Local Entertainment

• If you can get away from your tour in the evening, enjoy a concert at Beit Shmuel (http://www.beitshmuel.com/index.htm), the Jerusalem Theater (http://www.jerusalem-theatre.co.il/default.asp), or Beit HaCohnfedehrahtsia (http://www.confederationhouse.org/english/ ). If the concierge at your hotel cannot tell you the schedule, phone any of these venues and ask in English, or email in English.
• Don't worry about feeling lost. Many people at each place speak English. Many of the concert goers are native speakers (called in Hebrew "anglosaxim"). All three places are in walking distance of the htels on Jabotinsky and King David Streets.
• At the Jerusalem theater and Beit HaConfederatzia you can have a good meal or a glass of wine before or after the concert. Beit Shmuel has a smaller cafe, which is not open as late.
• In my experience, Jerusalem concerts are scheduled for late and start later, but the lobbies in all three places are pleasant. At the theater there is a small book and music store and a changing art exhibit. Often there is also live music in the lobby.
• The Turkish music concert Tuesday at Beit HaConfederatiza was good but a bit academic. The explanations interfered with building excitement. The Oud Festival and the concert of Ethiopean music were hard to live up to.

Copyright 2006 Jane S. Fox