Good Friday

Orthodox old woman

 It's Orthodox Good Friday today ... and though the Way of the Cross is a Roman tradition from the Middle Ages (though some sort of way was practiced in the early Church), today all the Orthodox Churches in Jerusalem practice it. And that makes our streets awfully crowded. I had to go to work and in our compound and all along the street there were immense crowds of copts, Ethiopics, Romanians, Greeks, Russians and other Slavic rites. Police were trying to control the crowds but they only got pushed away by feisty old ladies carrying 3 feet tall crosses. Never mess with orthodox old ladies!

Coptic Orthodox

Meantime there were clashes in the Al Aqsa Mosque early this morning. At 3am groups of youths going to the mosque were chanting slogans while Israeli police stood tensely in front of our garage. At 6am volleys of stun grenades and fireworks exploded back and forth in the mosque compound. By 7am there were videos of a huge cypress tree on fire. 

This afternoon tensions are still high. Streets are blockaded throughout the Old City and crowds of muslims are jostling with Orthodox Christians making the Way of the Cross. Security helicopters are flying overhead. I'm not sure if I can make it home today.