Not Just Shopping

 

The quiet streets and pleasant weather on Yom Kippur were wonderful.

But traffic and humidity have returned to the Jerusalem streets,

 and so has the noise of pounding hammers, as thousands of sukkot  popped up overnight.

Then it seemed as if everyone went shopping.

 

Shopping for food,

shopping for clothes,

 shopping for…wicker.

 As the week began, 

 

colorful sukkah holiday decorations went on display

and signs went up.

A large sign announced the arba minim market off Jaffa Street, near Machaneh Yehuda, the shuk.

Outside, there were decorations, but inside

early bird shoppers could examine the merchandise carefully and avoid the crowds later in the week.

Outside the shuk,

and all around Jerusalem

 hundreds of mini-bazaars filled with sukkah decorations

and displays of etrogim and lulavim could be found.

 

Not everyone was shopping;

these workers were busy

installing bollards

and a yellow security fence

all along Gan Sacher, Sacher Park.

Preparations for the Sukkot holiday events in the park were well under way on Sunday.

Visitors come from around the world for the holiday celebrations in the city center,

including thousands of Christian pilgrims for the Feast of Tabernacles parade.

 

This year, parking on the sidewalk at Gan Sacher will be very difficult, but walking should be safer.

Chag Sameach!

Happy Holiday!