Fast Food

Falafel is to Israel what McDonald's is to America: fast food. Falafel (the thing in the pita) is fried chick pea with different types of "salad" including pickles, cabbage, lettuce, tomato, onion, hot sauce, and french fries, which are called chips here. Falafel stands are everywhere.

Also very common at the lunch table is humus, the brown spread made from chick peas and/or garbanzo beans. It is served at many meals, usually with fresh pita.

Camels vs. Cars

I was traveling through the Negev Desert in southern Israel last week where it is more common to see a camel parked next to a house rather than a car.

While they make for a bumpy ride, you can't beat their gas mileage!

Shabbat

Shabbat is about to begin here in Israel. From Friday night to Saturday night, all the stores, restaurants, and places of employment close. The Western Wall is a popular place on Friday night before sundown. The sections in front of the wall are divided into a men's section and a women's section.


The men, who are leaving the wall, are dressed in their Shabbat attire. Even in the summer, some Jewish men wear fur hats as opposed to other fabrics better suited to the climate. The style of hat denotes the county from which they come.

Ultra Orthodox

Married, ultra orthodox (very religious), Jewish women are required to cover their heads in public either by wearing a hat or by wearing a wig. They also cover their arms with long sleeves, wear long skirts and wear nylons, even in summer.

Ultra orthodox, Jewish men wear black hats, long black coats, white button down shirts, black pants, knickers or tights, and black shoes.

The curls on the sides of their head are called payot (also peyot, payos, and peyes). The Hebrew word in English translates as corners, sides, or edges. They leave the sides of their hair alone in deference to a Torah portion, Lev 19:27, which says, " do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard".

From Head to Toe

In Israel, 95% of Muslim women have their head, neck, and entire body covered, even when it is really hot outside. Additionally, a few women have their entire face covered with a mesh veil. The husband (or father for unmarried girls) determines whether or not the woman must cover.

The picture below of my landlord was taken inside the housing compound, where
dress requirements are different. When there are no male, non-relatives present in the housing compound, Muslim women can have their heads uncovered or partially uncovered.

Dress for Arab men usually includes jeans or slacks and a tee-shirt or long sleeved shirt. Children wear similar clothes to kids in the US.

What's This?

What's this?

You guessed it - my landlord sewing rice and chick peas into sheep stomachs...a tasty treat for the family get together this weekend.

Yum Yum!

Home Sweet Home

To my great pleasure, I am now living in my new house in the City of David! It's a month earlier than projected, and a much welcome transition after several unexpected moves. :) The City of David [Silwan] is comprised of 5,000 Muslim households, 36 Jewish households and 4 other households.

I'm learning the ropes here slowly but surely and it feels like home already. (More details on that to come!) I must confess, there is a bit of culture shock - the heat and noise here are unparalleled. The minarets broadcast quite loudly from every 15 minutes to every 4 or 5 hours day and night. There are 9 minarets within ear shot and sometimes they all air simultaneously. Needless to say, I'm not in Kansas anymore. ;) Shutting the windows is not an option due to the heat. The good news is I am finally able to sleep through some of it and have begun to experience peace and joy here. Thank you very much for all your support which makes this possible!

Yummy!

I hit the jackpot this week at the souk (outdoor food market). For a while, I had been looking for one of my favorite things to eat in the US, green vegetables. Dark green veggies are not common here, possibly because it is too hot to grow them. (Plant propagators respond here.) Veggies are not bagged and unmarked. When you ask questions in English, sometimes you get an answer, but not always the correct answer. The victory came when I found dark green leaves in a labeled bag called beet greens. They sure didn’t look like beet greens. Who knows what they were, but I was happy

Mahane Yehuda (aka the fly market)

Heard of the flea market? Well, this is the fly market where I buy all my food. If you want fresh… it doesn’t get fresher than this!

I still can’t figure out where they put that freezer section