Neviim Street (Again) and then the Market

As you may remember from my previous post on the Ethiopian Church, Neviim Street is one of the main east-west arteries across the city and a street I find myself on quite often. Slowly but surely I am discovering the rich history of this street, especially during the early 20th century. It was at the end of the 19th century that the weakened Ottoman Empire began to loosen its grip on the Holy Land, and European countries seized the opportunity for a new presence in Israel. Some of this new presence began here on Neviim Street.

Here is one example: this is the Italian Hospital that was built in the 1910's. The hospital had two wings (only one of them appears in this photo) and a church in the middle and was operational from the end of World War I until the begin of World War II, when Italy found itself on the wrong side of the Allied Forces. The British, who were occupying Jerusalem at that time, kicked out the Italians and turned the hospital into Royal Air Force headquarters. When the war was over, the building changed hands again as the new Israeli state occupied it as a military base. They found the belfry tower, which you see in the picture, particularly useful as a look-out during their war for independence. Now it houses the Israeli Education Ministry.



But it still retains a very Italian flavor, not just in its architecture but also in its decoration. Have a look at this panel from the top of the building's main gate. It features Rome's legendary founder Romulus and his twin brother Remus suckling a she-wolf, a scene that is depicted all over Italy. The other panels consist of Crusader family seals. Interestingly, in the 1980's a mezuzah was affixed to the entrance. In order to fulfill the commandment given in Deut 6:9, Jews have a small scroll inscribed with Deut 6:4-9 and 11:13-21 set inside a case and placed on the "doorpost" (Heb. = mezuzah). These mezuzot are of course found all over Israel and in many Jewish homes throughout the world, but the Italian hospital is unique for being a Christian church building affixed with a mezuzah. I found it to be an interesting intersection of the two faiths.

Just up the street from here is the Tabor House, which was built around 1900 by the Swedish architect and missionary Conrad Schick, and it now serves as the Swedish Theological Seminary. Schick designed the building to look like Mt. Tabor (Emily and I visited Mt. Tabor when she was here), and he made the roof of his house to look like an Israelite altar by fixing horns on its four corners. (You can see one of the horns in the center of the photo.) On the right side of this photo you can see the chapel he built with his house.

Above the main entrance you can see the name "Thabor," and it also cites Psalm 89:12, which was apparently the inspiration for Schick's interest in Mt. Tabor.
Neviim Street ends at Jaffa Street (another street mention in a previous post on my walk to HUC), and if you go just a little farther down Jaffa, you come to the main market in Jerusalem: the Mahane Yehuda. Here is a shot from the inside of the market:
And this is just one street; the market covers several blocks. Here are some more shots:

In this next photo I wanted to point out that the orange, tomato-looking fruit beside this man in the hat is actually persimmon. I don't think people really eat persimmons in the US because they never get big or ripe enough, but here in Israel they are sweet and delicious and a very popular fruit, especially for dessert.

I think the market is probably busy everyday, but Friday (the day I visited) is definitely the busiest as religious Jews stock up for Shabbat the next day. Here is a stand, which was selling challah bread for the upcoming Shabbat.


So that was my Friday morning today. Nothing too exciting, but to my eyes even the ordinary in a city like Jerusalem is pretty interesting!

German Colony

A friend of mine at HUC recommended a weekly tour that the city offers for free on Saturday mornings. Each Saturday they pick a different neighborhood and give its history; this weekend the tour took our small group through the German Colony. Before arriving there, however, our walk took us along some other interesting neighborhoods. For example, here is a picture taken from the Jaffa Gate: in the top right corner you can see the King David Hotel, which I've mentioned before. Directly below it is a very exclusive neighborhood called Kefar David ("Village of David"). These small apartments cost over a million dollars, and only a few of them are owned by Jerusalem residents; in fact most are owned by wealthy Jews from other countries who visit Israel during the high holidays and want somewhere to stay that is in walking distance to the Western Wall. For this reason, Kefar David is an unusually quiet neighborhood during the rest of the year.

To the left of Kefar David you can see another neighborhood set on the hill, and you can just make out a windmill. Here is a closer look:
This neighborhood is called Yemin Moshe, and in 1857 it became the first Jewish neighborhood outside the walls of the Old City. The man behind its creation was Sir Moses (Moshe) Montefiore, who so strongly believed that Jews should work the fields around the Old City that he sponsored the houses as well as the windmill. But he had a hard times convincing those who lived safely within the Old City walls to live here, and in the end he offered the houses for free, and only poor young couples took up his offer. Now, of course, it is one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Jerusalem.
Here is a close-up of the windmill. Behind it you can see the Church and Monastery of the Dormition, which sits atop Mount Zion and in Catholic tradition is venerated as the site where Mary died (Lat. dormitio = "sleep"). I think there'll be a future tour through Yemin Moshe, so hopefully I'll have some more tidbits to pass on later.

Our last stop before the German Colony was at the Lion Fountain. This is one of the only pieces of public art in Jerusalem to depict a specific animal. Because of biblical commandments against representations of humans or animals, the ultra-conservative Jews in the city (the Haredim) oppose such depictions in public spaces. Hence visitors to the city will notice an abundance of abstract art. This fountain is one of the few exceptions.

At last we arrived at the German Colony, which for the most part follows Emek Raphaim Street. It was settled in the last quarter of the 19th century by German Protestants who broke away from the mainstream reformed Protestant churches in Germany. They saw no need for churches or preachers, since they believed each of us carried a temple in our heart. For this reason, they called themselves "templars." (They should not be confused with the Crusader templars several centuries earlier.)

They came to Jerusalem out of religious devotion and a desire to live where Jesus had lived. They were skilled in building techniques and engineering and in a short time had made their small colony an important center of commerce. Here is one of their first buildings, a millhouse which outmoded the Yemin Moshe windmill after the latter had been around for only 25 years or so. Now the millhouse is a private residence.

Here is another characteristic of the houses: they usually have a biblical verse written on the lintel.

Here is a close-up. It says: "The Lord loves the gates of Zion over all of the dwellings of Jacob."

And here is another house with Isaiah 60:1 written on the lintel, where you can also see 1877 as the founding date.

The Germans thrived into the beginning of the 20th century, but at the conclusion of World War I, when the British took control of Jerusalem, they were suspicious of this German enclave. Into the 1930s their suspicions were justified when many of the residents sympathized with the Nazi party beginning to rise in Germany. (These second and third generations of residents did not share their parents' fervent piety.)

The British army eventually loaded the Germans onto boats and sent them off to Australia, when many of them assimilated and stayed. After World War II some of them went back to Germany, and a few came back to Jerusalem. When Israel came into statehood in 1948 they negotiated with the Germans in Australia to buy the properties the latter had been forced to leave. The state of Israel in turn sold the properties, and now most of the buildings are private residences.

Correction!

Perhaps it was the jetlag. Perhaps it was the lingering effects of Nyquil. Or perhaps, as my mom suggested, I was in "Bible mode." Whatever the reason I misspelled the name of the popular English department store: it is "Harrods," not "Herrods" (as in Herod the Great who built the Second Temple in Jerusalem and whose tomb was possibly found last summer).

Apologies to one and all, especially mom, who is a crackerjack proofreader and who concluded her correcting email, "I thought I'd raised you better." She did, of course, but to be fair, mom had the benefit of a four hour shopping visit to Harrods in London, while my dad, brother and I limited our visit to a mere fifteen minutes.

Nonetheless, my New Year's resolution is to redouble my proofreading efforts; I've got a family reputation to uphold!

Article about My Street

There are two daily English newspapers here: the Jerusalem Post and Haaretz ("The Land [of Israel]"). In today's issue of the latter there was a feature article about my street Salah ad-Din. It really captures the colorfulness of the neighborhood, so I thought you may enjoy reading it. Here's the link:

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/942963.html

Sadly, Kit Kat Koffee was not mentioned. Instead they talked about another coffee shop that imports beans from Brazil and roasts them on site with cardamom. It sounded pretty delicious, and I am thinking of switching my loyalties. We'll see.

Return to Jerusalem

Well after three wonderful weeks in the US, I got back to Israel on Monday, not without a few complications, which I'll mention below. But first about the trip home: Emily and I spent a week in Baltimore, then a week with her family in Syracuse for Christmas and finally a week in Raleigh visiting my family. Besides spending time with loved ones, the holiday break was highlighted by all the basketball games we were able to attend: they included my first visit to the Carrier Dome where the 'Cuse won over Cornell, the N.C. State-Western Carolina game and of course a trip to Chapel Hill where we saw the Heels dominate Kent State. (The Syracuse and UNC tickets were my Christmas present from Emily!) Another highlight was my family's surprise birthday party for me on New Year's Day. It was fun to celebrate at home since I'll be here in Jerusalem for my birthday later this month.

I was scheduled to fly back Saturday night to London, where I'd catch a Sunday morning flight to Tel Aviv, but just before I left Baltimore I got a message that the London to Tel Aviv flight was cancelled. I would have to take the next flight, which meant waiting in Heathrow airport for 14 hours! There's worse airports, I guess; Heathrow has some nice shops. In fact, if my mom were in this situation, I think she could have happily spent all 14 hours in the terminal, especially in Herrod's. As it turned out, I spent the day sleeping at the Heathrow Hilton, compliments of British Airways.

Upon returning to the terminal for my 10:30 pm flight to Tel Aviv I did get around to visiting the shops. One of the other Albright fellows requested that I bring him a bottle of Jim Beam from the duty free. (This same fellow also requested a bottle of Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Deep Conditioner, which Emily was able to find in Kerr Drugs.) I compared the prices at three different shops, and it cost the same at all three. (It later occurred to me that the three shops were actually the same shop in three locations. Apparently, I should have slept longer at the hotel.) As luck would have it, Jim Beam was two-for-one, so even though I don't really drink bourbon and hadn't planned on getting anything for myself, how could I say no to the two-for-one? The only downside to this good fortune was the duty free bags are clear plastic, and I felt a little self-conscious wandering through the terminal with two fifths of Jim Beam clanking beside me, as if I were on my way to some tailgate party.

Finally, I got back to the Albright and just in time for the arrival of a certain other American, namely, our president. Besides the quadrupling of police in the city, the constant helicopters overhead, the closing of half the streets downtown, and the gridlocked traffic all over the city, you would have no idea Bush was here. He and his retinue have booked all 237 rooms at the King David Hotel, which you may remember is just one block from the Hebrew Union College. Apparently, they're not allowing even pedestrian traffic on our block of King David Street, so the college has closed down Wednesday-Friday. He's also planning to visit the consulate in East Jerusalem, too, which is one block from the Albright and adjacent to my beloved YMCA. Maybe he'll drop in for a massage from one of the locals! I'll keep my eyes out.

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.

Backtracking one block to HUC we come to the entrance to the college:

Here is the main entrance which opens up into the main courtyard. The middle door on the ground level is the entrance to the school of archaeology:

And here is yours truly at that entrance. These last two were taken during Emily's visit.

So there you have it. It's a nice walk in the morning as long as it's not rainy.

Ethiopia Street

The main street that I take from the Albright to HUC is HaNevi'im Street ("Street of the Prophets"), which is one of the major east-west courses through Jerusalem. After you've crossed into West Jerusalem but before you reach the city center, you come upon Ethiopia Street, a narrow and leafy street named for the Ethiopian Church at its end. According to 1 Kings 10:1-10 the queen of Sheba came to visit King Solomon and was so impressed with his wisdom and wealth that she gave him a blessing and talents of gold. End of story.

Ethiopian tradition, however, maintains that Solomon gave as well as received. In this case he sent the queen home with a bun in the royal oven. When this son Menelik grew up, he visited his father in Israel, and unbeknownst to Menelik, some of his men carried off with the Ark of the Covenant. To this day, Ethiopian Christians believe that the Ark is held in the Ethiopian town of Aksum, guarded by monks who have sworn to protect it. Also the emperors of Ethiopia (until 1975) claim to have descended from Menelik and therefore King Solomon.

That's almost everything I know about the Ethiopian Ark tradition (with a little help from this month's Smithsonian magazine). Finally, I might mention that there are many Ethiopian Jews as well, and during the 80's Israel evacuated many of them to this country in Operation Moses. Despite such a clever name (Moses...exodus...get it?!), the humanitarian impulse led to resentment among displaced Palestinians and also antipathy among the Orthodox who didn't think the Ethiopians were Jewish enough. But that's another story; back to the church.

Here's the main entrance to the church. Atop the gate is an inscription in Ge'ez, the language of Ethiopia, flanked by the Lion of Judah, a reference of course to the country's Israelite origins:

When my friends and I arrived, we had to remove our shoes before entering. Inside the church is another building that is closed to the public. There is a veiled entrance on each of the four sides, and in front of this one was a cantor singing and clapping his hands.
There was actually a service going on while we visited, but all the action was behind the veil, so we could actually move pretty freely along the aisle that surrounds the altar building like a moat. Around back we came upon the women's seating area:


The pillars along the aisle all have a painting of an Ethiopian saint. This one is St. Tekle Haimonot, who founded the Debre Libanos monastery. According to the caption, those spikes were meant to keep him vigilant during the day and night. Sometimes one spike just isn't enough.

One other interesting thing on Ethiopia Street is the house of Eliezer ben Yehuda, who is the father of modern Hebrew. Born in Lithuania, he came to Israel in 1881 and expanded Hebrew from a sacral language to one that was available for everyday use. His house used to have a plaque in front of it (you can see where it had been posted), but it was stolen by the Orthodox, who object to Hebrew's use as a secular language.

And last but not least, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that my favorite falafel stand is located a mere block away from Ethiopia Street on the Street of the Nevi'im. It's runs by these guys from Yemen and was recommended to me by a local. You can see the crowd it attracts -- for good reason!