Thursday July 19th, 8pm. After an intense week, an invitation for a walk on the Old City seems just great. Can't stand sitting in front of the computer anymore... and it'd be nice to have a bit of fresh air.
I set off with two of my colleagues and, by the time, we reach the Old City (5-10min away by car), I'm laughing to tears! First, the important decision was either to enter by Damascus or by Jaffa gate, think where could we park on each place and what path we'd follow from there. Deciding for Damascus, we were then driving around for like 5 min or more because the guys couldn't agree on which was the best place to park the car!... I was so tired and their comments were so funny, I couldn't stop laughing! We eventually parked on a paid parking (what I'd have done from the beginning had I been driving) and paid the 10 shekels fee (1eur=5.5NIS so it's +- 1,80eur).
Damascus is definitely my favourite door, the entrance I find most beautiful, although the path from there isn't that pretty. But, during daytime, you have all the people selling fruits, veggies, shoes and a myriad other articles. Plenty of chaos all over or so it seems to my European eyes and mindframe. And it has been like this for centuries and centuries...
1st stop at the juice shop. Lovely tables with local tiles (I think I'll get a tile like these for my flat, I really like them!), there's a small breeze... We all order carrot and orange fresh squeezed juice. It's a huge glass and it tastes absolutely wonderful! On a cardboard, it's written 3 in front of each juice and 'E.U only' at the bottom. I later find out each juice is 15NIS! 3eur! While paying I ask the owner how do you say orange in arabic, 'portokal' he answers, that's where I'm from, I say, Portugal, the oranges' country. I end up paying 12NIS each juice, "special price for you" ;)
There is another word for oranges (I'll ask my colleagues tomorrow) but oranges without seeds are 'portokal'.
We move on, making our way towards the Wall. I was there last Thursday (11th) and even though there were lots of people, there's a quietness to the place. We had just sat and stared at the people around, walking back and forth, making their prayers by the Wall or just waiting for someone.
This time, we decide to stop at the 'pizza place' and get one for each, it smelled so good last week!... We climb down a few steps into a bare room, white walls, the oven is in the middle at a even lower level. In front of it, the baker, prepares the pizzas (cheese, egg and meat - talk about a full protein meal!), puts them in the oven and takes them out as they're cooked. Two kids are sitting and one collects the money and translates for us "two more, just a moment blease" (they can never quite say the p). It's like a sauna in there and I'm thinking this is how this man spends his days...
The pizza is burning hot, even though it's on a piece of newspaper. And so we pass the security check into the Wall square. Holding an arabic pizza on a sheet of arabic newspaper. We sit on the same place of last week and eat up our pizzas (yes, I did check we were allowed to it at the entrance) while staring at the people passing by. It's funny looking at all this ultra-orthodox jews who cross you on the street without ever looking up and then they delay the start of their prayer, even though they're already by the Wall because someone calls them on the mobile...
For some of the History of Jerusalem over the centuries and some pictures, check here: http://www.snunit.k12.il/njeru/open_screen2.htm
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