The Vapidity of Language

There are always many things to say, but there aren't always the right words, so I thought I would overwhelm you with pictures instead.

New days ahead: I’m traveling to Lebanon tomorrow and staying for a week

So it begins:

Fresh produce, all winter long - Cairo, Egypt



Nisma and I - Cairo, Egypt



Jesus at the Hagia Sophia ("Seat of Divine Wisdom") - Istanbul, Turkey



A Christian woman selling icons - Maaloula, Syria (Maaloula is one of the only towns in the world where they still speak Aramaic - the language Jesus spoke)



The Ummayad Mosque (aka "The Star Wars Mosque") - Damascus, Syria



Iranian Shiite Muslims preaching inside the Ummayad Mosque - Damascus, Syria



The classic picture at the Dead Sea - Jordan



Burning leavened bread before the beginning of Passover in Mea' Shearim (Ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighbourhood)- Jerusalem, Israel



"Graffiti" on the wall that the Israelis are illegally constructing between Israel and the West Bank (another post to follow on that at a later date) - Abu Dis (East Jerusalem), The West Bank/the Occupied Territories/Palestine



The view of the Dome of the Rock from the roof of a friend's house - Jerusalem, Israel



A few of us with "Sayeedna" ("Archbishop") Elias Chacour, Palestinian Archbishop of the Greek Catholic/Melkite church in Galilee, and prominent peace advocate. Read his books: "Blood Brothers" and "We Belong to the Land". - Haifa, Israel



Good Friday on the Via Dolorosa (the "Way of Suffering"/ the Way of the Cross) - Jerusalem, Israel



Two men at the Damascus Gate, outside the Old City - Jerusalem, Israel



The Middle East Studies Program group of Spring 2007 - Cairo, Egypt