When I first moved to Toronto, from Newmarket, Ontario, I felt it took months, even a couple years to feel like Toronto was mine. A destination site for many tourists, I always tell my friends in Israel not to visit Toronto, if they come to Canada. Not because I don’t love Toronto, but because it takes a long time for one to dig below the surface.
While not the case in Jerusalem, where I now live, there are worlds of hidden treasures in the city, often shielded by the dominant religious theme. Obvious are the religious pit stops for the three main monotheistic religions, but would you know that Jerusalem also has a nightlife and beer drinking culture? And some of the best food in the world? Or that Queen Elizabeth II’s mother-in-law (Prince Phillip’s mother) is buried there? Come and explore Jerusalem, like an insider, with the new website Jerusalemite. Today we talk with Harry Rubenstein, founder of Jerusalemite, about Jerusalem’s secrets and surprises:
1. What is the concept behind Jerusalemite? There are dozens, if not hundreds, of sites about tourism in Jerusalem, why another? The vast majority of the information about Jerusalem on the internet is outdated. Believe it or not, many of the top travel sites still list restaurants that have closed over five years ago. Our site is different on a few fronts. Jerusalemite is both a dynamic travel reference and cultural authority, presented through an insider’s perspective.
We go way beyond the cursory impressions that people have about Jerusalem and aim to give attention to cultural initiatives and locales that are often ignored by the visiting public. We are varied in our coverage and hope that Jerusalemite’s rich content will be of interest to anyone who cares about the ancient city – from tourists to temporary residents, new immigrants to veteran Jerusalemites, foreign workers to Israeli expatriates, or to those who for whatever reason can’t be here and want to feel like they are.
Our site includes a comprehensive guide to hundreds of restaurants, bars, sites, institutions and entertainment establishments all over the city, downloadable maps, a complete list of Jerusalem events and a metro blog of news, photo spreads and features. My favorite feature is our weekly interview with different Jerusalemites. We’ve interviewed musicians, chefs, Rabbis, dancers, activists, artists, bakers, television directors, film makers and more. And did I mention that our content is dynamic and updated every day?
2. What’re top 5 your favorite things to do in Jerusalem?
• Eating a bowl of chamusta (sour kubbe soup) at Mordoch in the Machane Yehuda, Jerusalem’s open air market, on a chaotic pre-Sabbath, Friday afternoon.
• Winding down with a large vodka lemonade with mint and crushed ice at Bohlinat on a hot August day.
• Taking a late night stroll on a cool summer night in the emptied, ancient streets with my ipod blasting.
• Wandering around the Old City and stopping for authentic apple strudel in the quaint and beautiful gardens of the Austrian Hospice and taking in the incredible rooftop view.
• Being the first customer of the day at Ta’ami, my favorite hummus joint. At 10:00 am the hummus is the freshest you’ll ever have.
3. Besides being an attraction for religious worshippers, is there anything else Jerusalem offers culturally?
For the culture-bound visitors, Jerusalem offers a range of interesting museums including the famed Israel Museum (though more than half is currently closed due to massive renovations), the Ticho House and the LA Mayer Museum of Islamic Art. And out of the ivory towers and down on the streets, there’s a burgeoning independent art scene now with galleries such as Barbur and Agripas 12, which were both started by graduates of Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Hadassah College and the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School and specialize in showing up-and-coming, young artists. These art collectives have joined with other smaller and independent live music venues, dance companies and funky cafes to hold smaller scale events during the summer months.
And they’re very cool, you just have to know where and when to find them – enter Jerusalemite. As for large-scale cultural events, while we do enjoy a range of summer festivals – including craft fairs, and historic and religious celebrations – the majority of the cool cultural initiatives have little to no financial backing from the Municipality. So the events that do go on tend to be of more generic or corporate and they’re all so similar in style and offerings that they kind of blend into one. Though there is great hope that things will change if Nir Barkat wins the Jerusalem mayoralship next month.
4. Is there an underground scene at all? Where do the hip hang out? Jerusalem is all-too-often portrayed as Israel’s religious capital and only that. While it’s true that Jerusalem is the religious capital for Jews around the world and in Israel, the city is so much more than that. Some say that Jerusalem’s underground cultural scene is the only real cultural scene in the city. One of my favorite events is the Musrara Mix festival, held in May and hosted by the Neggar School of Photography. It’s an incredible “fringe” festival featuring avant garde music, video art installations, photography exhibits and more.
There are also plans to move the Bezalel Art and Design Academy from Mt. Scopus to the center of town which will in turn reinvigorate the city center and bring an aesthetic that only an art school and its students can claim. The hip hang out at unpretentious places such as Uganda, Hataklit, Stardust, Sira and many enjoy a nice cup of coffee at Gulindo, one of the city center’s few independent cafes, which also displays works by local artists. All of these venues are conveniently located within a ten minute walk from each other which makes bar hopping easy.
5. Tell us a little bit about the famous juice man featured in one of your posts. Why is he such a sensation? Ah, Uzieli, one of Jerusalem’s premiere personalities! First of all the salesman is just as important as whatever product he is shilling and Uzieli delivers. He’s jovial, enthusiastic and incredibly passionate about his juices and other “health” related products. I’ve gone there for a cup of pomegranate juice and have had Uzieli tell me that I look tired and fatigued.
Before I knew it Uzieli had whipped out some concoction and sprayed me in the face with it. I’m not sure if it woke me up because I had shaved that day and it stung like hell or because it really had medicinal properties. There is also of course the novelty of it. Where else in the world can you find etrog (citron) drinks concocted by a Yemenite medicine man? Many are also attracted (perhaps addicted?) to his drinks because some have Khat (a natural amphetamine) in them.
6. What would young Canadian women like to do in Jerusalem? Any idea? (HINT: they like to drink beer) Have you met any in Jerusalem? Canadians are always easy to point out because they often advertise it (maple leaf flags a’blazin) so they’re not confused with Americans. And of course if I hear someone humming a Tragically Hip song it’s a dead giveaway.
For beer there are numerous options. For something relaxed I’d recommend Gulindo at night due to their being one of Jerusalem’s only establishments with Tel Aviv’s excellent Dancing Camel microbrew on tap. The bigger bars tend to have more beer on tap, but I prefer the more unpretentious local drinking holes. I highly recommend Barood due to their great alcohol selection (many varieties of absinthe) and incredible food, but it isn’t cheap and the demographic tends to skew a bit older than the “hip” places, but it is one of Jerusalem’s most unique bars.
7. Surprise us. Tell us something about Jerusalem that few people know. We interviewed Tzvia Dobrish-Fried, a Jerusalemite who wrote an excellent book called “Secrets of Jerusalem”. After reading her book I was humbled and almost felt that I knew nothing about Jerusalem at all. The most bizarre thing I read was about a woman who lives on the grounds of the Israel Museum campus.
More surprisingly however was the revelation that I would literally step on a small piece of modern art on my way to work everyday in Zion Square: a manhole cover designed by Israeli artist Michal Ullman. There’s on in Zion Square about ten meters from the entrance to Bank; and another in East Jerusalem. Canadians might be interested to know that Queen Elizabeth II’s mother-in-law (Prince Phillip’s mother), is buried in Jerusalem, in Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives.
Related posts:
0 responses so far ↓
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.
You must log in to post a comment.