Old City – Page 22 – The Real Jerusalem Streets

Purim Favorites

March 11, 2012rjstreets

As the sun set in Jerusalem on Friday,

after days of dressing up and celebrating, Shushan Purim came to an end.

Even though Purim is over, I would like to share a few favorites.

Sometimes it is hard to tell what is a Purim joke

and what isn’t, but this sign in Mamilla Mall did get attention.

Mountains of candy are bought for and consumed on and after Purim,

Machane Yehuda Market, the shuk, is a favorite place to get the right thing.

In the Rova, The Jewish Quarter in the Old City,

this Fiddler on the Roof costume was a favorite of the afternoon crowd.

But in Mamilla Mall,

I liked the Israeli soldier carefully watching the duck.

The emergency medical crews were wonderful, responding quickly

to aid young men and women who had too much to drink.

Men were falling down and staggering alone in moving traffic;

it is truly a Purim miracle that no one was killed.

One young woman in the Old City was sitting on the street crying,

not a pretty picture with her mascara running down her face.

There was feasting and singing in the Old City,

but the sights of excessive drinking were depressing.

I wonder what went through the minds of unsuspecting tourists?

Then as I started home, I spotted this young yeshiva student making balloons

and giving them to passing children. What a simple and uplifting sight…

even more so when I realized that the young man is my nephew!

The clear skies were wonderful for photographs

and the warm weather was great for being outside.

Many who were out during the day

were surprised to find themselves sunburned when they got home.

And near the end of the day, my favorite:

even with drunken Jews on the streets of Jerusalem…

Arab families felt safe enough to shop and go for a stroll on the mall.

Finds in The Old City

February 5, 2012April 8, 2018rjstreets

After weeks of record rain in Jerusalem,

the sun was shining again on Friday morning.

It was perfect weather to walk to the Old City

and take pictures.

The trees in the plaza by Jaffa Gate were still bare,

but inside the walls there was fresh bread

and cool drinks for sale,

and more photographers…as usual.

Tourists went by foot and by car through the Armenian Quarter.

Arab women were walking in the Rova, the Jewish Quarter.

Following the ceramic arrow,

I found the meeting place of my group of bloggers

and photographer… all ready for our Jerusalem Scavenger Hunt.

Our group read, listened and learned

about some of the locations in the Rova, the Jewish Quarter,

that were captured and destroyed in 1948 by the Jordanian Legion.

As we walked through the narrow rebuilt streets of the Rova,

and we found our “tree” … full of oranges, ready for Tu Beshvat.

But also we found large groups of tourists in the courtyards

and in the Cardo of the Old City.

We found beautiful children getting out of school,

but we never did find what was so interesting down there.

It seems we were not the only scavenger hunters on Friday in the Old City,

there was also a group of Israeli soldiers with a paper map and questions.

We found fun and new friends on the Jerusalem Scavenger Hunt.

Wondered what these young soldiers will find?

Chanukah Lights

December 22, 2011rjstreets

One of the names of Chanukah is Chag ha’urim, the Holiday of Lights.

In Jerusalem on the first night of the holiday,

one could find both large public flames

and small private ones.

This bright chanukiah was on display in Mamilla Mall,

but the mall itself, inside

and out, was full of lights.

Each night of Chanukah, hundreds of people tour the Jewish Quarter of the Old City,

many are families with young children who run excitedly through the streets,

counting the lights,

low and high above.

Some of the flames burn quietly inside a residence,

while others are placed outside by the door post

and closely attended.

The large chanukiah, at the Kotel, the Western Wall, received attention

when it was lit by the chief rabbis on the first night of Chanukah.

However, near by a couple of hours later, these two boys to the left,

lighting two small candles attracted people who joined in the singing…

maybe off-key, but sharing the light and mood in the spirit of the holiday.

A new Chabad menorah was put up in Mamilla Mall this year

and a crowd gathered waiting for

Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger to light it for the first time.

Chanukah lights burned in a pizza shop in the Old City,

in windows in the city center

and in many windows all around Jerusalem.

So many Chanukah lights and this year for the first time there is a fire truck ready…

by Mughrabi Bridge at the Kotel Plaza.

Happy Holiday!

Please decide for yourself on the singing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyf8f29QOdg&feature=share

chanukiah: a special menorah for Chanukah, 8 lights are the same one for each night

and 1 larger the shamash that is used to light the flames of

the Chanukah lights.