Oh Jerusalem
A beautiful cultural melting pot
‘‘If you read the paper or watch the television you think it’s terrible, but when you’re here you don’t feel that,’’ Oded Niv says, gesticulating at the room animatedly. He’s indicating the building around him – one of his ‘‘little houses’’. He’s been at the helm of this hotel in the heart of modern-day Jerusalem for more than 30 years.
Tourism goes through ebbs and flows, he says, depending on the extent of violence experienced in any part of Israel that week, but depending mostly on whatever makes it on to the news.
He was born near Gaza, so he’s well versed in the conflict. A large part of his family still live there, including his 80-year-old sister. He still visits as often as he can.
‘‘They have a shelter inside the house, like a bomb shelter, that they have to use sometimes… but not much – maybe like once a month,’’ he says matter-of-factly.
‘‘It’s not so bad, but in the media it looks bad. They live there very happily.’’
Niv runs Little Hotel in Rechavia, where I call home during my stay in Jerusalem. The family-run hotel opened in 2007, just outside the Old City, and helped spearhead a move away from four- and fivestar hotel chains. The no-frills hotel was a resounding success at the beginning but there have been trying times in the years since, Niv says.
Tourism in Israel is almost cyclic, he says, with periods of calm, and some sort of upheaval every few years. The Israel/Palestine conflict, however, isn’t something that ever dies down. The 810-kilometre wall that divides the two states is a stark reminder of that.
Much of the world, including New Zealand, support a ‘‘two-state solution’’ that would establish Palestine as an independent state, but putting that into practice has proved easier said than done. The plight of the Palestinians is now under intense scrutiny the world over, and the wall is just a few kilometres from Jerusalem. It’s a wall the Palestinians say is basically an Israeli land-grab, where the boundaries of their state – and its natural resources, or lack there of – is being defined for them. The city of Jerusalem is one that both sides have claims over.
Far from feeling unsafe, my three days in Jerusalem were spent ambling around the town as I would have anywhere else in the world. In fact, the Israelis went above and beyond to help this unkempt New Zealand traveller.
A shout out, if you will, to the kiosk stranger in Tel Aviv’s central bus station, whom I approached for advice after having missed the last bus to Jerusalem on Shabbat (Judaism’s day of rest). He gave me his wi-fi, his phone, and then zoomed me across town in his own car to ensure I caught the last bus from the other station.
Wandering around Jerusalem’s Old City, all political unrest seems a world away. The streets remain bustling with such a cultural melting pot of people, religions and cultures, it’s easy to forget where you are. Orthodox Jews dodge tourists as they go about their days within the old stone walls, while right next door, Muslims ply their trades to the shoppers in the vibrant Arabic Market.
Jerusalem’s Old City is made up of four quarters belonging to each of its most wellestablished populations: the Christians, the Muslims, the Jews, and the Armenians (the first nation to adopt Christianity in the world). And here, despite historical references pointing to the fact this shouldn’t work at all, all these religions live relatively harmoniously.
Perhaps the best example of the intersection of religions is the caretaking of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the centre of the Old City – considered by many as the place of the crucifixion and the tomb of Jesus.
Now, bear with me. The custodianship of the church is actually split between several Christian denominations, including the Roman (Latin) Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, Ethiopian Orthodox, and Coptic Orthodox, and is defined by the ‘‘Status Quo’’ agreement that’s been around for more than two centuries. If you were to look at a plan of the church, it would almost resemble a butcher’s chart for cuts of beef, sliced into the different areas under different denominations. This has resulted in some interesting traditions that have lasted for generations. For instance, it’s a Muslim family who hold the key to the church and open it and close it each day.
There’s also the exceptional case of the
Fact file
Getting there:
Thai Airways flies from Auckland to Tel Aviv, with a stop in Bangkok, for about $2100. The journey takes around 26 hours.
More information:
New Zealand passport-holders travelling to Israel for a visit of 90 days or less do not require a visa unless they are travelling for work or study.
‘‘immovable ladder’’, a small wooden ladder that looks like nothing more than a prop accidentally left there by a contractor, but is actually a relic of a long-standing argument between the Armenians and the Greek Orthodox. Now, no one can move or rearrange the ladder without the consent of the other five denominations. And so it stays.
Still following? Well, there’s more. Arguably the city’s most recognisable sight, the golden dome atop the blue Al-Aqsa Mosque, provides a holy sanctuary for the city’s Muslims, while the Western, or ‘‘Wailing’’ Wall beside it is a fragment of a retaining wall constructed by Herod the Great, and is considered the holiest site in the world for Jewish people. For Muslims, it’s also the site where the Prophet Mohammed tied his steed on his night journey to Jerusalem.
The way all the cultures work around each other and intersect in each other’s lives is quite a wondrous sight to behold in visiting the city, and almost seems ironic considering the country’s relationships with many around it.
And yet Jerusalem seems a sanctuary in the middle of all this. Even if you’re not overly religious, it’s easy to get swept away by the place. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is ornate and utterly stirring as far as historic churches go, before you even consider that this is the holiest site for Christians in the world (well, most Christians. Protestants mostly consider the nearby Garden Tomb as the site of Jesus’ crucifixion and entombment).
Inside, the alleged tomb of Jesus draws pilgrims the world over who are ready to wait in line for three hours with a crowd of unruly believers desperate to get inside. It’s a bizarre experience, being ushered four people at a time into the tiny interior cavity, where you’ll kneel for about a minute and pay your respects, before a man slaps the wall and ushers you out again. But then, the church and Jerusalem as a whole, is perforated with religious sites of incredible importance. You just need to find them.
The pilgrim site of the Mount of Olives is where Jesus stood and wept over Jerusalem, and is next to the Chapel of Ascension (believed to be where Jesus ascended to heaven after his resurrection). The garden of Gethsemane is where Jesus prayed and his disciples slept before his crucifixion.
But if it’s not pilgrimage you’re in Jerusalem for, there’s plenty else to keep you occupied.
The Mahane Yehuda Market is a bustling bazaar that’s rustic in parts, and gentrified with craft beer and upmarket food stalls in others, and Yad Vashem – Israel’s official memorial to the Holocaust – is a sprawling and moving site to spend an entire day ensconced in tragic, yet impressively displayed, history.
Most of the places you’ll eat at, and the hotels you’ll stay in, will be steeped in history you’re probably unaware of, too. Niv’s Little House, for instance, was built by a Polish man as a hotel in 1929. Niv and his family restored it in 2007. The rooms are basic but comfortable, and it’s a great place to experience an authentic Kosher breakfast.
‘‘This was my idea and it’s simple. Before there were only four- and five-star hotels, because only rich Jewish people came to Israel,’’ he says. ‘‘It’s not a fancy place but it’s a very friendly place.’’
After all, the one problem facing those in the hotel business in Israel is security, he says, and it’s a roller coaster sometimes. But if nothing else, he simply wants people to keep coming.
‘‘I have my family here; we live normally, you know, we drive everywhere, we do things and we have fun. It looks scary from far away but it’s not.’’
The writer paid for her own travel.