Foto Friday – David Shankbone’s Jerusalem

May 22, 2009 - 11:42 PM by Rachel Neiman · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Art, Blogging, Foto Friday, General, History and Culture 

David Shankbone is a photographer, writer and vice-president of non-profit organization Wikimedia New York City, Inc. He has also, for the last three years, engaged in a public art project on Wikipedia, in which he has released all his photography on topics ranging from landscapes and cityscapes to celebrity portraits, for the public to use. As Shankbone puts it, “I set out on a project to create a body of high-resolution work whose copyright allowed the public to reproduce it, even alter it, without my permission. Even for commercial purposes, as long as nobody’s personality rights are violated.”

“The totality of the work is a documentation of human existence” states Shankbone, who has photographed everything “from subway stations to Kanye West; from Madison Avenue to Madonna; from the Rocky Mountains of Colorado to the hills of southern Lebanon.” And, as of this past March, Israel, where he was invited as a guest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For his project, Shankbone snapped pictures of Jerusalem that are illustrative…

david_shankbone_jerusalem_temple_mount_western_wall

and poetic…
david_shankbone_jerusalemal-aqsa_mosque

…ranging from the Old City…
david_shankbone_jerusalemvia_dolorosa

david_shankbone_jerusalem_panorama

…to the New…
david_shankbone_jerusalem_new_city_panorama

…the past — and possibly the future!
david_shankbone_jerusalemmount_of_olives

Shankbone’s Wikipedia work is an amazing resource, giving users the benefit of being able to use work from a photographer who is both skilled technically, and an artist in terms of effect and composition.
david_shankbone_jerusalem_western_wall_tunnel

They can also benefit from his news-savvy. On Wikinews, which is Wikipedia’s news arm, Shankbone has posted over 40 interviews with global cultural leaders. A story about the project entitled, “Why Shimon Peres sat down with David Shankbone” is definitely worth a read as it explains a bit about his history and the project.

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Eating Apfelstrudel in the Old City

September 18, 2008 - 7:50 PM by Harry · 2 Comments
Filed under: Food, Religion, Travel 

Apple Strudel (with whipped cream)I had a conference last night in the Old City and had a couple of hours to kill beforehand. I was hankering for some good hummus but alas, the two best hummus joints in the Old City – Abu Shukri and Lina – were long closed in the late afternoon. So I abandoned my quest for some chickpea action and decided for a completely experience. I headed to the Austrian Hospice. The hospice was originally established as a hotel for pilgrims from Austria, was later a Jordanian hospital and is now back to being a hostel for Christian pilgrims. The front doors, heavy and wooden, open to a two-floor ascent and a wide outdoor space completely removed from the cramped alleys of the Old City. High ceilings and expansive marble floors are standard. Generous cushioned seating areas a cafe are available for all, as well as a beautiful outdoor seating area. And the Apfelstrudel. Oh the Apfelstrudel how I love thee.
Old City Rooftops
There is only one thing better than the Apfelstrudel at the hospice and that is the rooftop view of the Old City. Whenever I have guests visiting from abroad (or from Tel Aviv) and I’m giving them the requisite Jerusalem tour this is always one of my destinations. I bring with me my copy of “The Innocents Abroad” and read Mark Twain’s take on the same view.

The appearance of the city is peculiar. It is as knobby with countless little domes as a prison door is with bolt-heads. Every house has from one to half a dozen of these white plastered domes of stone, broad and low, sitting in the centre of, or in a cluster upon, the flat roof. Wherefore, when one looks down from an eminence, upon the compact mass of houses (so closely crowded together, in fact, that there is no appearance of streets at all, and so the city looks solid,) he sees the knobbiest town in the world, except Constantinople. It looks as if it might be roofed, from centre to circumference, with inverted saucers. The monotony of the view is interrupted only by the great Mosque of Omar, the Tower of Hippicus, and one or two other buildings that rise into commanding prominence.

Hard to imagine we are looking at the same thing. Perhaps we would agree on the Apfelstrudel?

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