'St .Sava' and ' Sukkat Shalom'

If and when I visit a church  it's for its history, art, and architecture mainly, not for religious purposes, as I'm of jewish faith.  
In Belgrade, I visited both a famous orthodox church (St. Sava) and the only active synagogue in town (Sukkat Shalom). They say, during the WW2, the church was used by the Nazis as a parking lot, and the synagogue as a brothel.(OMG!).

The serbian St.Sava Temple, not far from the Slavija square mentioned in my previous post,  merits all the high epithets available in the vocabulary: amazing, mind-blowing, stunning, spectacular, breath-taking...

Temple of Saint Sava

the main entrance area

It's big, and  a work in progress ; the galeries on the first level are still under renovation process; the dome and downstairs crypt are already finished and provide the visitor with much wonder and excitement.

Such richness of structure, vivid colors, fiery lights and fine materials (marble, granite, stone, crystal, gold)!
Such beauty of frescoes, murals, icons!

marble columns

gorgeous candelabre

superb arches and floor

people contemplating the paintings

My small, rudimentary digital camera cannot do justice to the sights inside and outside this gem.

saints

arch above exit from the crypt

   stairs leading to upper level

urn

The church is surrounded by a lovely, peaceful garden with fountains and benches.

sitting on the edge of the fountain

On my way out, I noticed  the statue of Nicola Tesla in the church yard. I liked that very much. A scientist honoured in the courtyard of a church!!

After all ,science and religion are not the best of pals.

statue of Nicola Tesla in the church garden

During my brief stay in Belgrade, I got the impression that Nicola Tesla (1858-1943) is probably the most beloved and respected figure in Serbia. The airport is named after him, there's a  museum (in the same area as the church) dedicated to his life and work as an inventor, researcher, engineer, physicist; there are monuments in the city honoring his memory, and more...

museum Nicola Tesla

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Compared to the 'St.Sava' church, 'Sukkat Shalom' (Dwelling of Peace ) synagogue is very modest . Still,  nice building and yard, beautiful interior. On the day of my visit, people in the courtyard were disassembling the 'sukka'  ( the hut-like structure in use during the jewish Sukkot holiday week).

The synagogue building is not only a place of worship but also one  of study and of community meetings, as it also houses the jewish community center with its various cultural and social activities. 

approaching the  gate

  tiny yellow sign with the name of the synagogue

beautiful iron gate with David's shield in the middle

building's top with a David's shield, seen from the outside

exterior of the synagogue ( entrance covered by the trees)

 prayer hall: upper balcony for women

'Aron Hakodesh'  - Torah scrolls closet

Despite the fact that the synagogue and the little, well kept, very interesting jewish museum (placed on another street) are centrally located, I haven't spotted them easily as they are kind of integrated with the rest of the buildings in the row, with no visible signage. I've also felt slightly bitter about the security measures at the entrance. One can freely visit a church or a mosque, but not a synagogue or a jewish institution.

captive women (jewish museum)

Moses and the 10 commandements (jewish museum)

And yet, there was something that made my day. On the way to the synagogue there's a small eatery with a big sign Tel Aviv Hummus House. It's a popular place for those who love  falafel, hummus, tahini and other middle eastern food. The visible yellow and blue sign , and the popularity of the place (open 24/7) are the best answer to terror threats and security measures.

Tel - Aviv Hummus House

The Palace of Knossos

Scorching sun, lots of ruins ,rough surface to walk  on (stones, pebbles, rocks). From the gate it looks compact, but one thing leads to another and even after three hours there , I haven't seen it all. It's huge and complex. The Palace of Knossos. (The name covers  main palace, little palace, royal villa, priest's house with the altar, official entrance Caravanserai serving as baths for the guests, theater area, royal tomb-sanctuary).

father and son checking the site map

tourists listening to guide; 'cup bearers' fresco behind 

Knossos is located some 5 kilometers from the center of Heraklion and it is one of the most significant attractions in Crete, being considered  the craddle of the Minoan civilization of the Bronze Age. 

The Palace, built on a hill, residence of King Minos, and the administrative center  of the entire island of Crete at that time, was set around a central courtyard. 
It  had royal chambers with precious objects, a throne room, banquet halls; storage rooms, irrigation arrangements, workshops, wall paintings.

staircase to the royal chambers

storage magazines

 

big  storage jars 

Walking among the reconstructed remains one gets a fairly good impression of the complexity and sophistication of the palace. Moreover, one also gets  feelings of exultation about wandering in a piece of the ancient Greek world.

The structures of the royal palace at Knossos have practically been "emptied" of excavated finds (frescoes, coins, figurines, vessels, jewellery etc..); those  were transferred to the Archeological Museum in Heraklion.  The few items left are, I'm afraid, only replicas of the originals.

'ladies in blue'  fresco

 'bull leaping'  fresco

'octopus'  frescoe

 'prince of  the lilies'  fresco

Thus, one has to visit both places (Knossos and the museum in Heraklion) in order to get a complete picture of the structures + the excavation finds.  I did. There's a combined entrance ticket to encourage this double visit. (In both places, by the way, there are good quality cafeterias to provide visitors with food and beverages),

Outside  the site of the Palace, across the street - a row of souvenir shops. I bought some souvenirs as a nice finish to my Knossos 'adventure'.