Sabbath in Jerusalem

Jerusalem is an interesting city for many reasons. At the moment I will limit myself to some cultural reasons. Friday evening and Saturday our hotel was filled with Jews who are “observing” Shabat (Sabbath). Instead of preparing food in advance at home, many register in a local hotel and let someone else prepare everything.

But when I went to East Jerusalem I saw kids on the way to/from school, shops open, and people moving about doing their shopping. If they took a weekly holiday, it was Friday.

When I walked from Damascus Gate to Jaffa Gate and Zion Gate, I found all of the Moslem and Christian shops open and bustling with activity. Many Christian shops will be closed Sunday.

Colorful shop in the Moslem Quarter of Jerusalem. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

During the day I visited Damascus Gate, Zedekiah’s Cave (Solmon’s Quarry), the Russian Excavations, Jaffa Gate area, the roof of the Petra Hotel to see Hezekiah’s Pool, the Armenian Cathedral of St. James, “Mount Zion”, and maybe a few other places I don’t recall.

We get Fox News at our hotel. Several times we have seen reports about the anti-American riots and demonstrations in 21 countries including Israel (Tel Aviv and East Jerusalem). I am not saying it did not happen somewhere, but I was out all day and saw on indication of any such unrest. Perhaps the cameras had already left by the time I got out!