 Monday, March 5, 2007 - Purim
Monday was a free day for us which meant that we didn't have our tour guide and bus and we were on our own. Some of us ventured out to the bus at our hotel and went into town for a day of shopping and walking. First we all went to Ben Yehuda street which is the main area to see where it is all happening. Checked out some stores and then some went back to the hotel and Jon and Leah and Keith and Denise walked into the Old Town and went into the Jaffa Gate into the Armenian Quarter. Then after going to a bunch of shops we worked our way into the Jewish Quarter and finally into part of the Moslem Quarter. We explored the city but mostly spent the day in shops.
This was still part of the holiday of Purim so there were a lot of kids dressed in costumes much like our Halloween out in the streets. This is at Ben Yehuda street.
The streets are very narrow and dark as much of the city is built up several levels. Here we are in the Muslem Quarter looking through the shops there.
We stumbled along this walkway as we went through the city. Located on the rooftops of the shops below this is part of why it is dark below. It turns out this is a great way to get quickly to one part of the city or the other. Up here are a number of thrown together homes and a very Orthodox neighborhood. |
