What's New in Old News?
The official newsletter of the Peripatetic Historian. May 2023, Vol. 2, no. 12.
April (thunder)showers have produced the proverbial May flowers. Palestine is abloom with red poppies, blue thistles, and wild yellow mustard. And just like the short-lived foliage currently decorating the limestone hills of the countryside, here comes a bouquet of stories that blooms for a moment before crumbling into dust.
In the May Issue:
Peripatetic Field Report: The Cat-sitter of Jerusalem
Comet Madness Update
The Peripatetic Blog
The Olde Book Bag
Let’s get started…
Peripatetic Field Report
The Cat-sitter of Jerusalem
After two frenetic travel months I expected April to pass in a leisurely torpor, hunkered down in Ramallah, glued to my office chair, dropping words into new writing projects. Two large cats—Pippa and Tammy—conspired to disrupt this sedate prospect. When their Jerusalem-based owner jetted off for a fortnight in Dubai, I received the call to watch over the felines and spend Holy Week in the most important city on the Christian map.
If you are hoping for a tale of feline adventure—Pippa and Tammy Tour the Abbey of the Dormition—I’m sorry to have misled you: the cats were the pretext for my Jerusalem stay, but, with no further role in this account, they shall now saunter off our literary stage.
Jerusalem is ground zero for the three great western religions. Founded as the center of Judaism, it served as the backdrop for Christianity’s defining events. The city is also the third most important place in the Islamic religious landscape: the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque were built to commemorate Mohammed’s mystical visit to the city. This year Passover, Holy Week, and Ramadan all took place at the same time, leading to a tangle of intersecting religious celebrations.
Good Friday: Hiking the Via Dolorosa
The Via Dolorosa (Way of Sorrow) is the winding 600 meter route through the Old City that runs from the Lion’s Gate (adjacent to where the old Roman Antonia Fortress once stood) to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Many Christians believe that Pontius Pilate heard the case against Jesus at the Antonia Fortress, and therefore this is where Christ’s walk to Calvary would have begun. As with most claims about ancient religious life in Jerusalem, every element in what I have just written is contested. Nevertheless, since the nineteenth century, the Via Dolorosa has followed the present route.
Thousands of Christians process along the route on Good Friday, re-enacting Jersus’ last walk. I had originally planned to find a spot on the sidelines and watch the people pass. Unfortunately, the narrow streets offer no uninvolved viewing points—there’s no room for spectators. If you want to experience a procession, it is necessary to plunge in.
My companions and I joined a group of Arab Scouts near the first station of the cross on the Via Dolorosa. Our procession filled the Via, shuffling slowly through the narrow streets, following two large crosses. Packed in like the one of the fish from the feeding of the 5,000, I quickly grew claustrophobic and remembered why I was always so drawn to the solitary life of monks and hermits.
The procession terminated at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. As the leaders of our group pushed through the solitary entrance, I decided to remain outside and breathe the unconstrained air. I watched the Israeli police struggle to restrain arriving processions, attempting to hold back crowds who demanded instant access to the church. The last shall be first, said Jesus, but not on Good Friday.
The remainder of the weekend was filled with crowds: we spent several hours Saturday at a mass in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, waiting for the miracle of the Holy Fire, and a relaxed Easter service atop the fourth floor roof of the Convent of the Sisters of Zion.
Holy Week in Jerusalem does bubble over in a crowded frenzy, but it is undoubtedly an event that everyone should experience once.
But I would leave the cats at home.
Comet Madness
International Book Launch
April 15, 2023 marked the international release of Comet Madness. The book is now available throughout the UK and (in theory at least) in fine bookshops around the globe. You might need to request a special order if you are shopping in Minsk or Mandalay, but it is possible.
Listen In
I recently sat down for an interview with Iain Todd for the BBC Sky at Night podcast. Click here to listen in:
Upcoming Events
June 12, 2023, 7:00 p.m. The 1910 Return of Halley’s Comet. Denver Astronomical Society, Colorado (Virtual lecture).
July 21, 2023, 7:00 p.m. Comet Madness: Richard J. Goodrich in Conversation with Kevin O’Connor. Auntie’s Bookstore, Spokane, WA.
July 29, 2023, 7:00 p.m. The Manzanita Writers' Series Presents: Richard J. Goodrich. The Hoffman Center for the Arts, Manzanita, OR.
Additional events, as they arise, may be found on my website’s Media Page.
And, of course, if you have yet to procure a copy, or are searching for that perfect gift, Amazon would be happy to send you a shiny new copy of Comet Madness:
The Latest from the Peripatetic Blog
Recent Blog Posts:
PeriBlog XXIII: The Salted Land: The Peripatetic Historian travels south along the Dead Sea, visiting Jesus’ baptismal site and Lot’s wife.
The Olde Book Bag
During Ramadan, Muslims fast during the daylight hours and then gather for Iftar, the dinner after sunset. These meals offer excellent food and, occasionally, solid book recommendations. I was at an iftar meal when I learned about a fascinating entry in the history of Jerusalem.
Andrew Lawler’s Under Jerusalem: The Buried History of the World’s Most Contested City is my book-of-the-month selection. Who would have guessed that a history of archaeological exploration could be so interesting? Jerusalem, as I noted above, is contested religious space. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all claim the city as sacred to their faith, and, to a varying extent, each religion would monopolize it, excluding the other two siblings from the mix.
Europeans began excavating the city in the nineteenth century. Unfortunately, the twentieth century’s sharp-elbowed struggle for aboveground primacy tainted the archaeological work. Open-minded inquiries into Jerusalem’s past were soon linked to larger nationalistic and religious agendas. The Jewish community, which opposed early digs on the grounds that investigators defiled holy ground, quickly reversed direction when it became apparent that the Jews (and the newly-founded country of Israel) could use archaeological evidence to support the position that they had an older claim to the land than the Palestinians. Archaeology in the city has become (and remains) a blood sport as Jews, Christians, and Muslims tunnel through Jerusalem’s underworld in a competition to support their idiosyncratic truth claims.
Lawler offers an even-handed discussion of the war that has unfolded beneath the old city pavements, a fascinating story populated by wacky characters and quixotic quests. Here the reader will find not only a riveting history of how we came to know what we know about Jerusalem’s past, but also an illuminating account of how that knowledge is exploited for political, cultural, and religious gain.
Closing Thoughts
We—my lovely wife, Mary, and I—have committed to a second year in Palestine. Our first year here concludes in mid-June. We shall then head to Portugal to stretch our legs for a couple of weeks on the Camino Portugues, and then cross to the United States for a month of home leave. In August, inshallah, we will return to this strange and amazing place.
Our expatriate life has been busier and richer than I had expected. I sometimes wonder why we bother to pay rent in Ramallah. Travel—both planned and spontaneous cat-sitting adventures—have kept us on the road. Despite the perpetual motion, I have kept my fingers on the keyboard and hope to soon have news about the new (post-Comet) book for you.
But until then, be safe, be sensible,