Change of plans. During breakfast we got a text from Janet, our son's partner. She's in California at a conference. She is a prof in the history department at Akron U & specializes in Turkish-Kurdish history & minority cultures. The Middle East is of special interest. Back to the text. She was with a colleague, Bedross, who has an intimate knowledge of cuisine in Jerusalem. She sent us some restaurant recs in the Armenian & Muslim quarters. We Googled them & couldn't resist.
Better than taking a cab to the Israel Museum, we walked to the Old City AGAIN. Being Shabbat, we didn't know what we'd find except that something will always be open due to the three main religions having different Sabbaths. And tomorrow the Christian, thus Armenian, restaurants would be closed.
The park on the way was filled with tour groups from Asia, India, & the US. Arab families (be they Israeli Palestinians or not) were out in force. Orthodox Jews or secular pushed strollers. All enjoyed the fresh air, sunshine, & camaraderie. If it wouldn't have been rude, I'd have taken a picture of the Arab woman & child swinging next to a man in a kippah pushing his son.
In the Old City it was the same. The Jewish quarter stores were closed, but the ones on King David, the main street, were open. They're run by Arabs. But people didn't stay in their "quarters." I don't even think living accommodations & worship venues are that severely segregated. They rubbed shoulders, did business, ate side by side, & enjoyed each other's cuisines. Damn! It was peaceful co-existence on parade.
We did get to the suggested restaurants in the Armenian quarter. The first, Bulguri, was closed due to a tour group. The Armenian Tavern was where we ended up. It's in an ancient stone cellar decorated with an ostentatious array of Orthodox incense burners, lamps, weavings, art, ceramics, jewelry, & murals. The men at the neighboring table were from Greece & here to work on a church restoration. The dominant language in the quarter was Greek. As Theodora, I felt at home. We ordered their version of baba ganoush & sampler plates. It included basturma (dried pastrami-like beef), soujuk (beef sausage), kubbeh (fried cracked wheat balls stuffed with ground beef), lahmajun (thin bread rolled around ground beef & tomato sauce). Everything was lovely.
We stayed in the Armenian quarter & followed groups here and there. We ended up walking out the Zion Gate which we've never seen. That's when the white rabbi(t) appeared. He was an Orthodox Jew in all white Shabbat garb including a large white fur shtreimel. That's a big round fur hat (think Fiddler on the Roof). So, we followed the white rabbit.
He led us to the purported David's Tomb. As David said, if it was really proven to be King David's tomb, the Israeli government would have made a big fuss about it. Meanwhile, it's never been on any tour we've heard of. The "tomb" was a synagogue divided between men & women where each had a portion of the shroud-draped casket at which to pray. Pretty idolatrous .
We headed for what is "purported" by Christian tradition (so said the sign) to be the Upper Room where Jesus had the Last Supper. Who knew? It looked like a Gothic church space with some stained glass accents. There was a large Asian tour group present. They formed a circle, held hands, & began to sing a Christian song in their language. Then they crossed themselves. I found the leader/priest who spoke enough English to tell us they were Korean.
And outside was our white rabbit wending his way down another narrow corridor into Wonderland. But wait. We now picked up the trail of a black robed & hooded man who could have been a member of the dark-ops KKK, Darth Vader, or an Armenian priest. His path led to St. James Armenian Church, one of the oldest in the area. We heard singing, so gingerly pushed aside a quilted flap & peeked in. A service was in progress. It was a gorgeous ornately decorated sanctuary with a heavenly choir. We were going with the moment until they brought out the incense. Couldn't take the fumes.
We strolled into the Muslim Quarter where they were still selling Christian & Jewish wares, turned down a lane of shops catering to locals And There He Was. Our white rabbit had found us! Eventually, we extricated ourselves from the dark alleys, lanes, & looming walls and burst into the open at the Jaffa Gate. It was a re-birth into the now .
We covered a lot of territory today but couldn't see it all. We missed Our Lady of the Spasm & the Monastery of the Flagellation. I’m not joking. They’re highlighted on our map.
Tomorrow the Supreme Court, perhaps.
Toby
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| Armenian Tavern |
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| Sample Platter |
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| Old City Shoppers |
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| Armenian Church |
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