Tile Project

Walking from the shouk to King George to get a bus that would let me off at the top of a hill rather than the bottom, I reached the brick-paved section now a pedestrian mall. To the right, giant pictures of tiles and a sign explaining the Jerusalem Tile Project (http://muslala.org/en/projects/the-jerusalem-tile-project/).

In the older parts of Jerusalem courtyards a unmodernized rooms are often floored with decorative tiles, mostly from the last century. The project invites people to look for these, photograph them, and contribute the images. See also http://jerusalemblog.blogspot.co.il/2007/01/floor-tiles.html and (https://www.google.co.il/search?q=jerusalem+tile+project&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwic--j8mN3RAhWBOxoKHQy3Aq4QsAQIIA&biw=1242&bih=580 )

Copyright 2017 Jane S. Fox

Noga Schreibman-Cohen's Quilts

Went to the Jerusalem Theater last night to see a play about which more later.

The quilts haninging along the broad staircase to the Sherover Auditorium blew my mind. Noga Schreibman-Cohen, said the notes, worked as a teacher for 30 years, for 20 of those she was a grade-school principal. She's married and the mother of two. So how did she have time to piece together these works of art? How did she have space in her mind to conceive of them?

Copyright 2016 Jane Fox

The Proposal

At various places near Jerusalem's center are eye-level posters with chapters of a story in Arabic, English, and Hebrew. Each poster includes a map showing the location of each of the seven chapters. I meant to blog about these last week. Just as well I waited as Saturday morning (on the free municipality walking tour) I learned about the illustrations stretched on canvas on the sides of buildings near the posters. They are about the same size as the trompe l'oeil murals by the CiteCreation of Lyons (http://cite-creation.com/), but unlike them the illustrations (like the story posters) are not glued to the buildings and are not meant to last more than a year. If there's money at the end of their year, they are to be replaced with a new story.

Copyright 2016 Jane Fox

Marie Balian's Glimpse of Paradise

Face the central post office on Jaffa Street. To your left is a government building graced by lion doors designed by one of the early Bezalel artists. Farther to your left are steps leading down to Koresh Street. Turn left along that small and unprepossessing street and look right and a little back to see Marie Balian's huge tile mural "A Glimpse of Paradise" ( http://www.tau.ac.il/~kenaank/balian_wall.html ). Balian is the scion of one of the Armenian families of tile artists brought to Jerusalem by Ronald Storrs ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Storrs ) in the early 1920s. The families continue their craft tradition today.

Copyright 2013 Jane Schulzinger Fox

Photographs from Yemen

Somewhere in the depths of the L. A. Mayer Museum for Islamic Art in Jerusalem( http://www.islamicart.co.il/en/ ) is a curator with a wonderful eye for photographic exhibits. The current one on Yemen is superb, managing to dazzle with images of people and architecture both. I no longer wonder why tourists go to Yemen.

Copyright 2012 Jane S. Fox

Museum for Islamic Art

• The Museum for Islamic Art (http://www.islamicart.co.il/english/visitor.asp ) is one of those gems that guided tours mostly miss. The Hebrew Website is worth surfing for pictures. At the museum, everything has complete English explanations.
• Its permanent collection includes exhibits of interest to kids as well as adults.
• The temporary exhibits have included music, magic, and now leisure activities throughout history. Each one I've been to has been beautifully unlike what I've seen elsewhere.

Copyright 2006 Jane S. Fox

Turkish Guest Towels

Not what you'd call "turkish towels" at all, the towels in the exhibit of Ottoman embroidery at the Museumfor Islamic Art (http://www.islamicart.co.il/en/ ) are large but delicate. The Ottoman Empire lasted a little under 500 years, if you count from the fall of Constantinople in 1453, longer if you count from Osman I's reign over Anatolia. Osman's people were Turkic, from Central Asia. (The Ottoman Empire ruled the Land of Israel for hundreds of years.)

These towels, from the royal palace are the finest cotton batiste with silk, silver, and gold embroidery in broad bands. They were probably the work of royal wives and concubines who had little es lese to keep them busy. An explanatory video shows some of these women, looking remarkably western. I suspect those pictures were the work of the wived of English diplomats. In the 18th and 19th centuries "taking a likeness" was an "accomplishment" taught any gentlewomen who had the talent to learn.

In conjunction with the exhibit, which includes large and small rugs, and pottery of similar motifs, the museum is presenting a series of lectures by Rafi Yisraeli on the history of the Ottoman Empire. Last night he taked a bit about the young teenaged boys who were drafted, mostly from Christian areas, and brought to Istanbul to be converted to Islam and educated in complete isolation from their families They grew up to be immensely loyal to the empire, entering the top levels of its administraiton. So I've read and so Professor Yisraeli said. A remarkable triumph of education.

COpyright 2011

Bridge and Hourglass

Santiago Calatrava's Jerusalem Chords light rail bridge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chords_Bridge )looks odd and out of place when you approach the western entrance to the city, when you look at it from the Central bus station or indeed from anywhere else close up. You wonder whether there's a master plan to rebuild the city in glass and stainless steel (sign to avert the evil eye).

But seen reflected in Anish Kapoor's hourglass sculpture at the top of the Israel Museum's hill (http://www.sculptsite.com/sculpture-headlines-Anish-Kapoor-08-15-10.html ) the bridge sails towards the buildings, not playing their music perhaps but eager to reach them.

Upside down.

Turn around and see the bridge's distant beauty right side up. Turn back and walk around the sculpture on days clear, cloudy, and overcast.

Copyright 2011 Jane S. Fox

Refreshing the Murals

When CiteCreation (cite-creation.com/ ) refreshed the colors of the Jerusalem murals, they also carefully aged the picture of the man in the red shirt, standing near the "front" of the mural on Agrippas
( http://jerusalemblog.blogspot.com/2006/07/trompe-loeil.html ). People with good memories may notice a new shirt on a small boy. Nope, my visual memory's nowhere near that good. The guide on Bet Shmuel's excellent walking tour point out the changes.

And why does the mural, which goes right down to street level, remain unvandalized? "The neighbors like it," the guide explained.

Copyright 2010 Jane S. Fox

Monster

• HaMifletzet in Kiryat Hayovel (http://www.israelfamily.org/photogallery/Israel6-7-8/slides/HaMifletzet-The%20Monster.html ) is a nonarchitectural monster, well enough known to be featured in the small, excellent, and rarely-seen pamphlet published by the Jerusalem Municipality Tourist Division.
• In a shady park (a project of the Jerusalem Foundation.), HaMifletset is a tall, piebald monster, whose three tongues are slides.
• The 18, 20, and 24Alef (from the Israel and Biblelands Museums) bus stop nearby. Ask a fellow-passenger where to get off for hah-meef-let-set. In your question, use as few words as possible. When you get off the 18, go right. It is about a block from the bus stop. You can ask anyone "HaMeeletst?"and get directions.
• If you walk back to the bus stop, continue a block, cross at the T-junction, and turn right, you will see to your left a good, kid-friendly, little restaurant with tables outside and inside. Childrens will notice the dancing cows on the pillar outside. The restaurabt will also package for you you a freshly-cooked take-out meal (the common Hebrew expression sounds very like take out, and the owner and staff speak enough English to explain what's available) for a very reasonable price. You can get shawarma or regular food.
• Farther along the street, next to the supermarket (Hebrew: "soopehr") is a pizzaria.

Copyright 2007 Jane S. Fox

Handprint

• No sign points to it. To see it, you must look down when walking at the very base of the ben Yehuda Midrahov.
• On an access cover to the city's water system is a right handprint, a tiny sculpture by Micha Ullman (http://www.daad.de/alumni/en/4.2.4_12.html ). In East Jerusalem, on another access cover, is the artist's left handprint. Two hamsas ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khamsa ) connected by precious water.
• You can only see them if you look for them very carefully.

Copyright 2007 Jane S. Fox

Private Guides

• If you've done a guided tour of Israel and discovered that your choices for the next guided tour cover much the same ground, you can go around on your own, or hire a guide.
• Many sites offer English tours: for example, Ir Daveed (http://jerusalemblog.blogspot.com/2006/11/city-of-david.html ), the Israel Museum (http://jerusalemblog.blogspot.com/2006/11/model.html ), the Municipality (http://jerusalemblog.blogspot.com/2006/12/valley-street.html ). Egged's Line 99 around Jerusalem (http://www.egged.co.il/Eng/main.asp?lngCategoryID=2773 ) provides commentary in English as do the other tours run by Egged and United Tours (http://www.unitedtours.co.il/map.html ).These tours let you come to Israel on your own and pick where you want to go.
• Although you can find licensed guides on the Internet, I recommend contacting Beit Shmuel and asking to be put in contact with one of their English-speaking guides.
  972 2-620 3461 or Doron_yosha@wupj.org.il
• Yad Ben Tzvi has excellent guides, but I don't know whether the organizaiton will set up private tours. You can try them at 972 2 539 8855 or had@ybz.org.il
• Tell them what interests you: architecture, art, bakeries, crusaders, literary references, neighborhoods, nineteenth-century history, prophets, travelers to Jerusalem ...; or list things you want to see and learn about. Tell them how much you want to walk or climb and how sure-footed you are or are not.

Copyright 2007 Jane S. Fox

Beit Ticho

• The weather has been perfect for lunch on the terrace at Beit Ticho (http://www.imj.org.il/eng/branches/Ticho_house/index.html ). It is just down from Rehov Ha Neviim ( http://jerusalemblog.blogspot.com/2006/10/street-of-prophets.html ) on Mevo Ticho, the first street of Rav Kook.
• The food is very good.
• The setting is perfect for a garden party where women wore pastel hats and gloves.

Copyright 2006 Jane S. Fox

Fantastic Animals

• Fantastic animals have emerged from rock in Jerusalem parks, the art of one sculptor or more, paid or not – a mystery. One is in Independence Park, very close to Agron St. Another is in the park on Elazar HaModai, next to Beit Elisheva. (http://www.e-map.co.il/eng_index.asp will help you find these.)
• http://jerusalemblog.blogspot.com/2006/06/frogs.html and http://jerusalemblog.blogspot.com/2006/06/two-horses.html and http://jerusalemblog.blogspot.com/2006/06/gazelles.html have more about Jerusalem animals live and fantastic.
• (As I write, an expert on the radio is talking about the danger of a large earthquake. Generally, he says, there is a major earthwuake in the area abiout every 90 years. See http://jerusalemblog.blogspot.com/2006/05/water.html about the advice I am following.)

Copyright 2006 Jane S. Fox

Performing Arts in Jerusalem

• Sparse publicity for schedules of concerts, plays, and lectures adds spice to those we find (see also http://jerusalemblog.blogspot.com/2006/02/unexpected-february-entertainment.html ). Israel Festival events at the Jerusalem Theater weren’t on the Theater’s Website, but their box office did sell tickets to the energizing concert of Naor Carmi and The Tizmoret (see http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=21032 ).
• We arrived an hour early for the 21:45 concert to find large booths set up in the plaza outside the theater entrance. One sold bright, fantastic-flower lamps. Others displayed hand-made jewelry, art from Zimbabwe, Indian clothes . In the center of the space an open-sided pavilion provided a venue for a flaminco dancer, acrobat, shadow dancers, and a stilt walker ,who also ambled out among the spectators. The crowd was as sparse as the publicity.
• All this was free.
• Inside the Rebecca Crown Auditorium a fusion of klezmer, Gypsy, Balkan, and Arab music roused us out of comfortably roomy seats.
• Afterwards we came out to find another band playing loud dance music for appreciative dancers. The fair was still going outside. Customers for the Jerusalem Theater’s cinemas and from the auditoriums that had other events that night, filled the lobby and spilled outside.
• The day's heat had radiated out through the clear sky. We walked home at midnight. Outside each full cafe on Derekh Aza (http://jerusalemblog.blogspot.com/2006/06/two-horses.html ), a security guard sat waiting to look into bags and ask, "Yesh Neshek?"

Copyright 2006 Jane S. Fox

Stuff

• We're told they plan to close the Israel Museum for two years for renovations. We cannot find out what collections will be accessible during that time.
• This museum is a 20-minute walk from the apartment. It is on the 9, 17, 17alef, 24, and 24alef bus lines.
• The archaeology section starts with things made longest ago. An archaeologist complains that organizing by chronology keeps visitors from nderstnding the development of pottery or tools, but I like seeing how much "stuff" people accumulated 5000, 10,000, 15,000 years ago and more.
• How much decorative stuff. As soon as people started making clay pots, it seems they decorated them. And, as far as I know, no one has labeled them "cultic objects."
• It's not a museum that says much about how people lived before they could leave us messages in writing. But we can guess that tens of thousands of years ago, they already liked "stuff."

Copyright 2006 Jane S. Fox