Joan
Almond on Jerusalem
In a city of such contrasts and backgrounds, people
seemed to go on doing what they should - living their
lives as best they could under any circumstances, and
existing together in some sort of harmony. What caught
my attention more than anything was that whoever they
were, they seemed to be trying to seek that human level
- to strike that sense of balance wherever, and with
whomever, they lived. I saw structures old and new,
sometimes in places that did not make any sense. I saw
people relocating whether they wanted to or not - but
always somehow adopting or rationalizing their situation
in order to hit that sense of balance again. They still
gathered for celebrations and rituals, prayer or play;
the markets, bustled with bread deliveries and the smell
of spices and fruits. Life went on. The Prophet Micah
said, "And all nations shall be gathered together in
thy streets..." Today it is very different:
"gathering" is now "separation." But when I was there, that
sense of balance prevailed. That is what I loved, and
what I photographed, in Jerusalem. |
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Jerusalem: A Gathering of Nations
