Light in Jerusalem 2012

Thousands of people attended the opening of the

Jerusalem Festival of Light in the Old City last night.

It is one of my favorite events to photograph

"PHOTO Jerusalem", "picture Jerusalem","image Jerusalem"

so I arrived at Jaffa Gate early, before sunset .

There were three colored trails to follow,

I started with the “Orange Trail”

"picture Tower of David", "photo Migdal David", "image Jerusalem"

 which went past The Tower of David and through

 the Armenian Quarter along the Armenian Patriarch Street.

"picture Jerusalem light festival", "image face", "photo Jerusalem"

Workers were finishing up the large art piece “Faces of Jerusalem.” 

"picture Jerusalem", "photo light festival", "image lights"

A series of lights called the “Light Line” lined Misgav Ladach Street

"picture light festival", "photo harp", "image Jerusalem"

and ended at the harp-shaped, “The Visual Piano.”

It was hard to photograph, but impressive to hear and see.

"picture kosel", "image kossel", "photo wailing wall"

At sunset, both the lights at the Kotel, the Western Wall, 

"picture Silwan", "photo Silwan","image Silwan"

and the views of the area are a favorite even without art light displays.

In the Rova,  the plaza of the Jewish Quarter,

"picture light art", "photo Jerusalem", "image art"

 there was a fascinating piece called “Meeting Composition.”

"picture light" , "photo Jerusalem", "image light festival"

  It changed with the motion of people under it.

"light photo", "picture Moslem Quarter", "image Al-Guds"

From the Jewish Quarter I picked up the “Blue Trail.”

"picture fire", "photo fire torches", "image fire"

Last year I was so impressed with performers using  fire torches 

that I watched for a long time and took dozens of  photos.

Last year they were on a small side street,  

but this year they were a main attraction in Muristan Square.

Determined to see all the routes, I did not stay to watch, 

but started on the “Green Trail.”

"Mosque of Omar photo","picture Mosgue entrance', "image Omar Mosgue'

There was a light coming from the Mosque of Omar,

but the sign says “For Prayers Only”.

"picture Old city", "image Arab market", "photo Jerusalem"

The “Green Trail” went through areas of the Old City

where  I usually do not go, certainly not alone at night.

"picture Arab women", "image market" , "photos old market"

So when the green lights stopped here, I stopped…

until an Israeli woman passed me and said to keep going to Damascus Gate.

Really good advice!

"picture Damascus Gate", "photo Damascus Gate", "image Shar Secham"

While recently the Damascus Gate has been in the news as a site of protests,

"picture Damascus Gate", "pinball photo", "image of Damascus Gate"

tonight it was lit up as a giant pinball machine.

"picture walls" "art photo" "image light benches"

Along the walls on the way back to Jaffa Gate were “Light Benches”

"picture Jerusalem", "image light", "photo old city"

and this piece which can only appreciated in video. 

"image Jerusalem", "photo light festival", "picture art"

At the Jaffa Gate the “Cupola” was bright inside and out.

"picture Israeli apartheid", "photo Arabs", "image Jerusalem"

Inside there was a couple dancing to the music,

"arab women photo", "picture jerusalem", "image Jerusalem"

while people were looking up

"picture Jerusalem", "image aparheid", "photo Arab woman"

and many were taking photos.

"photo Jerusalem", "image sign jerusalem","Picture Jerusalem"

Jerusalem, the light of the world.

These are just a few of my favorites from “Light in Jerusalem.”

I have to leave you some surprises, as the event runs until June 14.

If you cannot make it to Jerusalem, Israel this year…

more photos posted on

The Real Jerusalem Streets Facebook page

14 thoughts on “Light in Jerusalem 2012

  • June 7, 2012 at 4:53 pm
    Permalink

    Beautiful! I’m planning to go next week, thanks for the teaser.

    Reply
  • June 8, 2012 at 3:54 am
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    oh, do I miss Jerusalem! Thanks for these photos, but Damascus Gate lit up like a pinball machine? That was a bit tacky, don’t ya think?

    Reply
  • June 8, 2012 at 9:45 am
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    this is so beautifyul. my dream and passion is to go to Israel one day. my heart and spirit wants to go home

    Reply
  • June 11, 2012 at 1:15 pm
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    Beautiful. Thanks for sharing. Shared with a friend who is there now. If they haven’t gone yet I’m sure they will now!

    Reply
  • June 14, 2012 at 8:46 am
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    Thanks for the video of the pinball machine and the other things on the blue and green trails. We went a few nights ago but my wife wasn’t feeling well so we went home after seeing the orange trail. (And yes, the visual piano was AMAZING!).

    The faces display was also pretty neat – it had a big crowd of people watching and taking video. The blank face you have was illuminated with different faces, each of which for only a second or two. The transitions between each face weren’t done all at once – they sometimes transitions feature by feature until you had a completely new face, with various bizarre intermediate faces. Some of the faces looked like normal faces, some were clearly doctored (like the people with blue or green skin). It was all set to a somewhat bizarre musical score. I forgot my camera or I would share a video.

    Reply
    • June 14, 2012 at 9:12 am
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      You are so right, I saw what they did with that face – brilliant work! last year I was so taken with the couple and fire torches,that I missed a lot. This time I was determined to finish the trails, but to do so I had to really rush.

      So… did you pay a shiva call to the neighbors???

      Reply
  • June 15, 2012 at 7:43 am
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    I LOVE your blog! The light festival was wonderful wasn’t it? The Pinball Machine was terrific but I felt that the rest of the green trail could have been missed. The Orange Trail ROCKED!

    Reply
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