Encounter On the Stairs
Saturday mornings at 10, the Jerusalem Municipality offers free walking tours, one in Hebrew and one in English. Hebrew speakers, some surer of their English than is realistic, go one whichever tour will cover what they want to see.
Israeli moment on last weeks tour: We started down a broad staircase towards the Western Wall. A police officer stopped us. “There’s a gas leak,” she said. “You have to go back.”
Our guide replied, “We’re at the end of the tour” and led us a little farther down and a little left to a wide landing..
“There’s a gas leak,” the policewoman repeated.
Word passed through the group, with translations for those few who only understood English. They started to turn back, commenting that indeed they had noticed the smell. “Tear gas?” asked one. “No, no. Cooking and heating gas. Natural gas,” another of the walkers said. The first man seemed disappointed at missing an Israeli experience, but he was witnessing one, though he may not have understood.
Our guide beckoned us towards him and began to speak of the Mt. Of Olives as the border between desert and fertility. “Jerusalem has no other geographic features to attract aw,” he said. “But to the ancients this stark boundary between where the rain falls and where it does not – this was awe inspiring.” (The sudden change between green and grey-brown is indeed remarkable, but I’d never read of ancient awe in that regard.)
Another uniformed guard came up the stairs and began to argue with the guide. “You have to take them back up the stairs. There’s a gas leak. We haven’t found it yet.”
“Just a minute,” replied the guide. “I’ve only a few more things to say.”
“Go back up!”
“Here’s where the view is. They can’t see everything from farther up the stairs.”
“What’s to see? Tell them ‘That’s the Wall, that’s the Mount of Olives,’ and go!”
The guide turned back to us and finished everything he had to say, with all the details.
Then, when he had wuite finished, we went back up the stairs.
Copyright 2010 Jane S. Fox
Israeli moment on last weeks tour: We started down a broad staircase towards the Western Wall. A police officer stopped us. “There’s a gas leak,” she said. “You have to go back.”
Our guide replied, “We’re at the end of the tour” and led us a little farther down and a little left to a wide landing..
“There’s a gas leak,” the policewoman repeated.
Word passed through the group, with translations for those few who only understood English. They started to turn back, commenting that indeed they had noticed the smell. “Tear gas?” asked one. “No, no. Cooking and heating gas. Natural gas,” another of the walkers said. The first man seemed disappointed at missing an Israeli experience, but he was witnessing one, though he may not have understood.
Our guide beckoned us towards him and began to speak of the Mt. Of Olives as the border between desert and fertility. “Jerusalem has no other geographic features to attract aw,” he said. “But to the ancients this stark boundary between where the rain falls and where it does not – this was awe inspiring.” (The sudden change between green and grey-brown is indeed remarkable, but I’d never read of ancient awe in that regard.)
Another uniformed guard came up the stairs and began to argue with the guide. “You have to take them back up the stairs. There’s a gas leak. We haven’t found it yet.”
“Just a minute,” replied the guide. “I’ve only a few more things to say.”
“Go back up!”
“Here’s where the view is. They can’t see everything from farther up the stairs.”
“What’s to see? Tell them ‘That’s the Wall, that’s the Mount of Olives,’ and go!”
The guide turned back to us and finished everything he had to say, with all the details.
Then, when he had wuite finished, we went back up the stairs.
Copyright 2010 Jane S. Fox
Labels: walking
posted by Jane S.Fox at 12:44 PM
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