New Jerusalem

We had a nice visit to New Jerusalem Monastery - a short train ride from Moscow. The original monastery had been destroyed (mostly during WWII), and the buildings here are of relatively new reconstruction/restoration. There are a lot of Orthodox churches and monasteries to be found all over the Moscow region, all very ornate.  I understand that many of them have been reconstructed or restored in the past quarter century since the end of the Soviet Union.  New Jerusalem was originally built in the 17th Century, to provide a more accessible location for Russian pilgrims to visit, as the Holy Land was under control of the Turks, and also very far away!

I don't have much to say about these photos.

Very pretty, brightly coloured beetles as saw along the path.

Footbridge over the river Jordan:

And here is the monastery, bright white in the summer sun!