Before I got a cold, I had a couple of days out and about. Here are photos from those days. The captions tell the story. Happily I am over the cold, and maybe will one of these days finally write that post about all the stuff I’ve been avoiding…in the meantime, enjoy.
Walking through the market in the Jewish Quarter Old City — on my way to meet Laurie.The Hurva Synagogue, which was finished in 2010. To the left, Caliph Omar, a mosque not in use (since it’s in the Jewish Quarter). I met Laurie at a coffee shop here, and we walked down to the Western Wall and davenned. Then we bought tickets to the City of David excavations.City of David. A many-layered, complex, and much argued-about archeological dig below Har HaBayit (the Temple Mount). Here’s the official story: http://www.cityofdavid.org.il/en/about To the left the Mount of Olives. To the right, Silwan. The whole complex is on the side of the hill — here is Laurie, descending. This was a parking lot. It has revealed several layers of history — Islamic, Roman, Israelite.And here is an article that is reasonably balanced, on the complexity of the whole topic: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/03/30/opinion/sunday/jerusalem-city-of-david-israel-dig.htmlLaurie and I had lunch in the Old City. Then I used Googlemaps, with less than total success, to get us to the #13 bus. We left the Old City by the Zion Gate, having passed through the lanes next to the old Armenian Cemetery and the Church of the Dormition (see earlier posts of mine for photos of these sites from the top of the ramparts above).I’m afraid I dragged poor Laurie (and myself!) on a long walk — down into Geh Hinnom, up the other side through Mishkenot She’ananim (which you see here)…and when we got the bus finally, it turned out my Ravkav card was empty and she had to pay for me. This is my public apology!!!The next day I met some friends at the nearby Museum of Islamic Art. I loved this beautiful bowl! In the basement of the museum is a large collection of timepieces — mostly watches. This is the Marie Antoinette watch — the most valuable watch in the world. You can read more about this remarkable watch here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Antoinette_(watch) It was fun to see this exhibit with a fellow student who has worked in a clock museum. One of the beautiful villas in the German Colony. We were strolling toward Emek Refaim street and Sushi Rehavia restaurant, where I had some tasty Pad Thai.As I made my way home, I discovered this poem on the gate of a house near mine. It’s by Leah Goldberg. I had to look her up — here she is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leah_Goldberg I haven’t been able to find a translation, so I’ve been working on my own — I’ll post it when I’m done! If you know Hebrew, enjoy!
Nine months in Israel 