Growth and Change

To walk in Ramallah is to witness the process of change. Old buildings are slowly fading and stone walls accumulate a patina of oxidation and neglect. 

 The families who dreamt of them, built them, and raised their families within their garden walls have moved on . . . as have the craftsmans who carved  stone into classical designs, or cast iron into window gratings.

It used to be that houses would collect winter rainfall in a garden cistern. Now water is purchased through agreements from a distant lake replenished with rainfall coaxed from the clouds by aircraft burning silver Iodide flares high in the winter clouds.This unseen change is on part of the process which sees older ways pass into ruin . . .

And new forms emerge  .. . .  like this new development . . . just one of many under construction in Ramallah.

.

This new force is driven by  imagination, new capital, and accumulated knowledge in more specialties than the stone masons and iron workers of the preceding generation could have dreamed. Some of the new developments are huge - such as this expansive mall, commercial and residential complex on the north side of Ramallah.

 Meanwhile, the preceding generations, their labors finished and children safely landed on the shores of the undiscovered country - have retired to more permanent quarters.

 

Port in a Storm

On this day heavy waves are pounding the breakwater on the Gaza coast,

 . . .  and the roar of portable electrical generators fills the streets as an electricity and fuel crisis grips the City.

 The water and sewage systems are near disaster as diesel supplies dwindle and the local power plant operates for just a few hours a day. Emergency generators at sewage lift stations are worked 2 or 3 times longer than their designed service intervals. Even when the grid power is restored producing wells cannot send water to  homes because distribution pumps are in areas where the power remains off.

Despite the challenges facing the inhabitants of Gaza - all resources are used - special teams waiting in some backyard gardens stand ready to fill any egg or Shawarma shortages.

 

The harbour is a busy working place with dozens of boats piled with nets.

The fuel shortage has idled some boats but others have secured scarce supplies, and every day and night boats head to the sea in a constant stream.  

Some Gazans visit the harbour to practice  photography – involving tourists if possible – a photo subject more rare than a Tuna catch!

One can only wonder at the pedigree of a Gazan harbour cat . . . . whose ancestors may have walked here from Egypt thousands of years ago . Perhaps the spots on this cat hint at some possible link  . . .

 

. . . . to the Ancient Egyptian species:     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_Mau

Walking in Ramallah

Some time travel is sudden and disorienting - in one place now,  in another  moment, later.  Years, decades, centuries can disappear in a moment squeezed into the boundary between cultures or friends.  Other times the days pass like the flickering frames of a silent movie.

In daily travels through Ramallah  - which translates as  “the Heights of God” – another movie flickers past my eyes .. . in scenes shot in the busy streets of the City on the Hill.

 

 Busy streets combine cars and pedestrians in a mixed stream.

 

A street vendor's coffee station is ready for service . . .

 

 As are pots of take-away flowers.

 A monument to Yasser Arafat continues toward completion in the square which bears his name.

   . . . and despite the "uncertainty" in the region . . . investment in real estate - such as this hotel and convention facility charges forward.

 

And a solitary street sweeper reminds us how care for the public domain remains a defining element of civilizations everywhere.

What was once mist over the Mediterranean is now condensing into a wall of cloud as it approaches the western slopes of the City.

 

As the cold mist and cutting wind arrives with darkness, the Ramalllah street vendors of hot kernel corn do a brisk business.

 

Shores Renewal

One week later – and  January has swept in upon the Tel Aviv shore in the form of mountains of clouds and wind-driven rain. 

Up there somewhere . . .  the cloud seeding aircraft of  the Israeli National Water Company - Mekorot - are burning silver iodide flares as part of a routine  program  estimated to add  60 million cubic metres of rainfall to Israel every year.

http://www.mekorot.co.il/Eng/Activities/Pages/RainEnhancement.aspx

But the pigeons of the Tel Aviv beach are staying close to the ground . . .

As the wind pushes thin sheets of broken waves high up on the beach . . . .

 

  . . . . from where they slip back across the Time Traveler’s aging feet.

The wind and waves are a beacon to the  surfers   . . . .

 And, with the surf up  . . . so is the surf school  . . .  as students prepare to join the instructor on the edge of the breaking surf.

. . . .  behind them are the remains of a dance club -  where, in 2001, nineteen young people were killed by a suicide bomber.  . . . but that’s before the time of an eight year-old girl paddling out to the surf  . . .

  . . . .Where the rest of surfing class has gathered. . . . .

 

No sunsets will mark this day . . . . just a cold walk back along rain-soaked sand.

Beach Civilization

When the sun shines in Tel Aviv –  people head to the beach – even if its January - and perhaps, for some, because it is January.

According to history – the advantages of  life in  the middle east region – or certain parts of it – can outweigh the disadvantages of occasional wars.

Even if the calendar may cause some confusion about what to wear.

Its still great for sunbathing. . . .

Or surfing  . . . .

Or playing  a racquet sport  . . . .

Or just walking on the beach  . . . .

and watching the surf wash up on the beach . . . . 

A healthy climate . . . with enlightened society . . . and a kosher diet . . .  creates a  Tel Aviv beach phenomenon which looks something like this . . . .    

And then this January day on a Tel Aviv Beach is wrapped up with a ribbon of orange  . . .

  . . . to  complete another stressful day in the conflict-ravaged middle east.

NABLUS - URBAN VALLEY

One of the largest cities in the Palestinian Territory is the City of Nablus – located in the north central part of the area called the West Bank. This photo of the old market area in the heart of town was taken off a poster.

 

 The City is comprised of hundreds of mostly residential buildings splashed through a deep valley which forms a saddle between the east and west slopes of the Samarian Hills (the mountains of the north section of the west bank).

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nablus

 The economy of the City appears to be driven most recently by a real estate investment boom driven by foreign earned funds brought back to Nablus (called “remittances”).  In the 5 years since the Time Traveler last passed through this City, the expanse of urban sprawl has more than doubled in area. Tall apartment buildings have been painted upon the valley walls like some large mural on both sides of long corridor. 

 

 The newer development spreads westward on the south-facing slope.

   . . . .  for kilometres  . . .

 All the way back towards its eastern origins in the heart of town.

The older buildings along the central road are now curiosities from a past time rapidly being assimilated by new development.

 But some of the charm - somewhat reminiscent of parts of California - remains in the older weathier area.

 The old Roman city at this same site relied upon springs in the valley for its water supply. Now days, the demands placed upon the shrinking aquifers of the limestone hills means that most water is purchased from the Israelis and it piped to the city from lake Galilee in the north.

The water sector is receiving some help in the form of funding for a new wastewater treatment plant to serve western Nablus. It is expected that the planned treated wastewater plant (now under construction) will provide a new source of water for irrigation purposes. (Designers' illustration provided below)

BUILDING

A building is steadily emerging beside the Time Travellers balcony. Made from the labour of men, from steel, cement and stone it is quickly rising to some as yet unknown height. Stone panels are cemented in place – to create the impression of a building constructed of stone blocks when completed.

 

 Cement blocks are loaded onto the recently completed level – to form a hollow foundation for the next floor – which will be bound with by steel rebar and cement .

The rebar was delivered yesterday.