Author Archives: Tom G

The Shuk – Machane Yehuda

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As promised, a bit more about the Machne Yehuda.

The open air vegetable market (Shuk Machne Yehuda or שוק מחנה יהודה) began to develop during the Ottoman period, at the end of the 19th century as peasants from the nearby villages of Lifta, Deir Yassin, or Sheich Badr began to bring their wares to sell on Jaffa Street, next to the neighborhood of Machne Yehuda.

In this wide open area, the villagers would peddle their vegetables to passersby as well as to residents of the surrounding Jewish neighborhood of Nachlaot. The geographical location (about 700 meters from the Old City) was convenient for the residents of these outlying neighborhoods, and so the vegetable marked thrived.

1/160 sec at f/2.8

1/160 sec at f/2.8

The local Ottoman government took no notice of the growing market and never built any sort of stable infrastructure to house the market. This became apparent over the next century as the market suffered from easy access for trucks and vendors, easy drainage or sewage, and shelter from the hot sun. Over the course of several years, the market began to develop and the local vendors began to erect roofs and proper stalls. Within about a dozen years, tin roofs were added. I remember when I began to shop at the shuk those tin roofs were still there and you could always hear cats running around on them, and feel the rain dripping through them in the winter.

1/100 sec at f/2.8

1/100 sec at f/2.8

During the last dozen years, the shuk has changed drastically. It is now a favorite tourist stop, for both international and local tourists. In Israel, every city has a shuk, but Machne Yehuda is the jewel in the crown.

1/80 sec at f/3.5

1/80 sec at f/3.5

Today, you can find almost anything you want in the shuk. Vegetables, meat, fish, fruit, kitchen supplies. I love the colors and textures and always think that the shuk is so very visually pleasing.

One of the nice things about the shuk, especially for those of us who have been shopping there for a long time, is that we have our regular stops. In each stop, we have to chat a bit, discuss the week’s events, talk a bit about politics, and nibble a bit. It’s a great ritual!

1/50 sec at f/2.8

1/50 sec at f/2.8

1/640 sec at f/2.5

1/640 sec at f/2.5

1/250 sec at f/2.5

1/250 sec at f/2.5.

1/160 sec at f/3.5

1/160 sec at f/3.5

1/160 sec at f/3.5

1/160 sec at f/3.5

1/80 sec at f/3.5

1/80 sec at f/3.5

1/1250 sec at f/2.5

1/1250 sec at f/2.5

It’s always worth a visit. If you come to Jerusalem, make sure that you spend a good half-day in the market. Not only for the shopping, but also make certain that you have a nice break in one of the many nice cafes and restaurants!

1/30 sec at f/2.8

1/30 sec at f/2.8

Nahal Draga (נחל דַרְגָה) or Wadi Darja (وادي الدرجة)

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This week we decided to use the pleasant winter weather and take a hike in one of the wadis (river beds) leading to the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth (about 410 meters below sea level) and so the river beds which empty out into the sea are quite steep.

One of the most beautiful wadis is called Nahal Dragot and it’s about a 40 minute drive from Jerusalem. It is a 43 km long river bed and is fed by streams over a 230 sq. km. range as far away as the Golan Heights and from the Bethlehem area and is divided into three different areas. The local Bedouin tribes named each of the sections, and the part where we hiked today is the lowest part of the river bed, called Wadi Darja (وادي الدرجة), so named for its high waterfalls and high canyon walls. This section starts about 4 km. from the Dead Sea and is about 12 km. long (lots of winds and bends).

1/160 sec at f/11, 28mm

1/160 sec at f/11, 28mm

One of my favorite aspects of this hike is the different colors of the cliffs on both sides of the wadi. The reds stones and the white sands contrast with the blue skies.

1/200 sec at f/11, 28 mm

1/200 sec at f/11, 28 mm

However, the contrasts are even more striking against the deep blue of the Dead Sea.

1/800 sec at f/7.1, 90 mm

1/800 sec at f/7.1, 90 mm, looking east to Jordan

1/250 sec at f/11, 24mm

1/250 sec at f/11, 24mm

1/500 sec at f/11, 24mm

1/500 sec at f/11, 24mm

An interesting part of this river bed is a bit further inland, further from the Dead Sea. There, one can see some caves which were used during the Bar Kochba revolt (132- 136 CE).

1/320 at f/7.1, 90 mm, ISO 100

1/320 at f/7.1, 90 mm, ISO 100

This is a very dry part of the Judean Desert, and there is not a lot of flora to be found, the colors are yellowish, and there is an occasional bit of green, red, or yellow.

1/2500 at f/3.2, 90 mm, ISO 100

1/2500 at f/3.2, 90 mm, ISO 100

1/2500 sec at f/3.2, 90 mm, ISO 100

1/2500 sec at f/3.2, 90 mm, ISO 100

1/500 sec at f/7.1, 90mm

1/500 sec at f/7.1, 90mm

And, as always, my hiking companion, enjoyed himself and never complained.

1/600 at f/5.6, 100 mm, ISO 400

1/600 at f/5.6, 100 mm, ISO 400

People Watching at the Market (Mahne Yehuda)

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The open air vegetable market in West Jerusalem is called Shuk Machane Yehuda (שוק מחנה יהודה) and is so named because it is located in the old neighborhood of Machne Yehuda (Yehuda’s Camp). This part of West Jerusalem is composed of many small neighborhoods, each one with the designation of “machane” (מחנה). This particular neighborhood was built by three business partners: Johannes Frutiger, Shalom Konstrum, and Joseph Navon. Navon named the neighborhood after his brother, Yehuda.

Today, the Shuk is a giant produce and meat market, but also has lots to offer the visitor in terms of boutiques, cafés, and restaurants. I shop there early every Friday morning. Aside from the beautiful colors and rich variety, my favorite part of shopping in the shuk is watching the wonderful variety of people. I’m going to devote a few different pages about the shuk, but for now, I only want to focus on the clientele.

1/320 sec, f/3.2, 50mm

1/320 sec, f/3.2, 50mm

 

People come from all over the city to do their shopping and there is always something to see.

1/500 sec, f/3.2, 50mm

1/500 sec, f/3.2, 50mm

I’ve been shopping at the shuk for almost 35 years, and have seen many changes. Of course, I have my regular haunts where I shop.

1/125 sec, f/7.1, 50mm

1/125 sec, f/7.1, 50mm

Shopping always involves a bit of a conversation and a discussion of politics.

1/400 sec, f/3.2, 50mm

1/400 sec, f/3.2, 50mm

The market is situated almost exactly in the city center and is easily accessible by all sorts of public transportation and on any day you can see a multitude of different ethnic and cultural groups.

1/250 sec, f/3.2, 50mm

1/250 sec, f/3.2, 50mm

I don’t often shoot at the shuk, as I’m too busy pushing my cart around and trying to avoid the big crowds. These days, the shuk has become a major tourist attraction for foreigners as well as Israelis. The shopkeepers are happy, but we (the regulars) lament the crowds.

1/200 sec, f/3.2, 50mm

1/200 sec, f/3.2, 50mm

1/200 sec, f/3.2, 50mm

1/200 sec, f/3.2, 50mm

Devotion in the Old City

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One can never get enough of walking through the Old City. Usually, when I take visitors around, we have a specific circuit that I like to follow: going from the Jaffa Gate to the Armenian Quarter and then to the Jewish Quarter, and then finishing up for a big lunch in the Arab Quarter. At some point, I will more fully describe this short tour of the Old City, but in the mean time, I’d like to focus on the interesting people that one can encounter.

Being the “center of the world” means that people are naturally drawn to the Old City. And, as opposed to old cities around the world, this one is a fully functioning city: there are large residential areas, Churches, Mosques, Synagogues, inns, hospices, monasteries, schools and grocery stores. One can walk for hours up and down the hills and see incredible human variety.

We’ll start with the Western Wall. In Hebrew it is called the Kotel HaMa’arvi (הכותל המערבי), which literally means the “western wall”. In Arabic it is called the Hayat Al-buraq (البراق‎ حائط literally: the Buraq Wall). The revered wall was built in 19 BCE by King Herod and is the last standing retaining wall of the Second Temple. Not being a religious person, the wall doesn’t do much for me, but I do enjoy observing the devotion of the visitors.

f/2.8, 1/400 sec. 50 mm, ISO 100

f/2.8, 1/400 sec. 50 mm, ISO 100

f/2.8, 1/4000 sec. 50 mm, ISO 100

Even cops, in their riot gear take a break for some devotion and praying. f/2.8, 1/4000 sec. 50 mm, ISO 100

From here we move to the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This is the site revered as the Calvary, were Jesus was crucified and later buried. I’m not going to devote a large part of this post to describing the Church. It is very big and impressive, and so deserved a post for itself. It is the meeting place for Christians in the Old City, and if you hang around there enough, you will be immersed in the great variety of humanity that visits the Church every day.

1/4000 sec. f/2.0, ISO 100, 50 mm

It turns out that even Franciscan monks have dry cleaning. 1/4000 sec. f/2.0, ISO 100, 50 mm

Looking at the Church from the other direction, one can see the Via Dolorosa, and there is always a lot of good people watching there.

1/640 sec. f/4.0, ISO 100, 50 mm

1/640 sec. f/4.0, ISO 100, 50 mm

On top of the church is a monastery for the Ethiopian Orthodox community. The community has no property in the church, but rather has a gathering place alongside the Coptic Monastery. It’s a small courtyard, and leads into a chapel and a church. King Solomon, as we know, had quite a bit of dealings with the Queen of Sheba, and legend has it that when the Queen returned home, she was pregnant with Menelik (who would become the first Ethiopian emperor).

f/5.0, 1/2000 sec. 50 mm, ISO 100

f/5.0, 1/2000 sec. 50 mm, ISO 100

But, like I say, the Old City attracts all religions. Often, because of Israeli policy and control over the Muslim holy sites, prayer is restricted on the Haram Al Sharif (or in Hebrew: the Temple Mount), and so people are forced to show their devotion in make-shift meeting places.

f/2.8, 1/320 sec. 50 mm, ISO 100

These young men are were not allowed to pray in the mosques, and so line up their prayer rugs and face the Haram Al Sharif. f/2.8, 1/320 sec. 50 mm, ISO 100

Walls and angles

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For those of us who live in Jerusalem, we see the Old City almost every day. For most of us, it still strikes us as being a sort of magical place. Kind of like being in a sort of time-travel, where cultures and religions mix, where there are constant noises and smells, and lots and lots of crowds.

Shooting the Old City is always challenging, since so many photographers have taken on the subject. I write here: “shooting the Old City” as opposed to “shooting in the Old City” since I like to try to think that the Old City is a character on its own accord. In this series of shots I tried to focus on the city walls: from the first few shots, I am standing on the Mount of Olives looking westward. This is a seldom used park, and for good reasons. You are in the heart of Eastern Jerusalem, and a bit exposed: I don’t think that I would want to shoot there unless I was in a big group (which I was).

The dominant part of the Old City is the Temple Mount or Haram El Sharif (Noble Sanctuary), as it is the home of the two prominent mosques: Mosque of Omar and El Aksa. All photos of the area include the two mosques, so I wasn’t too concerned with showing them, hence my use of a depth of field which would allow me to hint at the structures. You’d really have to know that they were there if you see the shots. So, first I’ll show the Mosque of Omar (or Dome of the Rock), and then I’ll let you see the abstraction.

(f/22, 1/60 sec, ISO 100, 80 mm).

(f/22, 1/60 sec, ISO 100, 80 mm).

I am leaving these in black and white, since I think that the mosque is so powerfully colored that I don’t want to distract from the overall scene.

(f/5.6, 1/640 sec, 100 ISO, 105 mm)

(f/5.6, 1/640 sec, 100 ISO, 105 mm)

As you get closer to the city, you can see the beauty of the walls. Many of the stones have been recycled over the ages, and I love the way they come together. I was luck this day, as there were some cloud (most of the year it is too hot for clouds).

(f/22, 1/5 sec, 100 ISO, 32 mm)

(f/22, 1/5 sec, 100 ISO, 32 mm)

Here, we’re walking from Jaffa Gate to the Zion Gate. Most of the walls were built during the Ottoman reign in Jerusalem. The walls were rebuilt between 1535 – 1538, under the orders of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. An interesting thing to note are the  arrowslits (or balistaria). If you notice, they are not correctly placed (they are too low and at incorrect angles): they were put in for show by the builders. They are purely ornamental.

(f/16, 1/60 sec, 100 ISO, 200 mm)

(f/16, 1/60 sec, 100 ISO, 200 mm)

Despite the monochromatic nature of the walls, there is often some color around them. The city has planted flowers where possible, and they always add some color.

(f/18, 1/40 sec, 100 ISO, 85mm)

(f/18, 1/40 sec, 100 ISO, 85mm)

In the future, I’ll add a lot more about the city walls: there’s a lot to show, and a lot of history.

When in the Old City or its environs, I don’t take Shooby: it’s too crowed and people are often not happy to see a big dog in crowded spaces. Besides, he’s always a bit stressed when in the Old City. So, no Shooby today.

Flooding in the Judean Desert

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This last week was one of constant rain. It began on Sunday, but it was short lived. By Wednesday, the storm was upon us, with heavy rain and gray skies.

Winters in the desert are probably the most interesting time of the year. The rain in Jerusalem naturally flows to the lowest point on Earth – namely, the Dead Sea basin. On the way eastward from Jerusalem, one passes many wadis (river beds), and as the rain in the mountains of Jerusalem pick up, the stream of water turns into a gushing river.

So, beginning on Sunday, I made it a point to travel to the Dead Sea as much as I could. I had a full schedule on Wednesday, but when I saw the heavy rains, I canceled my afternoon appointments, went home, collected my equipment, wrapped my camera in a plastic bag, got the dog, and put on my big rain boots.

My first stop was the area around Nabi Musa. This mosque named after the Moses (in Arabic: The Prophet Moses) lies on the ancient Jerusalem-Jericho road which was traditionally used by Muslims on the way to the Haj in Mecca. The current mosque was restored during the Ottoman Period in 1820.

I shot most of this series with my 18-35 mm lens along with my Lee Big Stopper. I made these into black and white for two reasons: (1) the desert is quite monochromatic and so the b/w works, and (2) being below sea level, the river beds bring down the trash from the city. Israelis and Palestinians are not too cognizant of the need to keep natural resources clean (to say the least!), so there were plastic bags and bottles. In the yellow desert, all of that plastic sticks out, but is “invisible” in b/w.

On the way eastward from Jerusalem, Nabi Musa is about 500 meters after the sea level marker (on the right).

You can see the flow beginning. In this photo we are looking westward - up the hill to Jerusalem.

You can see the flow beginning. In this photo we are looking westward – up the hill to Jerusalem. I shot this on Sunday November 15, 2014. I had originally intended to go do some chores, but saw the rain and realized that it would be a good morning for shooting. I grabbed my gear and went out (without the dog). In my haste, I forgot my Big and Little Stopper, so I had to try to slow things down (so I shot at f/22, 1/5 sec.)

A few moments of clear skies, you can see how strong the flow is in Wadi Og. (1.3 sec @ f/16, ISO 100). I love the way the Little Stopper keeps the motion. I didn't use the Big Stopper because the current was so strong.

A few moments of clear skies, you can see how strong the flow is in Wadi Og. (1.3 sec @ f/16, ISO 100). I love the way the Little Stopper keeps the motion. I didn’t use the Big Stopper because the current was so strong.

Coming back on Wednesday, and standing on the bridge, the flow is substantially stronger. Coming back on Wednesday, and standing on the bridge, the flow is substantially stronger. (1.5 sec @ f/11). I used the Little Stopper here as well.

Coming back on Wednesday, and standing on the bridge, the flow is substantially stronger. Coming back on Wednesday, and standing on the bridge, the flow is substantially stronger. (1.5 sec @ f/11). I used the Little Stopper here as well.

f/11, 1/20 sec. 16 mm, ISO 100

Shooby enjoys the water, and especially finding floating things to chase and play with. f/11, 1/20 sec. 16 mm, ISO 100