Northwest Passages: A Walk to HUC

My dad recently suggested to me that I post a description of my walk to work, so the other day I velcroed my camera on to my belt (it's a good look for me) and took these pictures. Since I've already posted some photos of the Albright and its surrounding streets, I'll start with the first major street I have to cross. It is known as either Hwy 1 or Derek HaShalom ("Street of the Peace"), but before the Six Day War in 1967 it was known as the Bar-Lev Line and served as the border between Israel and Jordan. After that war, when Israel took control of all of Jerusalem, the border was made into a road and nowadays it is one of the major arteries through the city, partly because it is one of the few multilane roads in the city. Most roads in Jerusalem are built up and cut narrowly through neighborhoods; by contrast, Hwy 1 had been a demilitarized zone for several decades and had plenty of space for asphalt. In the picture you can see the Old City in the background. (By the way, the crosswalk here is extremely brief; if you're not crossing as soon as you see the walk sign, you should just wait for the next one.)

Once across this street I turn briefly up the Street of the Prophets (site of my favorite Yemenite falafel stand) before bearing left onto Heleni HaMalka ("Helene the Queen"). This is actually a fairly new route for me. I used to follow Hwy 1 south around the Old City until it linked up with King David Street, but that is a very congested stretch of road. There was always lots of traffic and so much noise that I could barely hear Diane Rehm's voice coming through my iPod. A woman at HUC recommended my present route, and I have been very appreciative. It may be just a little bit longer, but it's a much more pleasant walk in the morning. For example, this first stretch of Heleni HaMalka is a quaint residential road:

Helene was queen of a Mesopotamian kingdom during the first century AD and converted to Judaism around 30 AD. She and her husband, who has a street that crosses Heleni HaMalka, are remembered as great benefactors of the Temple in Jerusalem before its destruction by the Romans. Here is the second block of the queen's street:

As you can tell, the first part is all up hill. When you reach the crest, you arrive at the Russian Compound on your left. The Russian Orthodox Church acquired this prime real estate in 1860 as the site for the Church of the Holy Trinity, which you see below. The compound also included rooms for the many Russian pilgrims visiting Jerusalem. Today the compound houses the Israeli central police station and law courts, but the church still celebrates Russian Orthodox services. Although my guidebook said that the church is closed to the public, I've recently been told otherwise, so I'm planning to go by sometime in the new year.

From here Heleni HaMalka begins its descent into the heart of West Jerusalem: Jaffa Road. This area is the city center of Jerusalem and a modern counterbalance to the Old City. Jaffa Road crosses at the end of this block. (The building in the center of this photo is on the corner of the intersection.) Another point of interest is a bar called Sideways, which is a few doors from here on the right. It has become a favorite among my friends and me because it has Sam Adams on tap. (Israeli beer is terrible! The only good local beer is Taybeh, a Palestinian beer brewed in Ramallah.)

Here is Jaffa Road. Unfortunately, I chose a rather overcast day to take pictures; it's usually more lovely than this picture portrays. One block down from here on the left is Zion Square, where several pedestrian streets converge. It is a fun place to walk around in the evenings.

But instead of turning down Jaffa Road, I keep going straight. Heleni HaMalka turns into Yosef Rivlin Street, which is full of restaurants and bars. This street really hops at night -- so I've been told. Sadly, I can't personally confirm this because, instead of going out on the town, I spend most evenings reading in my room or playing cards with some of the other fellows. But if the trash on the street at eight in the morning is any clue, somebody's having a good time around here. (The street sweeper had just passed through before I took this photo.)

This street empties onto Hillel Street, and I cut across Independence Park pictured below. A recent article in the Haaretz newspaper identified this park as the place to cruise at night for anonymous sexual partners. This is another piece of information I can't personally confirm -- happily so. My only excitement in the park occurred the time I found myself surrounded by thirty army recruits shouldering machine guns and doing team building exercises. You would think it unwise to mix M-16s and the "trust fall," but the soldiers really seemed to be bonding.

The park leads to Agron Street, which is just a short walk to King David Street. From the intersection of these streets I can see through to the Jaffa Gate and the Old City. From here I turn right up King David Street.

HUC is on King David Street, but today I went a block farther to get shots of two well-known buildings in Jerusalem, which are across the street from each other. The first is the YMCA, which was built in 1931 during the British Mandate and was designed by the same architectural firm that built the Empire State Building.

Across the street from the YMCA is the King David Hotel, definitely the swankiest in Jerusalem. This is where most of the diplomats, like Condi, stay when they're in town. It also dates back to the British Mandate.