23rd September
East Jerusalem.
Well, after an uncomfortable night, I woke up this morning feeling a lot better than I had feared I would.
After a morning in the house, I went down to the area where the pre-1967 border used to lay to find the Museum on the Seam. According to the Lonely Planet Guide this is ‘not an amusing museum…does not have a happy ending…’ and deals with ‘conflict, prejudice, racism and (occasionally) coexistence.’ Sounding like just the thing for a Sunday afternoon, I was disappointed when I got there that it is shut until October 7th due the installation of a new exhibition. From the museum, I walked over to the market at Maheneh Yehuda in West Jerusalem and on the advice of a Jerusalemite friend of mine, had lunch there at a small Iraqi restaurant. Good advice is was too, as I enjoyed a very filling and tasty lunch.
Another teacher from the conservatory who was in Jerusalem for the day from Ramallah then called so we met for a coffee before wandering around then had a drink in a bar called Mike’s Place. Honestly, we could have been in the bar from any American B-movie. With the sound of an undignified middle-aged loudmouth sitting at the bar (wearing sunglasses inside, after sunset) combining with the noise from a group of American students asking to see the NFL on the television, it was about as relaxing as being awoken by a night-time break-in.
We thought it might be a good idea to make a trip up north next Sunday, to somewhere there are natural freshwater swimming pools, so will ask around this week to see who else is interested. It will be nice to do a bit of exploring outside of the three towns where my work is based, and the place we have in mind sounds amazing.
