We flew into Ben Gurion Airport on El Al. We decided to upgrade to premium economy. The seats were wider, more leg room, and more recline. We felt like we were in heaven for an overnight flight! Of course, you pay for the privilege and I was a bit smug as we were able to board first and the area of the flight was curtained off from the “riff-raff”. Will be unable to go back to regular coach, which is a damn shame, pocketbook-wise.
We took a sherut (a shared taxi) from the airport to our Airbnb apartment. We got the grand tour of the suburbs of Jerusalem and a quick overview of the inner neighborhoods. The street we are staying on, Shivtei Israel, is one way near us, and the driver asked if we wouldn’t mind walking from the closest intersection that was 2-way. Not an issue. We found our place, after heading to the wrong side of the street at first. The apartment is cozy, (small), with basic necessities: kitchenette, coffee maker, electric kettle, fridge, table, chairs, bed, shower and toilet.
We had a bit of a misunderstanding about the hot water, which meant that we ended up taking cold showers until we figured out which way the handle should go to produce hot water. The shower is plumbed backwards, but the water from the “hot” side was so cold, we thought that it was the proper cold pipe, which made the “shower” lukewarm at best! By day 2, all resolved and toasty!
We headed out of the apartment to explore the area. We wandered through the Jaffa gate to check out the old city. Let me explain our location to you, we are literally steps away from the New Gate into the Old City, 2 blocks from the Arab bus station and 1 block from the light rail. A better location for exploring the Old city could not be found! Thank you Homeaway.
Since we arrived at 7 am local time on Weds morning, there was plenty of time to explore the region. We wandered thru the Jaffa Gate to meander through the twisting covered street of the Arab quarter and came upon an ongoing excavation of the main NS roadway in ancient Jerusalem, called Cardo. Along one wall were mosaics depicting life then (new mosaics) and on the other wall a display of photographs of interesting shots of daily current life, pictures of soldiers, children, men in prayer, and others all beautifully shot. The space was divided by columns that would have delineated the Cardo, perhaps hold up a covering of some sort.
The photo above is looking up from the Cardo to the street above, below is a shot walking thru the narrow streets of the Muslim Quarter.
Above is looking back at the entrance to the Cardo and below is part of the excavation of the sight. The area is among the oldest in Jerusalem dating back to pre-Roman times. There were 2 main roads, a N-S Cardo, which is the one shown, and an E-W Cardo which leads to the Western Wall which is currently being excavated, in fact, the project has just begun.
We climbed out using a short staircase and walked along a street steeped in ancient Jewish customs. At our backs, the Chanda Welcome Center, to our left, a plaza that led to the Wailing Wall, to our right the ancient Cardo, and in front of us, the street to the edge of the Jewish quarter.
The use of the word, “quarter”, implies an “even” split of territory within the walls of Jerusalem. This is not true. Of the 4 quarters, Armenian, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim, the largest is the Muslim Quarter. In view of the history of the city, this makes sense to me. While it’s importance to the origin of the Christian faith are clear, it is also holy to Muslims and Jews alike. The blending of these religions is not always cooperative, there remains a safe status quo of operating zones.
We came upon an overlook, from which we could see the Dome of the Rock, and the Western Wall.
The Western Wall is in the upper left corner of the photo. The broad plaza in the center was created in the first days after the 1967 War where Israel defeated Jordan for control of Jerusalem. The city was united for the first time since independence. The golden dome, is the Dome of the Rock within the Temple Mount. Non-Muslims are not allowed entrance into either the Dome of the Rock or the Al Aksa Mosque, which would be immediately to the right of this photo, identifiable by its slate grey domed roof and minaret.
We walked down the stairs to the plaza and proceeded to go the Western Wall. There is a men’s side and a women’s side, in accordance with the Orthodox Jewish tradition. I had a shawl with me and covered my hair and arms and Bill and I separated to visit the wall. Bill had a message from Jeri to put into the wall.
One the women’s side, it was quiet, and almost serene if not for the pushiness surrounding me for a spot to be near the wall. You could hear the tumult from the men’s side, lots of yelling and clapping. It seems that there were quite a few Bar Mitsvahs happening this day.
There was a ledge on which the women could stand to see what was going on. There was candy being thrown back and forth over the railing. Young girls were passed back and forth to be blessed by rabbis and then handed back to mom. A chaotically controlled scene. All under the watchful eyes of the Jerusalem Police.
The presence of military and police were everywhere. We found old subsequently that the police are responsible for the safety of the Old City, and the military are there for training and education. While some of the “streets”, they are really more of an alleyway, are quite crowded, you can find many where you are alone with your thoughts.
The hustle and bustle of the Arab market is quite off putting, at first. After wandering for a bit, you realize that it is their place of business, living, and worship, so it makes sense that it is so crowded.
Tourists are easy to spot, they are dawdling around stands, blocking the entire alley so that no one else can get through and the tourists seem oblivious to the fact that they are in the way. I see this behavior all over NYC, so it is easy to spot here in Jerusalem. Once you get passed the clog, things move at a steady pace. The alleys, if they are sloped in any way, always have two small “wedges” between each step so that wheeled truckettes can negotiate the alleys without losing their shocks day one. These “ramps” are often quite slippery and so I would use the stairs cut into the sloping sttreet.
Using a map kind of seemed pointless as it was difficult to find the street signs, if they existed at all, or they were in Arabic or Hebrew and the map was in English! Naturally, all roads eventually lead to a gate of some kind and you can get your orientation based on that!
Our apartment is in a great location for restaurants as well. Jaffa Street is a block away and is a good street to find food. Our first meal was at a place we found on Google Maps but its name was all in Hebrew. Turns out it is called Gabriel, and was a good place, expensive, (i.e. NYC prices for food), but tasty. The best thing to come out of that was the dessert and the 1/2 bottle of wine!
Let me tell you, the wines from the Golan Heights are excellent. The first taste was a Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 vintage from Gamla. OMG it was gorgeous! Fruit forward, but without overwhelming sweetness. Yum.
There was a talkative group of young men sitting next to us who were alternatingingly funny and annoying. They sounded like they were from NY and had that drunken expansiveness that comes with feeling your oats when away from home.
We ordered a steak and a chicken dish. The chicken was less than expected, moist, but flavorless, unless you count garlic, which is in everything here. I’m ok with garlic, but I had the after taste of garlic powder. As stated above, the dessert was the big winner along with the wine. A halvah gelato that was to die for.
Above is the to-die-for halvah dessert, and below, an equally to-die-for wine
I found a store that sells this brand and was able to purchase a bottle of the 2014 vintage of their Sangiovese, from which I am sipping as I type, (from a glass, not the bottle)!
Thursday, we walked around a bit again, visited the old city and then went back to the room and crashed. We set our alarms for 2:30, but both of us just rolled over and sacked out until around 7:30. There was nothing left to do but gather ourselves and head to dinner. We found a place called Focaccia and settled in for a meal.
The place was hopping! And according to google maps, the time when we arrived was NOT their busiest time.... The waitress was a young woman who was clearly being hassled by the table next to us. The woman at the table who ordered a beer, insisted that the waitress bring the 99% full glass back to the bar and fill it totally! I really felt bad for her. I wanted to lean over and shout at them, get over yourselves, live large, order another beer if you want more! I am sure that Bill is very happy that I didn’t do that!
The focaccia was really tasty and was sprinkled with chopped garlic and piping hot. A real treat. I went whole carbhound and ordered gnocchi with asparagus. It was very tasty. Bill got some pasta with mushrooms and cream which I thought was not as good as the gnocchi.
We waddled back to the abode and promptly feel out again.
Tomorrow is another day! I am most curious about how the sabbath with be treated here. Can’t wait!
