Bread Captions English
Index
The photographer Varda Polak-Sahm at work
12> Easter Holy Fire Ceremony
Fire, symbolizing the Resurrection, is produced from the sealed tomb of Jesus. In an instant, the flame is transferred outside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher to thousands of candles in the hands of the faithful.
14> Nebi Musa
At the Muslim “Grave of Moses” near Jericho, battle-ready Muslims gather at the time of Christian Easter in order to drive “Crusaders” masquerading as pilgrims out of Jerusalem.
15> Panorama of Jerusalem
The view from the Mount of Olives on the Temple Mount, today Haram esh-Sharif, “The Noble Sanctuary”, with the Dome of the Rock, where once Solomon’s Temple stood.
16> Mount of the Lord
On the day that settler physician Baruch Goldstein perpetrated a massacre of Muslims in Hebron, the Mount of the Lord was closed to visitors.
18> Noon Prayers at the Dome of the Rock
A Muslim worshipper prostrates himself in the direction of Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
19> Jewish Longings
Gershon Salomon of the Temple Mount Faithful wants to rebuild the Temple where the Dome of the Rock currently stands. The verse from Psalms on his skullcap reads: “If I forget thee, o Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its cunning.”
20> Muslim Guardians
Every holy site like the Mount of the Lord has its doorkeepers.
21> Coptic Guardians
The door leads to the Ethiopian monastery on the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. In the background is the tower of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer. Kaiser Wilhelm II dedicated it in 1898.
22> Franciscans in Bethlehem
Friars in the plaza in front of the Basilica of the Nativity, where according to tradition Jesus’ manger stood. It was here where the shepherds and the Magi from the East arrived.
23> Allah Hu-Akbar
“God is great”, the Muslims call at the “distant shrine,” from where the Prophet Mohammed went up to heaven on his Night Journey.
24> Kosher Examination
On the Festival of Sukkoth (Tabernacles), orthodox Jews use flawless branches of myrtle. The leaves must not be broken or wilted.
25> Prayer in the Kubbet Fatme
This is where the Angel Gabriel stood when the Prophet Mohammed ascended to heaven. The “Pavilion of Fatme” is dedicated to the Prophet’s daughter.
26> Jerusalem in White
28> The Gilded Dome of the Rock
29> The Southwestern Corner of the Temple Mount
It was at this pinnacle that the trumpeter was to announce the arrival of the Messiah. Archeologists found a stone with the inscription “House of the Trumpeter” on the Herodian pavement at the foot of the retaining wall. The black dome belongs to the El-Aqsa mosque.
30> View Looking East from the Dome of the Rock
Jesus was betrayed in the Garden of Gethsemane after crying out: “Father, if thou willst, take away this cup from me.”
31> View Looking West from the Dome of the Rock
The great dome of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. On the cross, Jesus said to one of the malefactors: “Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in Paradise.”
32> Mother and Child
At Nebi Musa, the Muslim grave of the Prophet Moses, in the Judean desert between Jerusalem and Jericho, erected in 1269.
33> Prayer Houses
These structures, known as “kubbet,” designate the place where the Prophet Mohammed tethered his horse Barak before his ascent to the heavens, and where Solomon vanquished the demons.
34> Procession
Franciscan monks in a procession inside the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem
35> Funeral Procession
Orthodox Jews at a swift pace bring a corpse, wrapped in its linen shroud, to the cemetery on the Mount of Olives.
36> Mount of Olives
Some 2500 years ago, this Jewish burial ground inspired the biblical Prophet Ezekiel’s allegory of the resurrection of the dry bones at the End of Days.
37> The First Martyr
The bones of St. Steven, who was stoned to death, were discovered in the crypt of St. Steven’s Monastery during emergency excavations. The relics were handed over to the Greek Orthodox priests.
38> Descent from the Cross
During renovation work in the Auguste Victoria Church of the Ascension, Jesus waits to be recrucified.
39> The Way of the Cross
Christian pilgrims following the route of Jesus’ suffering on the Via Dolorosa.
40> Easter
Youths clambering up the steel girders on Jesus’ tomb at Easter.
They are waiting for the processions, which encircle Christ’s empty tomb several times until the Holy Fire ceremony.
41> Maundy Thursday
The foot-washing ceremony begins in the Armenian Cathedral of St. James after the brocaded curtain has been drawn aside.
42> Syriac Priests
To this very day, the Syriacs use Aramaic, the vernacular spoken in Jesus’ time and the language in which the Talmud was written.
43> Armenian Patriarch
On Maundy Thursday, twelve priests extend their feet to the Patriarch for him to wash them with rose water as a sign of humility - as Jesus did to his disciples.
44> Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem
Flower girls lead a bridal couple through the rustic nave, whose construction was begun by Emperor Constantine in the year 326.
45>Wedding
A Greek Orthodox wedding above the grotto with Jesus’ manger, where there stood the ox and the donkey.
46> At the Wailing Wall
Jews with a Torah scroll.
47> At Christ’s Tomb
Christians circling seven times around Christ’s tomb
48> Prayer Shawl
During the Priestly Blessing, the “Cohanim” (priests) cover their heads with their prayer shawls, because the people must not see their holiness.
49> Headscarf
Muslim girl students are required to wear a headscarf at all times because men must not see their hair.
50> Sacrificing a Lamb
The Samaritans consider themselves the “original Jews”. On their feast of Passover (Pesach) they sacrifice lambs, like the animal sacrifices in the biblical Temple.
51> Sacrificial Offerings
Sword dances before the traditional lamb is sacrificed at Nebi Musa, as a preparation for the bloody wresting of Jerusalem once again from the hands of the “Crusaders.”
52> Olive Harvest on the Mount of the Lord
For the Palestinians, the olive tree is the symbol of their roots in their land.
53> Palm leaves at the Feast of Sukkoth (Tabernacles)
The sukkah (tabernacle) symbolizes how the Children of Israel emerged from slavery in Egypt to freedom.
The “Peace Album”
54> Yitzhak Rabin’s dedication with the verse of the psalms: “From the peace seekers and its pursuers.”
55> The gilding of the dome is finished. Most of the scaffolding has been removed. All that is missing is the finial, crowned with Islam’s crescent.
56> Between the planks of the scaffolding, shines the freshly gilded dome above the lead roof.
57> Inside, the dome is decorated with seventh-century wooden panels just millimeters thick. During the renovations, the photographer climbed up to the timbers between the golden outer “skin” and the inner cupola. After removing one of the panels, she photographed the Holy Rock from above.
58> The Dome of the Rock is reflected in the shiny copper plates on their way to the gold factory.
60> The copper plates must proceed through the various stages of the gilding process at a swift pace. From the nickel bath – to make sure that the dark-colored copper will not gleam through the gold – the plates are taken to the gold bath. Then a computer check is run on the four-micron thick gold layer.
62 > Irish experts fix the finished plates, properly embossed, to the dome. Last, the round parts of the finial are scrubbed with dish detergent.
64> The gilded copper plates and the finial with the crescent are assembled and placed in their final positions.
66> Looking down from the crane at the gold factory on the Temple Mount
67> To galvanize the copper plates, liquid gold was imported in blue and red canisters. For the photographer, this is the visual “proof” that real gold was used.
68 > The supports of the scaffolding are removed with great care, so as to avoid damaging the golden plates on the dome.
70> The scaffolding components are temporarily stored on the raised podium around the Dome of the Rock.
72 > The panorama of Jerusalem at sunrise hints at the new splendor of the symbol of Jerusalem.
73 > This wide-angle “aerial photo” was taken from the crane.
74> One last, unusual panoramic shot of Jerusalem before the crane was dismantled. The dome will probably not require any further renovation for another 150 years.
By Bread Alone
77> Harvest
Arab and Jewish children harvesting wheat at En Dor, at the foot of Mount Tabor in the Galilee.
79> Separating Chaff from Wheat
An Arab girl in her holiday finery separating chaff from wheat.
81> Bedouin Pita Bread
82> Electric Oven
In Fahme, a free town of Palestinian “collaborators”.
83> Gas Oven
Loaves of bread in a gas oven.
84> Pita Dough
85> Fiery Furnace
Bakers of the “esh hatonoor” flat bread.
86> Pita Bread in the Taboun
87> The Baker’s Hand in the Oven
89> Customer
90> Hot Stone
Unleavened bread on hot stone slabs.
91> Unleavened Bread
“Matzo shemura”, specially “guarded” unleavened bread for the Feast of Passover (Pesach).
92> Bread on Hooks
Out of respect, the Druze in Pekiin, in the Galilee, hang the bread on hooks to prevent it from touching the floor.
93> Apprentices
Six of twelve apprentices at a bakery in Jaffa.
95> Holy Bread
Greek Orthodox monk at the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
97> Host
Armenian priest kissing the hand of his Patriarch.
98> Sabbath Bread
“Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.”
99> Braided Bread
The German “Zopfbrot” originated from the fertility rite of the Goddess Berchta. It has become the Jewish plaited Sabbath loaf. Scene from “Unrisen Dough” of Jerusalem’s School for Visual Theater.
100> Wedding Bread
The braided loaf for the ritual of seven blessings.
101> Holy Communion
An Armenian girl receiving her sacrament.
103> Purification
The Sephardic bride in the Jewish ritual bath, the mikve. The mother breaks a round “challah”, a symbol of deflowering and fertility.
105> Mother and Child
