Ten Things About Jerusalem

Entrance to the guru's garden Fresh chicken squid Six rolls just aren’t scary Flakes erased for adulterers How Nigel was shot Phone line sockets for defective sex entry Chocolate trio and nocturnal mucus Binding Her Frutter H igh Grid Eggplant Creamy Rum and Almond Flavored with Almond Fragment and Coating Contains Dark Chocolate And whatever this is... 

  This year, with most festive traditions (Christmas markets, holiday parties, etc) scuttled due to COVID restrictions, we looked for unorthodox opportunities to celebrate the season. Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, commemorates the miracle of the single oil lamp that lasted for eight nights. It is celebrated with the lighting of the menorah, but also by enjoying anything deep fried, including latkes and doughnuts , called sufganiyot . Hearing about these, we did a doughnut crawl, dropping into several bakeries near Jaffa Street to sample their finest fried creations. The standard sufganiyah is a powdered doughnut filled with jam or chocolate, which can be found in almost every Israeli supermarket and corner store during the season. Of course, Israeli innovation extends to its bakeries and there are a wide variety of flavours, like custard, pistachio and hazelnut. The most decadent we tried was at the famous Kadosh bakery, which had a long lineup out the door. In...

November 11 is known in various countries as Remembrance Day, Armistice Day and Veterans Day. Jerusalem was shaped by the world wars, particularly the First World War. The Levant and Hejaz, (including Palestine) were taken from the Ottoman Empire by the British, who enlisted the help of local Arabs and Zionist Jews. (They also promised both peoples their own autonomy without a clear plan, which, it turns out, has been problematic.) So for November 11th, one does not need to go far to commemorate the day. Jerusalem is home to a well-maintained Commonwealth Cemetery on Mount Scopus. Gaza also has one. Curiously, it was completely sealed off with construction fencing, which we breached to enter (If Israelis need to visit graves on Yom Kippur, why not us?). The cemetery was completely empty, save for a couple of locals enjoying a quiet moment. Via elementary math, we estimated over 2,000 graves and thousands more marked with no known resting place. Still, this is just a small reminder of t...

  Still under lockdown in a foreign country, there is much for which we can be thankful, including our health, our family, stable employment and education. This year, we also get to be thankful for Spirou, a nine-year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who spent over seven months of the year with us as a COVID refugee. Spirou's parents were evacuated in the spring, but airlines would not allow pets on board and with the constant summer heat, they would not take the risk. So we had an elderly lapdog for seven months who quickly became part of the family. He was also a boon to us during lockdowns, reducing our overall stress while giving us moments of levity and mirth. He required two daily walks, which forced us to get up and out of the house. The last point is crucial: we always knew what time it was, even if we did not always know what day it was. We also made fast friends with Israelis and Palestinians alike, including the local dog owner community. His owners are francophone, ...

 Living far from home during a global pandemic, we've not been able to return, but we have the privilege of time, energy and funds to take vacations. The Israeli side of the Holy Land has a well-developed tourism industry and a vibrant national park system. But with no tourists and no lineups, there's plenty of socially-distant staycations to be had. The first place we went after the end of the first lockdown was the Alpaca Farm in Mitzpe Ramon. A visit to the crater on horseback was just what the doctor ordered.     While the land is dry, springs are abundant: a visit to Ein Gedi or the West Bank's Ein Prat (Wadi Qelt) will provide relief on a hot day, but the naturally hot springs of Gan HaShlosha (Ein Sakhne) are worth visiting almost year-round.     The walled Crusader city of Akko was a trip through time and its castle was completely empty. Akko's tranquility was punctuated only by the music and shouting from speed boats filled with Arab-Israelis that cruis...

With the elevated risk of travel and the need for a two-week quarantine on both ends, we are staying in Jerusalem for the summer. Lena's biggest regrets were to not see friends and family, but also to miss out on her promised horse-riding camp. Luckily, there are riding schools in the area and one in particular had a program for the summer. The stable is on a forested hill with trails and is cool and breezy, even with the intense summer sun and heat. The owner is a South African-born Israeli who fully enjoys the American cowboy lifestyle, complete with Stetson hat and an office full of memorabilia. So for two weeks, Lena has been working on her archery and lassoing skills. She does not know any of the other children, but she quickly memorized the names of every single horse. At a certain point, the Israeli authorities declared that all summer camps would close, worrying us greatly. When asked, the owner plainly said, "We're not a camp, we're a working stable." So....