Tel Aviv Rooftop

An enduring infatuation with Jesus As seen here entering a coffee bar in Altavilla, a provincial town outside Palermo. And Mary ...Supervising a kickabout from a niche in a square in Salerno. Sicily is packed with these shrines The most active volcano in Europe In the shape of Mt. Etna, seen here from the patio of a friendly B&B in the undistinguished, poor but very friendly town of Randozzo which lies at the foot of the Etna range. Particles of black volcanic grit fall constantly on the good people of Randozzo who have the Sisyphian task of sweeping it up every day, lest the whole town be buried in black. It seems to be good for the plants though. Etna erupted about a week before we arrived which lent a tang of danger to our climb of about 2,500 metres (the first 2,499.5 were done by car and cable car). The lack of oxygen, extreme cold and freezing wind made this a traumatic and exhausting experience. The top of Etna is a brooding, ominous monster of dried lava. On the way up, d...

A vibrant culture of popular sports Last Sunday morning , town square, Monreale, near Palermo, Sicily. A 'triathalon' was advertised but all we saw were runners of various ages. From time to time a policeman on motorbike would race round the square yelling. After about an hour of running around the narrow alleyways nearly all participants received a cup from looking local sporting dignitaries from the Union for Popular Sports. Italians also seem to be fond of "aquatic circuses". A long and vivid history As exemplified by this Moorish-inspired detail from a column in the beautiful Norman Duomo of Monreale. There was evidence of the strong influence of Islamic and Norman art and architecture all over Sicily, especially in the churches. This mural from the brothel at Pompei gave us a deeply penetrating insight into the daily life of the local Romans lived before they were buried in hot ash - Sodom and Gemorrah-like - by the eruption of nearby Vesuvius. A relaxed attitude...

Once the actual anniversary celebrations got underway all the philosophising and speculating was pushed to the side and you just go with the flow. Here are some pics starting with the view from the rooftop on Wednesday night when the laser beams from the lightshow on Rabin Square could be seen behind Shalom Tower. A street party in Neve Tzedek and in Florentin The flypast on Thursday looks like a replay of 9/11 but in fact the only people who were hurt were spectators on the beach, several of whom were injured when a parachutist smashed into them. Aerial acrobatics from the rooftop.

Half proud of the flag The impending outbreak of Israel's 60th Independence Day (coming up on May 8) obviously triggers all sorts of middle-aged contemplations that involve comparing the naive hopes of the youthful past with the complex realities of the over-ripe present and a very uncertain future. In the media we've mostly been subjected to a series of nostalgic flashbacks (like the 'A Song for 60' competition won, predictably by Yerushalayim shel Zahav . But in the more thinking pages of Ha'aretz at least there are some interesting reflections on where we are where we might be going . Modi Bar On is a TV producer and presenter (who has the image of the ordinary Moti-like bloke) who specialises in using plain language and old footage to dissect Israel through his historical documentary programmes: 'Bar-On is 45. His disappointment with Israel's Independence Day, and the state, is inevitable. "Now, I spend the holiday mainly at home. We used...