Tinza’s Tiddley-Bits: {postcards from Israel-the markets of Jerusalem}

If you've been following my blog, you'll have read my first instalment of my trip to Jerusalem.
I'm still marvelling at the wonder of it all.
I thought I'd start my first feature post on the markets of Jerusalem. I really enjoyed just wandering the streets of the old city and taking everything in... from the everyday shops selling kitchen goods to the ladies on the side of the street selling grape leaves, to simply taking the time to marvel at the beautiful doors and the thick stones which make up the ancient buildings that surrounded me or the streets on which I walked.
I think the best way to describe the markets and the streets of the Old City is simply to say it in pictures:

{bread}

{opening shops...}

{frankincense and myrrh?}

{carpets?}

There are numerous antique shops in Jerusalem. Many of them, like this shop below, sell Russian icons that were brought from people fleeing Russia, who couldn't carry money with them, but invested their capital into works of art that could then be pawned. My own research examines similar situations in the circulation of goods in the fifteenth century, so I found this particularly interesting. Many of these shops have real antiquities-ancient pots and ceramics that look like they belong in the British Museum rather than in a shop for sale! Some of these stores have ancient cisterns or ancient streets in their basements, while tiles and chandeliers adorn the roofs-- the shops are works of art in themselves. Check out this youtube video of this shop here.

{The Palace, 6 Via Dolorosa}

{early morning rise to get to Galilee, meant we saw everything opening up at sunrise}

{more spices}

{coffee break at the side of the road}

{best coffee--Turkish with cardamom}

{pita!}

{barber shop}

{from the rooftops down into the markets}

We met this lovely old man who had the most incredible shop--something really out of Aladdin's cave. He asked us to come in and he said he had a message for me. He sat me down and said that I needed to balance my heart and my intellect--that I was an incredibly intelligent person, but also sensitive and that my life-long struggle would be to find a balance between those two. He didn't ask us to buy anything, but gave us both a jade ring to take back with us, to remember his message and our time in Jerusalem. A rather strange but moving experience:

& his shop:

Everywhere you look there are spice shops, which permeate the air as you wander down the streets--a true feast for the senses!

{more spices}

{check out these amazing floors!}

The spice shop below was amazing--look at this incredible pyramid of intricately stacked spices. If you have a second, I'd recommend going over to my instragram account where you can see this spice shop on video, while the muezzin calls for prayer in the background.