Summer in Jerusalem: Last Day of school

Thursday was our last day of class. I was privileged to learn from many fine teachers here at the Conservative Yeshivah. Among them was one of the finest geachers I have ever had. That was Michal, my Ulpan teacher. In addition to having a thorough knowlege of both Hebrew and English grammar and vocabulary, she was also familiar with the classics of English, Hebrew, and world literature. She taught us about Israeli society, politics, and attitudes often using examples from language to make her point. She has a passion for her work and her country and represented the best Israel has to offer. I know I will think of her often and fondly.

Later that evening, Roz and I went off to find an all soup restaurant that Beth's friend John had recommended. It was a long walk but it was also a beautiful Jerusalem evening, we had nothing better to do so we set off to find Marakiah. Of course we walked right past it but after asking for directions a few times, we got there.
It was the most unusual looking place I was ever in. Nothing matched. Every table was different. Ours was an old sewing machine table. There was a chandelier made of spoons and ladles and no two soup bowls were the same either. The soups had the taste of home-made. I ordered the leek and Roz the creamy tomato but we ended up switching as hers was a little peppery for her. I later recalled that they offered free tastes prior to ordering which we should have done but it all worked out well.

After dinner we started walking along Jaffa St. with a goal of making it all the way to the Machaneh Yehudah Shuk which we did not think would still be open. It was a long but enjoyable walk. The carachter of the neighborhood seemed to change every few blocks from bistro to touristy to commercial. Suddenly we started to detect the aromas that could only be the Shuk. The Shuk smells like fruit, vegetables, fish, and most of all bakeries. There are a number of bakeries right there complete with ovens. Our doubts about whether it was open ended quickly. It was around nine and the place was a mad-house. People were jammed into the aisles. These were very serious shoppers. Merchants were calling out there prices with barely intelligible song-like pitches. Shoppers were grabbing up bargains frantically. Shopping carts were flying behind wild shoppers. This scene is typical only of Thursday night and no other night as people were buying for Shabbat. Where else is shopping such an adventure?

Friday morning we took an Egged tour to Masada and the Dead Sea. This was my third trip to Masada but it is always awesome. Here is a picture of one of the food storage areas.

I have a number of other pictures including one that I had never noticed before. On the mountain are the ruins of a Byzantine church. The church was built there as it was felt that the area was somehow sacred. They soon realized that they could not live up there and abandoned it. I can understand why they did not want to stay. It is a difficult place to be. It is hot and dry. Water and food have to be brought up with great difficulty.

Next we went to the Dead Sea. The last time I was in Isreal, 2000, we rode past the Sea and it was said that the Sea was shrinking because of global warming. The problem was made even more dramatically clear this time. When I first came here, in 1977, the lake was right outside the spa. Today, bathers need to take a tram from the spa to the Sea. Here is a picture from the Sea back towards to spa which is so far away you can barely see it. There are signs along the former Sea bed warning visitory not to walk in it as there are sinkholes in the mud.

There are a number of activities at the spa. Inside, ther are sulphure baths, you can imagine how the building smells. Out back ther is a swimming pool and, of course the tram to the Sea. A traditional favirite activity here is to cover yourself with mineral-rich Dead Sea mud. We did not try this but here is a picture of some people who did.