We, the adaptable

As I previously reported here and here, during the last crises in Gaza, I took a trip to Jerusalem. On the one hand I wanted to see and experience for myself what life was really like in this country at this time — but on the other hand, I am not completely stupid, and a hotel within rocket distance of Gaza was out of the question for me. I Jerusalem I saw this sign hanging in my hotel:

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There was a rocket warning just the day before I arrived, but the local folks I spoke with seemed used to taking this in stride. It’s really quite amazing, and it  just to goes show you amazing how adaptable we humans are.

Western Wall

This is the Western Wall, one of Judaism’s holiest sites.

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A few things struck me when I visited it. First, it was much smaller than I had expected.

Second, it was interesting to look at the various pilgrims and visitors. Some were tourists, like me. Some were extremely pious people for whom this was a once-in-a-lifetime event. And others seemed to be “regulars” who came here often.

 

Città di Como

The small town of Como is located on Lake Como in northern Italy, just across the border with Switzerland. With a car it’s less than a three hour drive from Zürich, so while you’ll find some Swiss residents here on the weekend, it is quite surprising you don’t find more of them.

This shot is pretty but not remarkable:

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And this snap is also pretty but not remarkable:

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But now to compensate this boredom, here are two remarkable things! First, this is a building whose purpose I cannot fathom. The arches seem much too small to bear any weight, so it’s not clear to me what purpose they served. Second, there is a BUG in the content management system I am using. The picture is not rotated in any way, as you’ll see if you click on it. But the media import module in WordPress – for whatever reason – has created a rotated thumbnail!

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So, as is the theme for my website, sometimes you can find the most remarkable of things in the least remarkable places!