The Old City

Snow in Jerusalem, Israel.

Last week snow was forecast,

but after all the excitement and buzz,

there was no snow.

Instead there was rain, lots of heavy rain and grey fog,

and no beautiful photos of white snow scenes to go viral.

We also had a garbage strike

with lots of not so pretty pictures.

I will only share one photo of an over-flowing bin

of umbrellas which are useless in windy Jerusalem,

and skip the photos of mountains of ugly garbage.

The security situation did not keep me off the streets,

but the weather conditions certainly did.

With the sun now shining and warming the air,

it is time to see what is really happening.

The walk through First Station was depressing,

as at midday there it should have been full of life 

and more than one jewelry stall with one customer.

One family from Melbourne was wondering where all the people

were, and became my new friends and Tourist of the Week.

As for a walk through the Old City,

this pathway is usually packed with people.

I often wanted the Old City streets quiet for photos,

but this was too quiet.

Only a few people were out enjoying the weather.

Even the colorful lions were all alone.

Color, it is that time of year

when I marvel at the winter colors in Jerusalem,

red,

orange,

yellow,

green,

blue,

purple,

fuchsia,

pink,

white,

pink and white,

and the sky at sunset.

Tourists are cancelling.

Fear is keeping people away.

But those who come have had a great time.

These visitors from England

were able to be the first to walk on the new path,

near the skate park in Liberty Bell Park,

but more on that next time.

And the good out of the current situation?

Traffic seems to be moving better than usual.