Jerusalem photos – Page 149 – The Real Jerusalem Streets

Counting Chanukiot or Hanukkiot

December 12, 2012rjstreets

Yesterday, 834 people in a hangar in the Princeton, New Jersey airport

set the Guiness world record for the most Chanukiot lit at the same time.

I do not know if we could even get that many people

in Jerusalem, Israel, to agree on anything.

It is even hard to agree on the spelling in English.

Are they Chanukiot or Hannukiot?

This time of year in Jerusalem, Israel,

Hanukiot, special Hanukkah menorahs,

pop up on top of buildings,

and are displayed in windows

in all colors and types.

They are sold at many craft fairs before the holiday

and can be found on top of cars during Hanukkah.

We have done whole blogs on Just Chanukiot in the past

and Chanukkah lights.

So what is new and different this year?

I set out yesterday to check the Jerusalem streets,

but did not get very far before the rain started.

There are those who count every single millimeter of water,

yesterday it came down in buckets.

When it rains in Jerusalem, the sky gets grey and the people go inside.

At one popular destination is the Israel Museum, the garden was empty,

as people looked for shelter and families filled the children’s sections,

where Hanukiot were made of recycled materials.

But I wanted to find the special Hanukkah exhibit

on Hanukiot

from around the world:

simple ones from Yemen

as well as ornate ones from Europe.

Families looked at the various small Chanukiot

and admired the large ones,

while the weather outside also got plenty of attention.

I really wanted to go across the street to see the new

“Fire” exhibit at the Bloomfield Science Museum.

But I was still wet, so I went home to get some hot tea and dry clothes.

Today the sun is shining again, it is a much better day for photos.

Happy Hanukkah!

Nachlaot Finding Past and Future

November 6, 2012rjstreets

Sir Moses Montefiore, a great benefactor to Israel in the 19th century,

is perhaps best known for the Montefiore Windmill.

However, in 1882 he was also involved in building

the Nachlaot section of Jerusalem.

This cluster of small Jewish neighborhoods was one of the first

Jerusalem homesteads outside the walls of the over-crowded Old City.

Stone walls surrounded Nachlaot to protect its residents.

Today one of the openings still displays a testimonial to Montefiore

and the Mazkeret Moshe neighborhood is named for him.

Nachlaot is across from the Machane Yehuda Market, the shuk.

After getting lost too many times on the narrow twisting streets,

I made it a habit to walk around Nachlaot

and not through it on my way to the shuk.

So when the Jerusalem Scavenger Hunts offered a hunt to Nachlaot,

I made sure to be one of the first bloggers to sign up for the special event.

In Nachlaot, you can see interesting street art

painted on the walls,

but you never know what you will find hanging out on its streets.

Old stone streets

and beautiful new homes,

combine to make walking the Nachlaot streets a real adventure.

From ancient stones on the left to modern cable receivers on the right,

it can all be found in Nachlaot.

We followed our map, and not only did we not get lost,

but our team won!

And thanks to the Village Green Restaurant on Rachel Imenu Street,

we enjoyed fresh bread with a cup of soup at the end of the hunt.

There are many tours to Nachlaot,

but this scavenger hunt is fun and educational for all ages.

We found it as good an experience as the hunt last year

in the Old City.

To find more photos of Nachlaot and our winning team see:

The Real Jerusalem Streets Facebook Page.

Jerusalem Knights and Dragons Festival

October 31, 2012rjstreets

A priority for City Hall has been to encourage

visitors to come at night to the streets of the Old City of Jerusalem, Israel.

And the current ‘Festival of Knights in the Old City’ has done the job.

Jaffa Gate is the starting point for the ‘Knights and Dragons’ theme,

where a large map of the Christian Quarter route is displayed

and musicians entertain.

Smart families got a map with the 17 station locations,

but does not include the many moving ‘photo ops’.

Last week I went early,

as good photographs are hard to get at these crowded events.

Near the beginning of the route was this colorful dragon head.

A cardboard castle and its defending knight were ready for photo action,

near the real Knights’ Palace.

One lane was dark,

but most were well-lit and many costumes added color.

Actors were ready for the shows to begin.

A barber shop was open under one of the red festival signs,

which pointed to the actors getting ready in Muristan Square.

As I said, smart people took a map.

This was not the first time I got confused at Muristan Square

and headed in the wrong direction,

but this was the first night of Eid Al-Adha, the Muslim ‘Feast of Sacrifice’.

It was so crowded on the narrow paths

that I did not get a photo of the smelly animal being pushed in a cart.

His sad eyes seemed to know he was going to be the feast.

Following closely to an English-speaking tourist group,

I got only this one picture of a candy store.

Finally,

spotting a sign to the Via Dolorosa, I headed out of the Muslim Quarter.

Retracing some of my route, I noticed these smokers were gone,

the lane was dark and quiet for festival visitors.

The actors were in Muristan Square and so was the “EXIT” sign.

I do not know if the free Jerusalem Knights Festival

brought paying customers to shops, but many more were open

than for the first night of the Festival in October 2010.

Back near Jaffa Gate, large crowds were watching gladiators fight

and dancing-girls.

Hundreds of families, many with young children,

seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Many children were on their parents’ shoulders,

as it was very hard to see the performers.

I found a bench to stand on,

but I think this family had the best view.

And as usual, when tens of thousands of people come,

the Jerusalem streets fill with traffic in all directions.

There are still two more Thursday nights in November to enjoy the festival.

If you cannot come and want to see more:

additional photos on The Real Jerusalem Streets Facebook page.