Follow the yellow brick road...

  Jerusalem, Israel
Saturday, August 18, 2007

8/11/07
So, I have family here in Israel, as I've mentioned before.   My Dad emailed me that my second cousin once removed (or something like that) was being Bar Mitzvahed & since He & Linda could not attend, the invite was passed on to Evette & me.  So, the service was today & the reception is during the week.  I have only met my cousin Gilboa 23+ years ago.  His parents are Mike & Hannah.  Mike's sister Judy is the Bar Mitzvah boy's grandmother.  Following me?  Good.  So, the service is at this ultra-orthodox synagogue in Har Nof, which is about a 20 minute taxi ride.  As it's Shabbat, we call the taxi to pick us up down the street. The taxi can only take us to a certain point because it's a very religious neighborhood & driving is not permitted on the Sabbath.  So, we get out & walk. 
BTW-the taxi driver was very nice & was speaking with Evette about when the British ruled Israel & then in 1947-ish they split it by giving half to King Hussein & half to the Jews.  His father owns & has the deed to a building he still owns but cannot occupy, and he receives no money to compensate the loss of his property.  Someday, if there ever is peace, he has the deed to the building.
Anyway, so we find the synagogue & as the women cannot sit with the men, we have to go up about 50 steps to the little room we are allowed to be.  In this type of synagogue, not only do the woman have to be separated from the men, we have to be several flights up, peeking at the service through a small window with a curtain.  We REALLY felt like participants of this service...NOT!!  So, long story short, we felt very uncomfortable & out of place & never found any of my relatives.  A few minutes before the service ended, the women vanished.  We went back outside & asked a man if he knew anything, but he did not.  So, we were there, but did not meet my relatives & they did not know we were there.
Now the trick is getting home, as neither of us has our cell phones, and of course, there are no cars, no taxi's, we have no water, & yes, you guessed it, it was hot, hot, hot, AND we are in skirts...UGH.  Not good planning.  So we start walking & after about a mile, a taxi drives by & stops for us.  Home sweet home & now it's time for the ritual Shabbat nap.  Til our next adventure...


8-12-07
We decide to go to the Damascus Gate in the Old City and wander around the Arab Market.  The Damascus gate is the main entrance to the Old City from East Jerusalem.  On the plaza in the front, many vendors sell their wares to a bustling Arab crowd.  Constructed by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1538, the gateway separates the Muslim & Christian quarters.  So much fun, especially if you get into haggling, as I do.   Of course, we go incognito, to decrease any chances for hassles; i.e.: no kippah, no star of David, no Hebrew, just really playing the tourist role, which I do quite well as I always have my camera everywhere I go.  It's really a cool experience!  Vendors selling everything from fruits & veggies, kitchen stuff, hardware, shoes, clothes, jewelry, Judaica, touristy stuff, spices, food, baked goods, hand-woven rugs & hangings, scarves, glassware, meat...I could go on.  Some of the vendors just give a friendly "hi" as you walk by.  Some really try to convince you to come see their goods.  They tell you they will give you such a good price, that you have never seen anything so nice...We told this one guy, we'll come back later, on our way out.  He said "you can come enjoy your eyes now."  We did get some fake Crocs for $7.09.  They are exactly the same except they do not have the picture of the cute croc on the button.  Inside the market area ranges from this to this  to this  . At some point, we will go on a guided tour inside the walls.  There are hidden tunnels, alleyways, and so much history. 
Here is Via Delorosa street..  Known as the "Sorrowful Road", it passes through the Muslim quarter to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.  It is honored as the route taken by Jesus as he carried his cross to Golgotha, where he was crucified.  Along the way, the Stations of the Cross-the different stages on his journey to death-are marked.   
So, after a long day of shopping & exploring, we walk out through the Damascus Gate into East Jerusalem.  It is still light out, so we feel pretty safe.  We are walking along & Evette hollers out "There it is!"  We find the restaurant she was originally looking for a few weeks ago when we ended up at the American Colony.  This place was called the Jerusalem Hotel.  The ceiling is grape vines with clusters of grapes hanging down.  You get the feeling like you are eating in someone's garden.  Palestinian owned with a traditional Palestinian menu.  I finally was going to taste what Evette deemed as the "best chicken I ever ate!"  So, I ordered what she suggested & MMmmm... was it yummy!  I took a picture because I am going to recreate it.  I have been pretty good at figuring out what is in stuff & then coming really close to recreating the dish.  At home, Evette won't go to Macaroni Grill anymore, because not only did I recreate the pasta dish she orders, but she says it's better!  Yeah for me!!!   Anyway, if you'd like to check out the restaurant/hotel, the website is www.jrshotel.com .


8-13-07
Today we got up early & went to the mall.  We desperately needed a computer chair.  The tiny-hiney little wooden chair at the computer desk just was not going to cut it.  Especially after Evette starts school, she will need a comfy chair to do her work.  I also bought a Hebrew cookbook.  I really would like to possibly take a cooking class later in the year, so I thought I'd buy a book, & sit with my dictionary & translate recipes & then cook them.  With my luck, I'll spend hours translating 1 recipe, only to find that the 2 main ingredients, which will be listed last, are prunes & liver.  Anyway, so at the mall, we decide to sit & have coffee to start our day.  I decide I'd like a cappuccino. I have been trying to learn how to order things myself, so I go up to the counter & ask for a café dafouk.  Well, the waiter stares blankly at me & Evette is laughing so hard she is crying.  Apparently, the correct word is Hafouk.  Dafouk means f***'ed.  OOPS!! I certainly did not want THAT kind of coffee.  Of course, Evette had so much fun telling the taxi driver (one of our regular, favorites), they both laughed & laughed all the way home.  I'm pretty sure I'll remember the correct way to order if from now on.  Anyway, he continued laughing, and then he remembered a similar incident that happened to a young Russian Olah (new Israeli immigrant).  She went into the Misrad HaPanim (Ministry of the Interior), to get her identity card - called "Teudat Zehut".  Becoming accustomed to the Israeli way of doing things, she approached the clerk and in a loud, firm voice (so as to be heard above the din in the overcrowded waiting room) she confidently announced that she was there to pick up her "Teudat Zanut".   When the clerk stopped laughing, she politely informed the woman that she had just demanded her Prostitution card! 
 
Tonight we went to an International Arts, Crafts & Music Festival.  It was really interesting & fun.  There were booths from India, Morocco, Peru, Kyrgyzstan, Bolivia, Guatemala, South Africa, Indonesia, Nepal, China, Argentina, El Salvador, Brazil, Colombia, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Senegal, Ethiopia and Jordan.  There were glass blowing demonstrations & other artists painting or doing some part of their craft work right there.  There was music, dancers, puppet masters, tons of different ethnic foods. It was really fun.   Interestingly, there was no representation from the USA except a booth that had candy apples & cotton candy.  Hmmm...  We bought some beautiful artwork from an artist, Ellen Miller Braun.  She does micro-calligraphy prints.  Ellen's micro-calligraphy designs are created entirely with words. Ellen dips her very fine tipped calligraphy pen into a spectrum of water colors and writes, patiently spending anywhere from one month to a year, creating each original piece. These colorful images are created entirely by using the chosen text. The majority of text in Ellen's artwork is from scriptures or prayers.  Her website is great.  www.nishmati.co.il . 


8-13-07
So, being the good friends we are, we cat sat for Evette's classmate & his wife while they traveled to Cairo to visit a friend.  Well, let me tell you about super-kitty.  There are 3 cats, Joey, Zippy & Nina.  Joey & Zippy were no trouble, well, except Zippy projectile vomited on the bed in the second room.  As long as they were fed & given a little love, they were fine.  We slept there 2 of the 5 nights because, well, I'll tell you.  At bed time, Zippy sleeps on the bed in the spare room.  Joey curled up somewhere unbeknownst to us.  Nina, well, Nina is another story.  If you leave the bedroom door open, she comes in the bed & kneads you all night.  If you shut the door, she bats at it all night long.  So, her Mommy & Daddy devised a moat system.  They fill 6 aluminum baking pans with water and line them up outside the door & then shut it.  Since cats don't like water, it should be foolproof, right?  So, for extra protection, inside the bedroom there is a very heavy stone brick that they put up against the door.  Let me tell you, this is no treat if you get up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.  Stubbed toes, stepping in water, or if you remember the water is there, trying to leap over the pans, all while keeping Nina out of the room.  OY!!!  So, the second night we stayed there, Evette could not sleep, so she was out on the couch watching TV.  I'm barricaded in the room and hear strange noises outside the room.  Then I see the door slowly opening.  Nina has dragged the pans with her teeth about 6 inches from the door then leaping into the 6-inch space, proceeds to push the door open.  Mind you, there is a quite heavy brick barricading the door from the inside.  Next thing I know there is a very proud kitty sitting on my chest staring at me saying "look what I can do!"  So, after that, we slept at our place & went back & forth to feed them & spend a little time.  OK, Evette gets most of the credit for going back & forth.  When Mommy & Daddy came home, we told them, "wait until you see what we taught Nina!" 


8-17-07
So, remember at the beginning of this blog, I told you about my relatives Bar Mitzvah?  Well, I emailed my Dad's cousin to tell him we were there & sorry we could not find him or any family members since we never met & and to tell him we'd love to meet him some other time, maybe dinner or something.  Well, he responded.  The Bar Mitzvah was not last Sat.  It was today.  All that, and it was not even the right day.  We were not able to go today, but hopefully we'll see him another time.

Until our next adventures...Shalom.

Hebrew word of the week:  Keshet = rainbow.