STORYTELLING

Arabs leave - Jews arrive

Part 6: Market in times of famine and poverty

My lemon seller is in tears. Not as a result of his strong lemons, but because of his emotions. The once joyful merchant seems now a broken man. His empty ...
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In a town with no cheer

Part 5: The times they are a-changing

December 1917: it’s a quiet day at the market. A clearly excited Jewish resident jumps up and down. I ask the stupidly happy guy what makes him so joyful. ‘The ...
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A charming mess

Part 4: Welcome to Mahane Yehuda

Like Valero, Yosef Navon is a wealthy banker and entrepreneur and a true heavy weight in the world of property and construction, with contacts in the highest Turkish places. It ...
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Sell and buy local, by locals

Part 3: Sharp dressed men in a dirty place

At my first visit I cannot say I am very impressed by this tiny market. In no time my Jesus Nikes are covered with mud. Left and right are poorly ...
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Vegetables behind the City Walls

Part 2: With a little help from a friend

One of the members of the new Mea She’arim’s council, rabbi Moshe Graf feels inspired by his friend’s success. Graf organizes a meeting with a bunch of settlers. The only ...
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Mea She'arim house

Part 1: New Jerusalem: Into the great wild open

Another outbreak in the 1860’s of typhus and other deadly diseases has left many people dead in the Old City of Ottoman Jerusalem. This is not very surprising as there ...
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Mahane Yehuda Market: Forever young!

Where do we go from here? I can’t go forward, left or right and when I look behind me I stare into Anat’s eyes telling me to move on. But ...
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