Wednesday 13th December
Muezzin wakes me 5.05a.m.
Church bells 6.45a.m. – Eucharist ? 3 celebrants + one v.late arrival, 1 vicar. Suffer coughing attack half way through gloomy dirge-like service but return improved … decide against bread & wine but take the blessing. Disinterested vicar, little joy.
Breakfast … slightly better coffee. Nice warm milk, bran flakes & corn, Lebanese yoghurt, scrambled egg on white toast. Discover goodbye in Arabic = marcellam. Bound to forget this !
Pick up free booklet @ reception The Holy Places Today by M.Basilea Schlink – looks good. Bookmark inside reads :
Believe that
God only humbles
and tests you in A message
suffering so as for my
to show yesterdays
you all the todays and
more good- tomorrows
ness in the
This assurance end
will enable you
to overcome
in suffering
MB
First port of call is good little stationers nearby for 3 foot ruler. Select the straightest from choice of 5. Damage … 9 shekels (£1.80, v. reasonable). Next to Am. Col. Shop for camera strap, explain didn’t get back till late yesterday, boss can’t find where his son may have put the embroidered ropes – promise to return p.m..
Drop ruler back in room & off for intended day of Christmas shopping … after all I clocked up a lot of mileage the previous day & calves, feet & knees are in need of soothing. Replaster water blister on toe.
Coffee, coffee brain says (Sainsbury’s now all used) – excellent Turkish + cardamom in glass after it settles near Damascus Gate. Drizzle continues. Up towards Jaffa Gate where at summit veg vendor has dropped most of her turnips (?) over the road. Cars & lorries squash them mercilessly. Pick up a couple for her, rain should clean them. Her son stands by, twiddling his thumbs.
9a.m. now – Tourist Info Centre just inside Old City – woman on phone, pick up map of OC courtesy of H.Stern the jewellers. Big arrow You are here – good that is. Browse in Christ Church shop opposite David’s Tower where Allenby quelled the rival passions. City starting to awaken. Rothschild Craft Centre not open till 9.30a.m. so descend to Jewish quarter.
Examine T-shirt collection & other wares. Buy chi (χ) plate and end of line white (well off-white cos it’s been on display for ages) dove number XXL. Good lady owner takes my Nat West cheque for £11. Her husband directs me to best coffee shop in area, The Quarter Café – strong black with milk. Enya on the musak system ! Take 2 x panorama of good view of Golden Temple & Mount of Olives.
Around & about a bit, back & down to Wailing Wall. Refused entry at bottom left corner & given short shrift by Jewish orthodoxy. Tell geezer he’s very welcome in a Christian place, more jabbering at me so “up yours”, I rudely say – apologies sir. Find correct tunnel & am straight away in Arab section of town. 2 Colombians are struggling with bartering system – help out as best I can in Castellano (pure Spanish). Owner pleased, or is he just after my business ? Coffee offered … sucker me parts with 30 sh. for v.nice box … business terrible he & his opposite shopkeeper tell me … not surprising if you hassle Europeans, they don’t like it I try to explain. Sucker punched again into buying 3 hand painted Armenian plates (3 colours variations on the Tabgha mosaic), but get baksheesh square tile. Another 30sh. spent I think, it’s hard to recall some of these protracted negotiations. Part on good terms. Sales patter continues as one leaves.
Left into Via Dolorosa by Simon of Cyrene corner. Head down & slow walk seems to avoid much of the Arab sales pitch. On left is wonderful little chapel of the Little Sisters of Jesus. Quiet prayer & then photo. Discover branch exists in U.K., one in W.10 one in Hackney take down addresses & phone numbers. I like the name and I liked the place, although felt a touch queezy about the lower chapel which merited a quick in & out. Pope in 1964 was here, says plaque. Nice, very nice French prayer sheet also taken.
Shop for the blind has ace brushes but too cumbersome for air travel so buy 36 wooden clothes pegs – find out later, made in China, but assume packaging done by the blind. Continue up Dolorosa, eyeing goodies for perhaps later purchase. Reach Jaffa square again. Down St. James’ once more – pee stop in Rothschild Centre, exhibiting fine art & jewellery etc.. Sigh their book & comment ‘beautiful handiwork’.
5 shekels for a suitable camera strap without much hassle then I’m out of local currency so it’s Bank Leumi time. Problems with their telephone so I try other bank (Mizrahi) but they close for lunch so it’s back repentantly to Leumi where after longish wait (Bedouin has even longer wait than me … maybe they are not quite sure who he is but he looks very honest to me & a fine fellow) my 250 shekels (£50) arrives.
Fine soft red cotton shirt – 30sh. ‘no messing around here’, unable therefore to bargain cos it was a bit dirty !
Family concern down Dolorosa again, good man has an ‘everything for 3 shekel section’ & interesting bric-a-brac. Come out with beautiful belt made by his niece/cousin ?, a battered but bonito cigarette tray holder thingy & two spare pawns, both intended for Consumer Forum. The chess set there is always missing pawns for some reason !
Map of Jerusalem bought nearby plus loaves & fishes XL T-shirt blue (25sh.) then towards Damascus Gate (bag is getting heavier & heavier) – 2 tubs of cinnamon, 1 of ground cardamom (9sh.). Barrel box (70sh.) including free tea with sage (pas mal) – Islam/Jew/Christian discussion + chat to Head of Commerce (VIP) in Arab areas. Cat Stevens apparently now numero uno in esteem … mention incident involving Georgie Chichester (now Leyland) when he sad & asked her to enter his Rolls Royce late one night … suspect this tale put the cat (!) amongst the pigeons as good Muslims are not supposed to this style of thing. However, nobody’s perfect, not by a long chalk. Shop owner is personal friend of Yussuf/Cat. Please to learn good Islam dead ringer for good Christianity – interpretations of Bible & Koran etc. often muddy the still waters that He provides.
Last purchases in the Old City were a pack of 4 knickers for me (10sh.), 2 mini tiger balms & 2 brilliant hessian Christmas stockings for the 2 girls, & 3 lemons outside for 1 sh., plus a 1 sh. roll. + 1 jar coffee (11 shekels) + 2 packs of Dunhill = 18 shekels.
Oh, the hazards of diary writing the following morn. I omitted 2 events of importance.
First I encountered on the Via Dolorosa, clattering down with his metal walking frame, a middle-aged man to whom I gave a 10 shekel note, in to his hat. Turns out he’s, 5 years ago, been touched by a 30,000 volt electricity cable which shored off his scalp, fried his skin, chopped off half one foot & twisted his body. Coping OK but I tell him, as he can’t afford the Israeli medical help available, to go & ask at Rothschild’s Craft Centre for the dosh to get him to U>K> to have a metal plate fixed above his exposed brain. Tell him that in U.K., psychiatrists zap people too ! Too bloody much if you ask me ! He’s incredibly lucky to be alive & I wish him everything he needs.
Event 2 was pleasant sojourn, coffee. photo in church at Christ Church above Immanuel opposite David’s Tower & already mentioned. Here, on the exhibits of earlier this century & before displayed, on portrait of Michael Solomon Alexander there is a sticker saying who this is which looks to me done in my mother’s handwriting. Kevin is the man to ask I’m told by Argentinian lady but Kevin don’t know (he’s Australian) but will try to find out for me & leave message at reception. Ta, Kev. Mum was here during the war you see.
So back to Christmas shopping. After 4p.m. I head, after unloading first batch, through Hassidic section of the new town to Jaffa Street chewing on one lemon ! Am looking for cufflinks, selfishly for me, which proves a complete no-no. Serves me right.
No Mozart tapes anywhere, fair coffee & heavyweight bagel on George V Street. Batiques, silk cushion covers look not bad – may return. A few stocking fillas amuse so I get them … 13.50 shekels. Fine store at bottom of Ben Yehuda Street yields loads of Christmas presents for family members & friends.
Goodness gracious it’s 8.20p.m. now – head hotelwards, naturally get lost again trying to be too clever … these streets honestly, where’s my sense of direction gone. Supper en route, caramel milk (bueno), some pastries in Jewish zone & a slice of pizza.
Bed, exhausted, after bath 9.45p.m.
A good day
Merci Dieu
Tu es vachement chouette à moi
Merci encore
Je t’adore.