Wadi Qelt - In the Eastern Desert of Palestine

As winter rains soak into the Palestinian hills, the water percolates into aquifers bound by ancient folds of rock far beneath the surface. Here and there the water escapes in the form of springs which have sustained life in the desert hills for millennia. 

 One such spring has cut valley leading from east of Jerusalem down to Jericho. The ancient valley of Wadi Qelt was an important  route from Jerusalem to Jericho and the cities of the Decapolisin the north east.

The spring at the source of the Wadi appears to maintained by the Israeli park service

 The hike towards the east begins from the spring,

 . . and here and there along the route, additional springs will emerge from the cliffs.

 The wet winter of 2011-2012 has flooded the aquifers and increased water flows above normal . . .

  And has brought to the valley back to life . . . . .

 . . . . . .and colour . . .

 

 And in several locations the water-worn rocks make for good swimming places.

After a few more kilometres to the east the valley deepens and the path rises to follow an aquaduct

 And the path continues for kilometres alongside a vista alongside Bedouin settlements.

 Until it arrives high above the monestary first founded by John of Thebes back in fading years of the Byzantine Empire.

 For more info . . .

 http://www.bibleplaces.com/wadiqilt.htm

 and another collection of images . . .

https://www.google.ps/search?q=wadi+qelt&hl=en&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=SvaHT6CcAsLb0QW6g_TiCQ&ved=0CCoQsAQ&biw=1024&bih=404

 

AIR TIME

One bright  Friday morning a small shape floated past the high corner of a nearby building, followed by another . . and then another and then dozens. The spring northward migration of the White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) was underway.

The eastern European white stork migrates along a flyway on the east end of the Mediterranean linking northern Europe to central west Africa. As the cool air of the Mediterrenean sweeps east across the mountains of the west bank it is deflected upward. Bare rocks add thermals to the mix. The storks have a choice to use coastal thermals, or once past the Negev desert, they can follow the winds inland to catch a giant escalator which can take them as far as Istanbul. The mountains may be more reliable – but the coasts hold scores of tasty commercial fish ponds

The method seems to be . . .. catch a mountain wave and or thermal . . . on the west side of the Judean hills.

 Circle upward with the rising air – and be carried eastward – gaining altitude with each circle.

 As the winds travel east – and before they begin the descent into the Jordan valley – the Storks exit the thermal and glide away  - trading altitude for northward distance along the western slope – looking for the next thermal wave to move them upward and northward again.

 Can one imagine how many millions of years ago these navigational skills emerged in the DNA of the ancestors of these birds? And were they even birds then, or something more closely resembling dinosaurs?

Sometimes, the numbers of storks is huge, as this video posted on Youtube shows:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYpOaOCrS24

 Studies of Stork migration patterns are on the internet

 http://www.bfn.de/fileadmin/MDB/documents/storch.pdf

 Including the application of thermal analysis software used in the sport of gliding

 http://www.tau.ac.il/lifesci/zoology/members/yom-tov/articles/Using.pdf

 For more information . . . check out Wikipedia!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Stork

Bernoulli's Wash

One the shores of the Mediterranean when the sun is setting there is a time and place where water, wind, and sun briefly  create sculptures in the sand.

 Sometimes the wind shifts the balance

 And other times, the sun lights the surface  . . .

  . . . of transient textures . . . on a fabric of sand . .

In another moment a new balance resumes between earth, fire and wind. .

 Each moment reminds us of equations learned in high school physics class  . . . .and the simplest of equations yields grace, colour, shadows and reflections until the sun moves on to the next beach somewhere over the horizon.

HISTORY HOMES

Lke a river, time meanders through eroded land, and takes away the things built on its shores. Here and there a few things are still standing against the current . . . and times flows around them – like this stone building beside the busy Jaffa Street in Ramallah.

 This was the old road that led from Ramallah to the port of Jaffa.

 And this fine old building is across the street from it.

And this multi-storey apartment buidling

 The builders and original owners of these grand old stone buildings are long gone but the buildings  are a reminder of the craftsmanship, skills and standards of the society that lived here in the hills more than a century ago. 

Meanwhile, may be the grandchildren of those past builders are still busy building  - because a building boom continues  to keep pace with the increasing population.  And donor contributions are a part of the effort – such as in this new boy’s school funded by  . ..

DARWISH

On a hilltop in southwest Ramallah a memorial has been constructed  for one of Palestine’s most famous sons, Mahmoud Darwish. His poems paint pictures of Palestinian culture and emotion for a generation who experienced its sudden loss and dislocation. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmoud_Darwish

 The life of Mahmoud Darwish paralleled the  conquest and loss of the Palestinian homeland.  His writings reflect the longing, loss and dreams of what might have been   . . . . and what  still remains to be restored. His timeline is displayed in the memorial site.

The best among us include those who give us something  to more deeply feel and understand life.  Darwish has had this affect for Palestine. His contribution defined a feeliing  - in time and  place – for the generations who live here in the hills at the east end of the Mediterranean.   For bringing hope and beauty into the minds of others, he was rewarded with a monument which will continue to evoke his memory for a long time to come.

TIMESCAPE

More than half a generation ago, a scattered group of expatriates got together to celebrate the birth  of a new century in a finely built house locataed on the  edge of Ramallah.

Now, the celebrants are dispersed to far corners of the globe. . . . and the house has a new purpose . . . as headquaters for the European Police Mission – providing training and oversight to the Palestinan Police Corps. 

And  a new neighbourhood is growing fast and growing big all around it – as a tide of development sweeps westward from Ramallah. 

 And encroaches on what was once the biggest building on the hill.

 On an adjacent hill  a cultural center has been built by an international donor agency.

 And another Palestinian Government Centre is under construction nearby – this time funded by Canadian International aid.