Last Friday of Lent

Roadworks in front of my house

For the past 2 nights, municipality workers were digging up our road and re-paving them with new stone slabs. The jackhammers breaking the ground and electric saws cutting up stones are very loud ... and the diesel machine belches black smoke that choke me. Obviously they want to finish the work by Palm Sunday but there's still quite a stretch undone. The noise and pollution is keeping us all awake for the past 2 nights. Nessun dorma.

Fa Lun Gong at Jaffa Gate

Security was tight today in the Old City as muslims flooded into the Al Aqsa Mosque for Friday prayers. Security helicopters have been hovering above since morning till now. Our Way of the Cross is guarded by several police to prevent any attacks from muslims or jews. At Jaffa Gate today where I had to go buy medicine from the pharmacy, there was a small group of Fa Lun Gongers at the corner of street ... all local Israelis speaking hebrew. Well they should be thankful Israel allows them to exist here. At least they don't need police protection like we do.

The tourist crowds are getting more and more, with Orthodox from Slavic countries and Egypt arriving. And jewish pilgrims are also coming in huge groups for the celebration of the Passover. Next week will see crowds from different religions mingling through the 3rd to 5th Stations as that's the crossroads where all 3 religions meet ... either to the Wailing Wall or the Al Aqsa Mosque or the Way of the Cross. That will be interesting to witness.