Talpiot – The Real Jerusalem Streets

In Jerusalem, looking for good news the first week of June

June 7, 2026June 7, 2026Sharon A

Another week, another day to decide what to share about the Jerusalem streets.

This week had more challenges, personal and professional.

For sure, no one knows what will happen next on the Jerusalem streets.

However.

The beginning of the summer season is good for vividly colored sunsets.

The summer season has brought serious forest fires. Again.

We could smell smoke last night.

This is a new photo of past fire damage along Route One into Jerusalem, Israel.

Traffic was moving so slowly on the day I went to Ra’anana for a meeting.

Better to see the construction along the highway, from afar, where new communities are growing,

than up close in Jerusalem’s Talpiot.

Getting to Hadar Mall by car, bus, or on foot is not easy or safe.

When the light rail is completed it will be a day for celebration on the Jerusalem streets.

One section of Herzog Street has new lines painted. A miracle? No traffic for a minute to take a photo.

Sitting in traffic was also a time to take a photo of the new entrance of the Botanical Gardens.

One day, both areas should be popular when the light rail construction ends.

While there was enough unpleasant news to share, I want to do a bit of the positive.

This was a very pleasant surprise to find.

The Community Garden in Baka has really progressed.

New plants were planted and have grown.

The shaded sitting area has also been developed.

Baka community garden in Jerusalem with book library

The library in this photo from two years ago is still looking good.

I was glad I wandered away from a 6-year-old birthday party to take a quick look.

Last week was Jerusalem Education Week.

The end of the school year now approaches with endless events.

The annual Hebrew Book Week, June 9-18, will take place again in Kikar Safra, Jerusalem’s Municipality Square.

First Station, where the book fair was for many years, is another huge construction site.

Another week, we carried on.

Birthday celebrations and a bar mitzvah, where the father got out of miluim for the week.

Yes, along with protests, traffic nightmares, and pre-election pontification.

Always something happening on the Jerusalem streets.

It is possible to find the positive if you look around.

Hope to see you this year in Jerusalem!

Jerusalem in January: See What’s Hot and Happening

January 22, 2023January 22, 2023Sharon A

January in Jerusalem, Israel, could be cold, dark and wet. But this year the weather has been mild, with sunny days and cool nights. Perfect weather to get out and walk on Jerusalem streets. Sadly, not good weather for farmers.

In the Talpiot neighborhood, the sun was shining over this old drab building painted with vivid colors.

I had gone to find the mural hung in support of Iranian women. The large banner is to be in this Jerusalem location for six weeks and then move on to another Israeli city.

The vivid Talpiot murals have increased over the years and graffiti has become a popular artistic expression along with the Jerusalem building and construction boom of recent years.

Not everything in Jerusalem is as it appears.

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This building might seem like a slum, and yet it is located in a popular and increasingly expensive neighborhood.

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Meters away from the Train Track trail, popular for walking and cycling.

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And this street in Jerusalem is a considered major thoroughfare.

Shabbat morning three Arab women were having driving lessons, on this street at the same time. One teacher was wearing a hijab, something that I hadn’t seen before.

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In Jerusalem, it’s possible to find time to pray, almost all day and all night.

You can also purchase a snack, drink, or pair of tzitzit from the vending machine at any time of day.

You never know what you will find next on the Jerusalem streets.

The bus stops are decorated with cute posters for a warm winter in Jerusalem. And it has been a very warm winter indeed!

The flowers are bursting with color.

It’s hard to walk down Jerusalem streets and not stop and notice.

This week I have constantly been impressed at the colors and variety.

But most of all, a sign of how warm it has been, the almond trees are in bloom already well before Tu B’Shevat – even before Rosh Chodesh Shevat.

I went on Friday to check out the almond blossoms and passed by Beit Hanasi, the Israeli President’s Residence. Five layers of barriers were in place on Friday afternoon, all ready for anti-government protesters on Saturday night.

I checked out what was happening, and put together this video.

Remember Balfour Street from the previous protests? It was open to pedestrians during the protests and for many months.

Oh, the Jerusalem streets. What will happen next?

“You took me and my daughters 7 years ago and we loved it! Hopefully on our next visit!” was the comment I woke up to this morning in an email. Was that the best cancelation comment ever?

When will you see the real Jerusalem streets?

Jerusalem Israel entrance to city under construction

Jerusalem Building Up and Out of Sight

June 26, 2019Sharon A

I am a Stephen Harper fan.

When he was the Prime Minister of Canada, I admired his strong support for Israel.

In 2014, when he paid an official visit to Jerusalem, Israel, with his wife Laureen,

I arrived so early that only a cat was wandering around with me.

I don’t remember what Harper’s remark was that got the Israeli Prime Minister laughing.

But thanks to Stephen Harper’s inspiring pro-Israel speech at the Shurat Hadin conference, I now have a great quote to share along with these photos I have been saving.

Near the conclusion of his speech which came out strongly against BDS, Harper said of Israel, “Built from nothing to be one of the most successful countries on earth.”

While not many people are attending all the multiple conferences and various leadership meetings this week, it is hard to avoid the building going on in Jerusalem, Israel.

Construction sites around Jerusalem are similar to this one. First, earth-moving equipment digs down, down into the ground.

Look up and you will see a crane.

Cranes tower high above Jerusalem buildings.

This huge hole in the ground is to be the new Shaare Zedek Hospital building.

An underground radiotherapy specialty unit is to rise on this site.

These cranes, a lovely sight at night, are busy all day and late into the night, working on the National Library.

Earth moving equipment is now shoveling the huge pile of stones. The Knesset across the road is seen clearly in this image.

A photo of the new library is on the construction fence.

It is finally up to ground level and looks like this.

While there are still some of the most valuable pieces of real estate in the world in disrepair,

other locations have buildings going up to new proportions. This housing complex is being built on the old Shneller grounds in Geula.

On the day this was taken a worker fell and was transported to hospital by ambulance. Building safety is a serious issue.

The old Moment Cafe was hit by a suicide bomber in 2002 and the memorial is visible in this construction fence. In its last restaurant life, it was the site of Cafe de Paris.

Now construction has begun on luxury apartment units.

In one peephole was the image of the future building.

This is an image of how that corner looked in the past, an empty lot in old Jerusalem.

And the old Jerusalem train station has been fixed up as a tourist attraction.

It is now called, Takhana Rishona, or First Station, note this piece of land and the tree.

The Jerusalem cable car line is to be located at First Station.

This cable car line is proposed to take thousands of visitors to the Old City.

No more sitting on buses in traffic? We will see if and when.

In the shopping area of Talpiot, these red shelters were built for passers-by to have a bite to eat,

or perhaps to hang out while someone else shops.

Graffiti has been added in multiple locations to brighten up Talpiot.

But with all the building around Jerusalem, it is the Jerusalem Gateway project which is designed to bring the biggest change.

Roads are closed and traffic has been redirected at the entrance to Jerusalem.

Construction is ongoing and the area looks different every time I see it.

The municipality published images of the new court buildings to be built along Jaffa Road.

With the housing and new business district to be built at the entrance to Jerusalem, the skyline of Jerusalem in the future will look very different than in the past.

At least the colorful umbrellas are again a familiar sight over Kikar HaMusica, Music Square.

The Jerusalem Chord Bridge glows with lights at night.

Lights or flags, Jerusalem is going up and up and out of sight.

Even the Old City walls have a new-age ‘I Love Jerusalem’ sign.

As he ended his speech Stephen Harper said he admired the building and what had been accomplished in Israel in seven decades.

It is a wonder with all the outside and inside forces working against Israel, that so much has been built.

So much is happening on these Jerusalem streets.

Look down. Look up.

Building for the future while preserving the past.