Old City Klezmer

DAN

Klezmer festival in the Old City, about as atmospheric as it gets. In the small amphitheater Gan Hatekuma, inside the south wall between the Zion and Dung gates.   Got a short fiddle lesson from one of the Klezmer players.  Then while practicing in the Jaffa Gate, made my first shekels busking.

KlezmerTish

DAN

Last night I ventured out to a 'Klezmer Tish' in a religious neighborhood on Yermiyahu Street. Quite an interesting scene :), to put it mildly - five guys jamming on Klezmer tunes, could have been Poland in the 1920's (or a bluegrass jam in the East Bay in 2013). Held every Saturday night to wind up Shabbat, in the funky cellar of an old apartment building. Finding it was an adventure, virtually impossible without Waze,

I might have to make it a regular Saturday night activity, especially if I learn some Klezmer tunes on the fiddle :)  They did a short Havdallah service before the music began. And tonight and tomorrow, the II World Klezmer Festival in the Old City...not to be missed!!

 

 

Quiet Shabbat

Quiet Shabbat at the Levin-Meers  with Shanie and Meshi.  Michelle and Susan went to services at the Great Synagogue. Schvitzing in the balcony no doubt.

The Archeologists

Had Shabbat dinner with Chana's parents (We swapped houses with Chana and Shmuel),  a few minutes walk from the apartment.  Interesting evening - they are quite observant so we had full on Shabbat prayers and ritual.  Toby and Gabriella did great, even if they were a bit bored.  Chana's Dad, Baruch, is a Holocaust survivor, originally from Germany.  He and his family were sent to Bergen Belsen in 1942.  When Baruch first came to Israel he spent 15 years on a Kibbutz working as a farmer, the first few years living in a tent with no running water or electricity.

Saturday was a visit to the Israel Museum which is amazing - fantastic collection and a special exhibit of the buildings of King Herod. The permanent exhibit of the Dead Sea Scrolls is also very special.

Sunday we played archeologist at the Temple Mount Sifting Project with Shanie and Meshi.  Shanie's translation skills certainly came in handy there!! It was great fun as you are given buckets of rubble from the excavation and you look for artifacts like glass, pottery shards, bones, metal, mosaic pieces and the like.  The budding archeologists received some instruction from the staff and then were turned loose on the rubble.  In one of our buckets we found a piece of pottery with markings showing that it came from the Byzantine period.  Indiana Jones look out!!

Ein Gedi and the Dead Sea

DAN

Great day in the northern Dead Sea area.  Started at the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve and a hike up the Wadi David.  Fantastic fauna, flora, waterfalls and freshwater pools to swim in.

We got started a bit late so it was great to cool off in the streams and waterfalls. Then off to Mineral Beach and a relaxing dunk in the Dead Sea.  Exfoliated and enriched and feeling like a wet noodle. Nothing quite like it.

 

 

 

The Site Tour Continues

DAN
We continue to tour sites in and around Jerusalem.  Ventured outside the city to see Soreq Caves National Park, a fantastic limestone cavern ala Carlsbad Caverns National Park in the states, albeit not nearly as big.  But very impressive, just the same. Then down to Bet Guvrin Maresha National Park, a series of caves and dwellings from Biblical, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine times.  In the area of Beit Shemesh, a city that recently had an ugly incident where ultra orthodox men surrounded a bus and pounded on the outside with hammers because a woman would not sit in the back - shades of Rosa Parks...

Then we spent some very enjoyable time with Shanie.  Walked Hezekiah's Tunnel in the Jerusalem Walls National Park - that was quite the experience on a number of levels - first of all, it entails walking through ancient Jerusalem's water system - a dark, extremely claustrophobic 500 meter walk through water ranging from ankle to knee depth.  It is steep and slippery in parts and I was using Michelle's iPhone flashlight app.  Believe me, I had a death grip on that phone because if I had dropped it, the doghouse would not begin to describe where I would have ended up!!

 

The walk was made even more interesting because we got trapped behind a large, orthodox family that proceeded to walk very slowly, stomping, clapping, baruch hasheming and screaming their way through the tunnel.  The tunnel is very narrow, low in parts and of solid rock so the noise, echo and general cacophony really added to the experience. Shanie kept yelling at them to let us pass but they refused to do so...and so it goes. 

Ended up with some falafel and a short tour of the Burnt House, an excavated home of a high priest of the Second Temple.  Finally, relaxing in a restaurant situated in a 900 year old building.

Tower of David

Visited the Tower of David today, with incredible 360 degree views of Jerusalem.  It is really amazing that in a 1 km square area (if you believe the sages), Abraham bound Isaac for sacrifice, Jesus was crucified and resurrected and Mohammed ascended to heaven on his winged horse!!  Heck of a lotta action for such a small country. No wonder no one can agree on anything!

We also had the opportunity to visit a friend of a friend who lives in an apartment in the Old City.  Very interesting to see an actual living space in a 900 year old building. 

A Day at the Beach

DAN
Relaxing day yesterday, still getting over my jet lag.  Visited the Israeli-Roths in the late
afternoon at their new pad - nothing beats hanging out at the beach and swimming in the Mediterranean.

The Acclimation Continues

DAN:

Everyone continues to acclimate.  It has been pretty hot so we've been following the early morning activity, mid afternoon siesta and late afternoon activity model.  Although today we deviated somewhat.  This morning Michelle and Susan went to register for Hebrew classes at an Ulpan, while I stayed home with the kids to wait for the exterminator - I must say, I have stayed in my share of roach motels but American roaches have nothing on their Israeli cousins - some grande sized bugs in the house had Gabriella pretty freaked out but hopefully we have it under control!

In the afternoon we headed to the Mahaneh Yehuda neighborhood for a short virtual film history of Jerusalem ala Soaring Over California at California Adventure.  Kind of hoaky and simplistic to be honest, with some propaganda thrown in for good measure - they compress the entire history of Jerusalem into 25 minutes and skip from the Constantinople emperor declaring Christianity the official religion of the realm to the '67 war, but hey, the kids loved the special effects.

Then a stroll through the Shuk for some treats - nothing like Halvah and eggs...



Before I arrived Michelle, Susan and the kids visited the Israeli Museum. Susan's shoulder is much better, thank goodness!

    

Of course a shopping trip through the stalls of the Old City stalls is a must also.  We continue to try to figure out this crazy, wonderful place - the diversity is striking, from black hats to tank tops and everything in between...more in awhile.

With Toby in the Old City

DAN
Great morning with Toby in the Old City.  Put two prayers in the wall and bargained for Bedouin knives at several stalls in the market.  Too pricey but we did get some great, fresh squeezed orange juice. :)



I was up at 0400 with jet lag and took an early morning walk to the Jaffa Gate.  Magical in the morning as the sun comes up.