John Oram's photos with the keyword: Jerusalem

On this trip - which I hope will not be the last - we left the Old City of Jerusalem via the Damascus Gate. Inside the city walls there had been so much to absorb, I felt a little overwhelmed. It is a place soaked in centuries of history, of conflict and upheaval but I found it a little difficult to put it in context. The Old City of today sits comfortably enough in modern Jerusalem albeit in a sometimes turbulent political landscape. It requires more visits and more reflection. 200_P1030002

In Jersualem, we walked a short way on a part of the Via Dolorosa and this is a view back to El-Wad and one of the city's mosques. 200_P1030001

Although the Old City of Jerusalem today is still characterised by its narrow and busy streets, the impact of modern life such as the satellite dishes (top right) makes it a little difficult to visualise the history of which I have read so much. This is, in fact, the Via Dolorosa between the second and third Stations of the Cross. 200_P1020997

Although the Old City of Jerusalem today is still characterised by its narrow and busy streets (I waited for a pause in the pedestrian traffic), the impact of modern life makes it a little difficult to visualise the history of which I have read so much. This is the Via Dolorosa (on El-Wad) at the third Station of the Cross. 200_P1020993

We sat at a randomly chosen street cafe on El-Wad for lunch in Jerusalem. Only when I looked up form the menu, did I notice the street sign and the inscription marking the third Station of the Cross. Although this is of no religious significance to me, it made quite an impact. The Stations of the Cross are, of course, of great importance to Christians but history, when established first in solely verbal traditions, and written often many years later, suffers inevitably from distortions and inaccuracies. The Stations of the Cross cannot be known with certainty and those marked today are a speculation of an age much later than the events they recall. 200_P1020991

View from the Western Wall, Jerusalem to the Dome of the Rock. 200_P1020990

View of the Western Wall, Jerusalem with the walkway to the Moors' Gate (right). 200_P1020989

The Jerusalem skyline featuring the Dome of the Rock. 200_P1020987

In an area fraught in the modern age with religious and political tension, the Western Wall is of supreme importance in the Jewish faith. This portrait of a moment at the site captures a variety of people and the slightly surprising jumble of modern chairs. 200_P1020984C1

To enter the Old City of Jerusalem is, in many ways, to enter a different world. It contains a pot-pourri of nationalities, cultures, shops and stalls. Some of the narrow streets are exposed to the sky and others not. This is David Street on the way to Chain Gate Street. 200_P1020983

This difficult to photograph sculpture of a Saracen and Crusader meeting is near the Jaffa Gate of Jerusalem Old City. 200_P1020982

Within minutes of my arrival in Jerusalem, I was very taken my the architecture of the modern city (outside the Old City). Jaffa Street is on the far left of this photograph. 200_P1020980

'Touch me' (2012) by Smadar Carmeli. City Hall/Safra Square, Jerusalem. 200_P1020979

'Modern Head' (1975/90) by Roy Lichtenstein. For the memory of Yitzhak Rabin. Daniel public garden, City Hall/Safra Square, Jerusalem. I intentionally shot this straight up into the sun to heighten the dramatic effect of a detail of the sculpture. 200_P1020978

'Modern Head' (1975/90) by Roy Lichtenstein. For the memory of Yitzhak Rabin. Daniel public garden, City Hall/Safra Square, Jerusalem. 200_P1020975

Accompanying me on this holiday (together with lighter reading) is a book to inform a forthcoming trip to Israel. Simon Sebag Montefiore's 'Jerusalem' is a magnificent history of that city and the religiously inspired turbulence which has marked its years. TZ30_P1010848