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Today being World Toilet Day, just wanted to show you these cute Damen und Herren signs on the door of a new WC in rural Austria.
It is inside this little cabin called Wanderhütte Fernblick, in the state of Burgenland, Austria.
Apparently here you can get refreshments and a sit-down during the hot summer hiking months.
The panoramic vista of the hills and valleys is free.
Next to the typical wayside shrine they have a weather stone suspended.
Enlarge the photo a few times to read how it works.
Weda-stoa is Austrian dialect for German Wetter Stein.
Stone wet - Rain
Can't see the stone - Fog
Stone is quiet - No wind
Stone white - Snow
Stone warm - Sunny
Stone ice cold - Frost
Stone is swaying - Storm
Stone is hopping - Earthquake
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(Linking to signs, signs and SkyWatch Friday.)
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Showing posts with label stones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stones. Show all posts
Thursday, November 19, 2015
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Stones in a cage
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In the hills around Jerusalem I was used to seeing ancient agricultural terrace walls.
Farmers built them from stones they cleared from the field.
They placed one stone on another in just the right way that the terrace wall would last for thousands of years.
So now when I see this easy-to-make stone wall in an Austrian village I have to wonder (and giggle a bit too).
See posts about the ancient terraces near Jerusalem here.
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In the hills around Jerusalem I was used to seeing ancient agricultural terrace walls.
Farmers built them from stones they cleared from the field.
They placed one stone on another in just the right way that the terrace wall would last for thousands of years.
So now when I see this easy-to-make stone wall in an Austrian village I have to wonder (and giggle a bit too).
See posts about the ancient terraces near Jerusalem here.
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Saturday, May 17, 2014
Moonlight Stone-ata
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In olden days men really knew how to build a terrace wall, didn't they?
This one in the hills west of Jerusalem was probably made by 12th century Crusaders.
To the right of the corner, a tall staircase ascends.
The stones looked especially beautiful in the soft half-light of dawn.
Enlarge the photo 2x and see them better.
I took this picture at 5:37, in between the full moon's setting and the bright sun's rising (as you may know from the previous two posts).
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The mystical in-between time brought to mind the Hebrew song Karev Yom:
(you can listen here)
In olden days men really knew how to build a terrace wall, didn't they?
This one in the hills west of Jerusalem was probably made by 12th century Crusaders.
To the right of the corner, a tall staircase ascends.
The stones looked especially beautiful in the soft half-light of dawn.
Enlarge the photo 2x and see them better.
I took this picture at 5:37, in between the full moon's setting and the bright sun's rising (as you may know from the previous two posts).
.
The mystical in-between time brought to mind the Hebrew song Karev Yom:
(you can listen here)
The day is approaching that is neither day nor night.
Most High, let it be known that Yours is the day and Yours is the night
Place guards over Your City all day and all night
Lighten the darkness of the night with the light of day
The day is approaching that is neither day nor night . . .
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Leaning limestone
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And what is next to "The Antiquarian Book Shop" we saw in yesterday's post, out in the Israel Museum's art garden?
This.
This thing of limestone and steel cable.
Benni Efrat, an Israel artist born in Lebanon in 1935, made it in 1978.
It's name?
"Extrapolations."
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(If you are more interested in the shiny thing in the background, see my posts
http://jerusalemhillsdailyphoto.blogspot.co.il/2010/07/bringing-heaven-down-to-earth.html
and
http://jerusalemhillsdailyphoto.blogspot.co.il/2012/04/sixty-four-years-of-independence.html )
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And what is next to "The Antiquarian Book Shop" we saw in yesterday's post, out in the Israel Museum's art garden?
This.
This thing of limestone and steel cable.
Benni Efrat, an Israel artist born in Lebanon in 1935, made it in 1978.
It's name?
"Extrapolations."
.
(If you are more interested in the shiny thing in the background, see my posts
http://jerusalemhillsdailyphoto.blogspot.co.il/2010/07/bringing-heaven-down-to-earth.html
and
http://jerusalemhillsdailyphoto.blogspot.co.il/2012/04/sixty-four-years-of-independence.html )
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Saturday, September 15, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Libby's cobblestones
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Lovely Libby in the Le Meridien Dead Sea lobby.
While her mom/my daughter registered for the scientific conference at the hotel, little Libby was busy re-arranging stones.
She liked the sound they made when they landed on the floor or on the other rocks. (So did I.)
Had we stayed a little longer than four days, she likely would have built a cobblestone street with those smooth stones!
.
Oi, this could have been good for the City Daily Photo group's Theme Day on cobblestones.
But no, actually this post is for ABC Wednesday L-Day.
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She liked the sound they made when they landed on the floor or on the other rocks. (So did I.)

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Oi, this could have been good for the City Daily Photo group's Theme Day on cobblestones.
But no, actually this post is for ABC Wednesday L-Day.
.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Stones but not cobblestones
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Cobblestones--today's City Daily Photo theme.
I knew that I love the quaint roundish stones in old European lanes, but Theme Day made me realize I needed the dictionary to learn just what qualifies as a cobblestone.
So, it is "a naturally rounded stone, larger than a pebble and smaller than a boulder, formerly used in paving."
Maybe we don't have cobblestone streets in Israel because we have few streams or lakes that can naturally smooth and round stones into cobblestones?
Instead I give you the Roman Road or Caesar's Way, an ancient way that passes near my village in the Jerusalem Hills.
Whenever visitors plan to visit me in Israel or even just near my village, I warn them to bring serious hiking shoes so they will not feel every sharp stone underfoot.
Even with thick soles, a few hours on the Roman Road is trying.
People from abroad are always surprised how the land of Israel is covered with so many rocks and smaller stones.
I like to think it is because all the millions of Diaspora Jews who have come home to Israel over the centuries, they set foot on holy ground, give a big Jewish sigh, and exclaim the Hebrew proverb, "Ahh, even nagolah me'al libi," meaning "A stone has fallen from my heart!"
.
Cobblestones--today's City Daily Photo theme.
I knew that I love the quaint roundish stones in old European lanes, but Theme Day made me realize I needed the dictionary to learn just what qualifies as a cobblestone.
So, it is "a naturally rounded stone, larger than a pebble and smaller than a boulder, formerly used in paving."
Maybe we don't have cobblestone streets in Israel because we have few streams or lakes that can naturally smooth and round stones into cobblestones?

Whenever visitors plan to visit me in Israel or even just near my village, I warn them to bring serious hiking shoes so they will not feel every sharp stone underfoot.
Even with thick soles, a few hours on the Roman Road is trying.
People from abroad are always surprised how the land of Israel is covered with so many rocks and smaller stones.
I like to think it is because all the millions of Diaspora Jews who have come home to Israel over the centuries, they set foot on holy ground, give a big Jewish sigh, and exclaim the Hebrew proverb, "Ahh, even nagolah me'al libi," meaning "A stone has fallen from my heart!"
.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
You shall be called repairer of the breach
.
I walked down to the valley this afternoon to see how winter is changing the charred landscape.
In July 2010 a fire burned the forest on the hills west of my village (shown here and here).
In June 2011 the Keren Kayemet foresters started sawing down the dead trees and putting in firebreaks.
Recently they must have gotten down to the more cosmetic touches, like sawing the two small trees that you see in the photo above.
The problem is, those trees had been growing out of the ancient terrace wall.
Their removal left a big hole.
I left the photo nice and big so you can click on it and enjoy the beautiful stones in detail.
With nothing to support them, that row of stones is not long for this world, I fear.
And once there is one breach in the wall, more will follow.
I love Isaiah's prophecy in Isaiah 58:12:
Jerusalem is surrounded by hills and the only way to raise crops was to build agricultural terraces.
Farmers picked rocks from the ground and built the terrace walls; they may have had to bring in soil for each little plot.
They devised irrigation channels from the many springs in the Jerusalem Hills.
In the bottom of the valleys they built dams, as pictured above.
When rain water rushed down the valley from the hills, these dams stopped the soil from being washed away.
.
In Biblical days, farmers were able to feed their families from these terraces and also most of the great throngs of pilgrims who ascended to the Temple in Jerusalem on the pilgrimage festivals.
In recent centuries, up to 1948, Arab farmers grew many fruit trees and I'm not sure what else in the hills.
I admire all who did this hard work in a not easy land.
.
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In July 2010 a fire burned the forest on the hills west of my village (shown here and here).
In June 2011 the Keren Kayemet foresters started sawing down the dead trees and putting in firebreaks.
Recently they must have gotten down to the more cosmetic touches, like sawing the two small trees that you see in the photo above.
The problem is, those trees had been growing out of the ancient terrace wall.

I left the photo nice and big so you can click on it and enjoy the beautiful stones in detail.
With nothing to support them, that row of stones is not long for this world, I fear.
And once there is one breach in the wall, more will follow.
I love Isaiah's prophecy in Isaiah 58:12:
You will rebuild the ancient ruins, raise foundations from ages past, and be called "Repairer of the breach [or: of broken walls], Restorer of streets to live in."

Farmers picked rocks from the ground and built the terrace walls; they may have had to bring in soil for each little plot.
They devised irrigation channels from the many springs in the Jerusalem Hills.
In the bottom of the valleys they built dams, as pictured above.
When rain water rushed down the valley from the hills, these dams stopped the soil from being washed away.
.
In Biblical days, farmers were able to feed their families from these terraces and also most of the great throngs of pilgrims who ascended to the Temple in Jerusalem on the pilgrimage festivals.
In recent centuries, up to 1948, Arab farmers grew many fruit trees and I'm not sure what else in the hills.
I admire all who did this hard work in a not easy land.
.
Labels:
fire near 3 moshavim,
Jerusalem Hills,
stones,
terraces
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Turned into stone
.
Just a little post to answer some of your questions about yesterday's fossil.
Here you can see how big it is. It is very heavy.
Belongs to friends, not me.
Don't know it origin or history.
.
Leif, I found out here that
"Because the half-life of carbon-14 is 5,700 years, it is only reliable for dating objects up to about 60,000 years old."
This beautiful fossil must be way older than that.
.
Here you can see how big it is. It is very heavy.
Belongs to friends, not me.
Don't know it origin or history.
.
Leif, I found out here that
"Because the half-life of carbon-14 is 5,700 years, it is only reliable for dating objects up to about 60,000 years old."
This beautiful fossil must be way older than that.
.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Stairs, stones, and schools
.
ABC Wednesday is already on letter S.
.
So many times I have entered the Old City at Jaffa Gate and walked right past the old Petra Hostel.
A few days ago I gathered courage and entered this dilapidated old building, refuge of backpackers and other penniless types.
Slowly, so as not to slip on the well-worn stairs, I climbed to the 3rd floor and then up onto the flat roof.
.
SPECTACULAR view!!
New west Jerusalem and old east Jerusalem!
The Old City and Temple Mount and beyond, to the Mount of Olives and the desert!
.
But my favorite photo from the roof was not off into the distance but rather straight down.
Enlarge it, please.
.
The Arab girl was bending over, opening a grate, cleaning it as the final step in her big work of hosing down the courtyard and scrubbing the stones.
Shining stones, still wet!
Aren't they beautiful?
It's like in archaeology when we pour water over an ancient mosaic and all its colors come to life!
.
I wish the young lady could see her work from above and be proud.
.
Not sure, but I think, judging from a basketball hoop, that the enclosed area is part of St. Dimitri's School.
It is a private school sponsored by the Patriarchate of the Greek Orthodox Church.
.
I see in a 2008 news item that St. Dimitri's was then celebrating the renovation and revitalization of its building.
.
Apparently the EU has a Comprehensive School Upgrading Program for a few selected Palestinian schools in east Jerusalem which "revamps the schools and upgrades the electricity networks, sanitation facilities, sewage systems, carpentry and mechanical works and general classroom conditions (paint, floors, and ceilings). It also funds new school equipment like computers, fax, and copy machines, as well as school management software."
.
Along with two partner organizations, the EU provides "extensive teacher training around teaching methods, interfaith education, inclusion and appropriate methods of maintaining discipline and openness in the classroom."
.
The need is great and I wish them success.
.
ABC Wednesday is already on letter S.
.
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A few days ago I gathered courage and entered this dilapidated old building, refuge of backpackers and other penniless types.
Slowly, so as not to slip on the well-worn stairs, I climbed to the 3rd floor and then up onto the flat roof.
.
SPECTACULAR view!!
New west Jerusalem and old east Jerusalem!
The Old City and Temple Mount and beyond, to the Mount of Olives and the desert!
.
Enlarge it, please.
.
The Arab girl was bending over, opening a grate, cleaning it as the final step in her big work of hosing down the courtyard and scrubbing the stones.
Shining stones, still wet!
Aren't they beautiful?
It's like in archaeology when we pour water over an ancient mosaic and all its colors come to life!
.
I wish the young lady could see her work from above and be proud.
.
Not sure, but I think, judging from a basketball hoop, that the enclosed area is part of St. Dimitri's School.
It is a private school sponsored by the Patriarchate of the Greek Orthodox Church.
.
I see in a 2008 news item that St. Dimitri's was then celebrating the renovation and revitalization of its building.
.
Apparently the EU has a Comprehensive School Upgrading Program for a few selected Palestinian schools in east Jerusalem which "revamps the schools and upgrades the electricity networks, sanitation facilities, sewage systems, carpentry and mechanical works and general classroom conditions (paint, floors, and ceilings). It also funds new school equipment like computers, fax, and copy machines, as well as school management software."
.
Along with two partner organizations, the EU provides "extensive teacher training around teaching methods, interfaith education, inclusion and appropriate methods of maintaining discipline and openness in the classroom."
.
The need is great and I wish them success.
.
Labels:
ABC Wednesday,
hotel,
old buildings,
Old City,
Petra Hostel,
school,
stairs,
stones
Friday, February 19, 2010
Symbolic reflections
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Let's continue our walk through the Supreme Court Building.
The benches (near the mosaic) of the previous post are visible in this first photo.
Let the guard thoroughly inspect your bag (or he may use the X-ray machine), answer his questions, walk through the metal detector, and YOU ARE IN.
For James' "Weekend Reflections" meme, here is a mirror that runs between the floor and the wall in many places of the Supreme Court Building.
One idea of the mirror, here running on the right of the main entrance stairway, is from the biblical book of Amos (5:24):
Let's continue our walk through the Supreme Court Building.
The benches (near the mosaic) of the previous post are visible in this first photo.
.
In 1986 a competition was held and 174 proposals from around the world were submitted.
Israeli architects Ram and Ada Karmi, a brother-sister team, won.
Before creating their design for this new justice building, they reread the Hebrew Bible.
Drawing inspiration from biblical metaphor, they put into play the contrasts of
- inside and outside
- old and new
- lines and circles
In the coming week we will walk through the building and see examples.
"But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream."
.
The stairway resembles an old Jerusalem lane, complete with streetlamps. The floor here is stone, not marble, like a Jerusalem courtyard of 130 years ago.
The wall of unhewn stones (from quarries from every region of Israel, united in one wall), with no mortar in between, reminds us of the walls of ancient Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.
.
The wall on the left is plain white plaster. The new faces the old.
.
The reflecting mirrors show our contact and emotional connection with the land.
They create the illusion that the building's foundation extends deep into the earth.
This effect recalls the foundations of the Old City of Jerusalem and suggests that the roots of law and justice are also deep.
We are inside but feel outside.
Sacher Park and the 19th century neighborhood of Nachlaot are at our feet.
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Sunday, December 20, 2009
More "improvements"
.
Like it's not enough that the Jerusalem Municipality has been tearing up our streets for years to build tracks for the light rail. Now they are tearing up Omar Ibn Khatib Square too!
This is what I found at noon today just inside the Jaffa Gate.
Jaffa Gate is, or was, a main entrance into the Old City for vehicles and people.
When I left the Old City at 4:00, the paving stones were already wrapped and strapped on pallets and being loaded onto a truck.
Like it's not enough that the Jerusalem Municipality has been tearing up our streets for years to build tracks for the light rail. Now they are tearing up Omar Ibn Khatib Square too!
Jaffa Gate is, or was, a main entrance into the Old City for vehicles and people.
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They plan to improve the square's infrastructure, add street furniture, etc., working 24 hours a day for the next 18 months. The Municipality's flyer on the project is here if you want details.
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Hmm, maybe I should apply for work at the preliminary archaeological dig that will surely start soon . . . .
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Monday, November 30, 2009
Waiting to become
.
For That's My World, let's go just across the street in my moshav (village) and see what the neighbors are up to.
Stones waiting to become something useful and beautiful.
For That's My World, let's go just across the street in my moshav (village) and see what the neighbors are up to.
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Saturday, July 26, 2008
Stonemason in a monastery courtyard
How do these guys stand it all day?
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Labels:
construction,
monastery,
reconstruction,
stonemason,
stones,
working people
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Walls of Jerusalem and of the hills
Welcome to the fun we bloggers have at ABC Wednesday. Today's letter is W.
Western Wall, formerly known as the Wailing Wall.
With the beginnings of the excavation where I worked last year.
Watchtower known as David's Tower and Jerusalem's Old City city wall.
One of the old terrace walls which dot the Jerusalem Hills. Some date from First Temple period.
Wedges in a wall: how to build a straight wall.
With the beginnings of the excavation where I worked last year.
Labels:
ABC Wednesday,
stones,
terraces,
walls,
Western Wall Plaza
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
R is for Regional (ABC Part 4)
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Touching history
.
The altar of the Greek Orthodox Chapel of the Raising of the Cross stands over a glassed-in part of the Rock of Calvary. The disc under the altar has a small hole through which pilgrims can touch the rock which held the cross.
It is the 12th of the 14 Stations of the Cross, or Via Crucis, also called the Via Dolorosa.
Many are the stones in the Holy City who beg to be touched by us.
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It is the 12th of the 14 Stations of the Cross, or Via Crucis, also called the Via Dolorosa.
Many are the stones in the Holy City who beg to be touched by us.
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Labels:
Holy Sepulchre,
pilgrims,
Stations of the Cross,
stones
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