Travel theme: Circles

The travel theme from Where’s My Backpack for this week was Circles.

I had a hard time deciding which direction I wanted to take this. I have so many pictures depicting families and good friends gathered ’round in circles that I liked so well. I just like the idea that people like to circle up, to bond, to be close together in the kind of unity that’s represented so well by that circular symbol.

But I finally decided, to be true to the “Travel Theme,” I’d think about some other symbols of unity (and, unfortunately, some dis-unity) to a couple of different groups from my travel time through the Holy Land.

Here, you quite prominently see the circular cap on the Dome of the Rock hovering above the wall of Old Jerusalem, from my vantage point on the Mount of Olives.

In Bethlehem, this marks the commemorative birth site of Jesus, prominently displayed by a unity circle with surrounding star.

This circular baptismal font lies in the Capernaum region, near the Sea of Galilee.

This is “Mary’s well” in Nazareth. With no abundance of other wells in the area, it’s deemed the most likely spot where the angel was described to have come to her to announce her upcoming motherhood to Jesus. I was drawn to the way that it seemed to glow golden and was pleased that I could capture its essence in the photo.

And this is a baptismal remembrance being held at the Jordan River. It does serve as a great example of how people like to be circled in the unity of community, which is really what baptism is all about.

To run around in circles through others’ themes on this topic, check out this Where’s My Backpack link.