Jerusalem: Travel Back in Time

Jerusalem:

One of my favorite places to visit, Jerusalem, not only embodies history, it makes history every day.  You can see structures that have stood for thousands of years or ones that are being built right now. Stories about the people of region reach back over 10,000 years and continue to be told. Every year there are reports of new archeological discoveries confirming written or oral histories.  This, this is where I decided to start my blog, at one of the epicenters of humanity. 

I had the absolute good fortune to live in Jerusalem for over 6 months while working at the US Consulate.  There is so much to tell about Jerusalem (plus all of Israel, the West Bank and Jordan) so this first blog will just be the basics to set the stage for deeper dives into more specific historical searches and will not touch on a lot of history.  I want to thank Jean-Marc Pierre for helping me learn about the area.  He is an awesome person, a great friend and someone I would travel anywhere with. 

If you are from most large cities, one thing that will stand out to you here and around Israel, is the common practice of self-protection.  Many Jewish Israelites carry a firearm at all times.  In restaurants, on busses, touring the sites, you will see armed Israelites.  I am comfortable around guns so it didn’t bother me at all.  If you are not, be aware and know the Israelites carry for protection.    

Jerusalem is a very complex city and the layers of complexity boggle the mind.  The biggest complexity is the sharing of religious significance.  This has led to several clashes over the years between the 3 major religions that hold Jerusalem dear; Judaism, Christianity and Islam.  There is a lot of tension due to the religious strife, but please do not let that scare you away.  I felt safer walking around the Old City of Jerusalem that I did walking around parts of Washington DC and Chicago.  Don’t get me wrong, you need to have situational awareness of your surroundings, but it is my belief that if you look like a tourist the locals will leave you alone for the most part.  Why is that?  You bring something very valuable to the region…money.  All sides want tourists to visit Jerusalem and spend money.  Just watch for large gatherings of people that are shouting at each other.  Again, don’t let this keep you away from visiting.  Just watch your surroundings while you enjoy the history. 

The Old City is split up into 4 quarters; The Muslim Quarter, The Jewish Quarter, the Christian Quarter and the Armenian Quarter.  There are places to see from each of the three religions in multiple quarters so don’t just stick to one.  I highly suggest investing in a guide book since there is so much to see.  I will go over the most notable sites in the future, but that will only scratch the surface.  Additionally, there are sites surrounding the Old City that are important to visit.  If you have the time, I highly suggest spending several days in Jerusalem to get a good appreciation for its history.  I was there for 6 months and I know there we things I never got to see, or didn’t see well enough.    

Where to stay

There are a lot of hotels in the city.  I am not going to recommend any one hotel, but an area to stay in.  My recommendation is to stay close to the Old City.  Hotels near the Old City are fairly priced and most serve breakfast.  The reason I recommend staying close to the Old City is parking.  Parking can be hard to find and is sometimes expensive.  If you stay at a hotel close to the Old City, you can leave your car there and walk.  In fact, I highly encourage walking to, from and around the Old City, and, you need to walk in the Old City since there are very few cars allowed inside.  Jean-Marc and I would give tours to other Americans and their families on the weekend, and there were many days where my step count surpassed 25,000.  Additionally, I recommend staying on the western side of the Old City.  Starting your exploration at the Jaffa or Mount Zion Gates is perfect. For Christians, there is a Christian Visitor Center a few steps inside the Jaffa Gate and a delicious cafe, Christ Church Cafe, where you can get information and a quick snack before you start.  A good friend, Father Andreas will occasionally be inside the Visitor Center (unless he is out taking pictures in the city) and he knows a lot about the Old City.  For the Jewish faithful, right outside the Mount Zion Gate is King David’s Tomb.  For the Islamic visitors, Lions Gate or Damascus Gate bring you in from East Jerusalem.    

Where to eat

This is a loaded question.  There are many great places to eat, and an enormous variety of cuisines that you should enjoy food almost anywhere.  In fact, if you like hummus, almost every local fare restaurant will serve it, and there is even a hummus restaurant near Mamillia Park called Ben-Sira Hummus.  There were places I frequented more often than others.  For a quick and tasty local fare, I would go through the Jaffa Gate, down the steps of David Street, and on the right-hand side was a great and inexpensive restaurant called The Arches.  By far, I thought they had the best shawarma in the city (some will disagree with my choices, that’s OK, just so long as you enjoy where you go).  My favorite pizza place was just over the line into East Jerusalem, called Azzahra Restaurant on Azzahra St. They have a great pizza oven that the restaurant is built around, plus the pizza is really good.  If we wanted a good lunch with an adult beverage during our tours, the Austrian Hospice, right by the 3rd Station of the Cross on the Via Dolorosa was a hit.  After coming in Lions Gate and stopping at the first two Stations of the Cross, it was at an intersection that is very busy on Friday afternoon.  On Friday afternoon, the intersection is crowded with Christian faithful walking the Via Dolorosa, Muslim faithful walking to prayer time and Jewish faithful walking out before Shabbat.  Just be careful to pay attention in case tempers flare.  When you are done eating at the Austrian Hospice, pay the couple of shekels and go to the top of the roof to get a unique view of the city.  In order to get in you must ring the door bell, then go up the stairs and into the building. There are a lot more restaurants to choose from, just be adventurous and enjoy.  Also, just a friendly reminder, from Friday early afternoon until after sundown on Saturday, a lot of places shut down for Jewish Shabbat.  Come Saturday night, the bars and restaurants open back up and are lively again.     

Where to buy antiquities

There are a several licensed dealers around, but the one I trusted the most was Baidun Fine Antiquities.  He is located between the 5th and 6th Stations of the Cross.  He has a nice variety of artifacts and loves sitting over a cup of tea to talk about the history he finds.  I purchased a lot from him and I am very happy with my purchases.  The other shop I would recommend is Bassam Barakat Antiquities on David St.  I know a lot of people who were very happy with their purchases.

Where to buy other gifts and souvenirs

Almost anywhere along the streets. There hundreds of shops and there will be owners standing outside trying to convince you to buy from them.  I frequented one store the most and didn’t always buy things.  In fact, I spent more time inside just talking with the owners, sharing tea and stories, than I did buying things.  However, when I did buy stuff, or brought other people in, Sinjlawi on David St was my spot.  They also have a well in the back that is hundreds of years old.  You will also see many shops selling early 20th century pictures of the region by the photographer Elia Kahvedjian.  I recommend you don’t buy the pictures from these shops.  Kahvedjian’s son Kevork has a shop on Al-Khanka St called Elia Photo Service.  These are the originals, not copies.  They might be a bit more expensive but you are rewarding the artist when you shop at the family shop and not rewarding those that bought one copy and then made cheap copies to sell.

There are many shops that sell Olive Wood carvings.  Some are just mass-produced carvings; others are hand carved.  It’s hard to tell sometimes, but the prices for mass produced seem too good to be true sometimes.  While I did purchase some Olive Wood in Jerusalem, I bought the most, and my favorite pieces in two shops in Bethlehem called The Christmas House, owned by Jack Giacaman and the other is Blessings Gift Shop and The Olive Wood Factory owned by Bassem.  Bethlehem will be a separate set of posts. 

I hope you enjoyed this first post.  There is so much more to talk about from a historical standpoint with regards to Jerusalem.  Bring you camera and a good set of walking shoes.  If you are religious, exploring around the region will make your faith become four dimensional.  As you walk the same paths as your religious Icons, you see, smell, taste and feel a sense of appreciation for the stories of their time.  Stay tuned for more of this series.  Come back every week to read additional adventures Beyond Last Week, and good luck traveling.