Winter Wonderland

I'm sorry for skipping over Christmas, but I wanted to show you the view from Jerusalem on Thursday, January 10, 2013.  The last time it snowed this hard was 1992 when Frank was here as a student.  The entire city was bracing for the storm, and schools and businesses closed early Wednesday afternoon.

It was a great blessing that the new students arrived Wednesday afternoon, not only because the rainy streets were nearly vacant in advance of the storm, but also because one day's delay in plans would have stranded the students perhaps in JFK or Tel Aviv.  What a blessing that the brunt of the storm waited until bedtime.

We got up early to check on the school closure, then I grabbed my camera and headed out about 7am.  First stop: the playground a few meters down the hall from us on the first floor.

The snow accumulated on the windows up and down the central staircase, but didn't last long past sunup.

 Our faithful Security Staff were on hand to see us through the storm.  Many of our staff stayed the night in the center knowing the roads would be horrible.  These three were in the parking garage.

On Level 8, I found Samia and Murad, who live next door to the center and came to fulfill their duties in the housekeeping department.  We got our first taste of kumquats from this pretty tree last fall.

Many students were up early because of the 9-hour time difference and tried to catch their first glimpses of   Jerusalem.

The biblical gardens are undergoing renovations, which will enhance the beauty of the north side of the property.  Under the snow is a new water feature, walking path, and interpretive sign bases.

The beam press, loaded with the extra weight of 3 inches of snow.  A total of 4-6 inches was reported in Jerusalem, with up to 8 inches in some areas.

The strange shapes of the screw press and the huge olive-crushing mill catch the blue-grays of the pre-dawn sky.

Students heard the Muslim call to prayer this morning about 5 am.  Since we acclimated to the time difference, we usually don't hear the earliest call anymore.  You can see the Al-Aksa Mosque's gray dome center left.

A cat must have explored the Biblical Gardens before sunrise.

The sun rose and pushed aside some of the clouds, but it continued to snow off and on throughout the day. Here you can see the Dome of the Rock, the Dormitian Abbey behind it, and the Hurva Synagogue toward the right.  The domes of gold, gray, and white wore the same color for a few hours today.

Here is a view of the Muslim quarter of the old city, with the Christian Quarter behind it and the YMCA tower on the center skyline.

From the lower entrance to the Jerusalem Center, you can see the East Jerusalem village of At-Tur on the left, the old city in the middle, and West Jerusalem on the right.

Our balcony is on the left in the next picture, close to the lower entrance which leads to the lower gate.  

A few days ago, the wind blew down this tree at the lower gate.  I don't think there was any damage, but it took a few days before it could be cut up and hauled off.

The clouds were very dramatic around 8 am.  Our "Jerusalem Cousins" got a head start playing in the snow, and our kids were still eating breakfast by the time the others were cold and ready to play indoors.

You can see the snow-covered cars below.  This road leads up to "Crash Corner," and as early as Wednesday night we could hear shouting and honking as people threw snowballs at cars which were struggling to get up the steep road.

Some men were making snow angels down the hill from us.  In the link at the end of this post you can see how other Jerusalemites enjoyed the snow.

An ambulance makes its way carefully up the hill.

We found all the mittens and scarves we had brought and headed outside.  Megan is looking for just the right target.

We lined up for the family photo just as the snow began again.  This snowman was made by students, then destroyed, and rebuilt again.  Kind of like the city behind us which you can't see.

Emily gets ready for a new snowman.

Carrie's shorter hair loved all the extra moisture.  She donated 10 inches to Locks of Love in honor of Tori and Madi Campbell, friends from Orem, who face chemotherapy and bone marrow transplants for MLD.  (Click here for more about Tori and Madi.)

If you look carefully below, you can see Carrie's message stamped into the snow.

 

We made Cosmo together outside the Oasis.  Emily made the base, Amanda made the tail, hands, "Y", and football.  He was melting and sad looking by 3 pm.

These soggy redheads enjoyed the hill below the playground.

Snow angels are tricky to photograph.  Finer matter, I guess. 

The best family photo came last, after a few dryer loads of mittens, two baths, and several costume changes.

To see more photos from Jerusalem, click here for an article from the Daily Mail.  I love this photo because of the white sculpture on the left, a landmark known in the Jerusalem Center as "The Pencil Sharpener."