Spain has won the World Cup, so finally soccer fans
are freed from their TV sets to enjoy the Jerusalem summer nights.
Playgrounds can be unbearably hot during the day,
so at night, even little children come out to play.
Not everyone stays inside to avoid the blazing sun,
but streets are quieter than usual.
One busy spot is the tent where the Shalit family is receiving a constant stream of visitors.
Across the street there has been a small counter protest in the evening,
but the number of yellow ribbons continues to grow.
The usual crowds of visitors are near the Jaffa Gate all day
and at night,
and at the Kotel, the Western Wall, all night long.
Tower of David
Light and Sound Show
is an extremely popular
night attraction.
Ben Yehuda Street Mall
Machane Yehuda, the shuk and
Mamilla Mall are popular for shopping, eating out, or just getting out at night.
The fountain in Paris Square takes on a whole new look in its night-time colors,
as did this construction site when it was lit up at night.
A sign of change, a coffee shop is to be open all night long.
A new sign promoting the municipality’s summer cultural events
seems to be everywhere.
Free summer musical programs attract large crowds.
However, the Jerusalem Film Festival showing
of “Blazing Saddles’ was free in the park
and did not draw a large, early crowd, eager to get good seats.
If the movie was not shown during the Nine Days leading up to Tisha B’Av
there certainly would have been many more people in attendance.
All is not fun after dark, there is often road work being done.
Judging by the large number of cars with diplomatic license plates
parked near the American Consulate last night,
there was plenty of work to be done before today’s arrival of special envoy George Mitchell.
Too much summer sun or night-life? Try a mid-afternoon nap.
Though not a picture from this week,
a beautiful night scene from Jerusalem, like a cool summer night’s breeze…
with thanks to M Hurley.
Update July 2012: the coffee shop is gone and so are those lions,
the Olympics are the sports to follow,
amazing how so much of today is the same as two years ago.
The Gilad Shalit tent is becoming a memory.
