
George

mauro61 (16290) 2009-10-14 5:06

ciao Serghei,
bella panoramica su Gerusalemme con ottimi colori e una perfetta definizione.
Tantissimi particolari ben visibile ,immagine di grande qualità con un'ottima luce,
saluti
maurizio

ManuMay (11403) 2009-10-14 10:01

Privet Serghei!!

I hope you are right with this feeling and good desire!!

Very good panoramic view to this ancient and historic city, a view full of details and good feelings!!

I´m with you...

Friendly...

Manuel

buscape (4020) 2009-10-14 10:08

Hello Serghei,
very nice capture of this famous city. I like your POV and the beautiful colours in fine light. I do hope for all people, who are involved (directly or indirectly) in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, that your title will come true some day. Thanks for sharing this picture with an important message.
Best wishes,
Helmut

Adrian_S (617) 2009-10-15 5:21

Hello Serghei!

The typical colors of Jerusalem: light brown and green, inspiring such a pleasant warmth and yes, also peace. Good panorama with some of Jerusalem's significant landmarks recognisible. I would very much like to visit it one day

have a great day
Adrian

s_lush (2560) 2009-10-15 7:34

Hello Serghei,
Panoramas of Jerusalem, which I saw before, were mainly in brawn and yellow colors. Your picture is much more multicolored and colorful due to good composition and point of view. In addition the photographic qualities are very high, especially the detail contrast. Excellent job!
Best regards,
Sergiy

Wandering_Dan (3293) 2009-10-15 10:03

Privet, Serghei -

I'm trying to figure where you took this shot from. I never saw this vantage point when I was there this summer. You got a great view, great low sunlight, and you took full advantage of it. It's an expressive shot. (I wouldn't have put the wording in, though.)

To add to your historical note: The walls of the Old City date only back to the XV century, when Suleiman the Magnificent ordered their construction. In Biblical and Roman times, the city was actually a bit south of the current walls; the southern half of the current Old City was the northern part of Herod's city, and where the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is now, was then outside the walls. The Temple Mount is where it always was, as is the Western Wall, part of the retaining wall built by Herod. Excavations under it (also a tricky political topic) have uncovered older construction, probably Solomon's.

And a bit of controversial (but true) history: Since the destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE), Jews have considered the Western (Wailing) Wall to be the holiest site in Judaism, but for much of its history access to the Wall was severely restricted, and during the period of Jordanian occupation (1949-67), Jews were absolutely forbidden to go to the Wall or to the Old City at all. Since Israel acquired (a neutral term, better than "captured" or "regained") the Old City in the Six Day War, the Wall has become open to all Jews all the time. The Haram es-Sharif (the Temple Mount), the third holiest site in Islam, while under Israeli authority, is open to Muslims and normally controlled by the Waqf; the Israelis step in only when seen as necessary for security reasons. These are among the complex factors that make the peace process the touchy subject it is, especially when it comes to Jerusalem.

Best,
Dan

Graal (58720) 2009-10-15 23:41

Priviet Serghei,
nice panoramic view of Jerusalem. Good POV and sharpness. Big inscription is a bit disturbing. Well informations in note.
Gr., Aleksander