A Visit to a Charming Museum

Israel has a complex history and its religious pilgrimage sites are many. Christianity, Islam and Judaism trace their shared origins back to the biblical figure of Abraham and with more than 200 museums, it has the highest number of museums per capita in the world. Monday we took a few hours off from our work and had lunch at a lovely 650 year old structure that had been restored into a museum 6 years ago. It is located in the heart of the Old City just inside Jaffa Gate in the Christian Quarter hidden behind the shops on David Street.

I can't tell you the number of times we have walked right past this door without realizing what was inside and I would imagine there are dozens of similar museums scattered throughout the Old City that we have not yet discovered. Thousands of tourists coming through the gate and the open market pass right by it without having a clue that a historic site is just a few steps away.

From the doorway entrance there is a hallway lined with vintage photos and a staircase which leads up to the next level where the museum is located.

Hundreds of years ago, Arab families lived here and up until the 1960's. However, during the Seven Day War in the late 60's, those families fled. It remained vacant until about 2008 and by that time, it was so badly in need of repair that the exterior wall was ready to fall down. However, due to the efforts of a woman who had a dream, her hard work paid off. She was determined to restore the building because it overlooks another significant place in history, Hezekiah's Pool.

At the top of the stairs we found a charming room with a long table set up to serve us lunch. Reservations for lunch must be made in advance.

We were fascinated with the many old photos, wall hangings and artifacts on display all around us.

Beautiful cabinets were full of cups and saucers, vases, and other artifacts.

As we were looking around, women were coming in with the food they had prepared to serve us for lunch. We watched as one of the cooks brought a large casserole pot and proceeded to tip it upside down. We were curious to see how she was going to get the contents out without spilling it all over but she was successful! Sliced potatoes were in the bottom upon which were layered with green peas, carrots and rice.

As we were being served, I gasped a little when so much food was heaped on our plates but after one delicious bite, we devoured everything. All of the flavors mixed down to the potatoes and I was told this dish has a special name. I need that recipe and will share it in the future. The chicken in Jerusalem is especially delicious and there is a striking different in taste because chickens here are not injected with growth hormones to make them grow from egg to the market in less than one month. We have also found that beef tastes better too!

We eat lots of olives, cabbage, pickles (but they are not the same as those in the US), pocket bread and hummus. The lunch was wonderful at a moderate price of 70 NIS (about $20).

During the next hour, Nora, the founder of the museum, told us her story. The structure houses more than 400 items dating from the 18th to the 20th century. Every piece of furniture was purchased from owners in the Old City.

Nora explained she is one from one of the families who have always lived in the old City and traces her Christianity to the Day of Pentecost. She has such a warm personality but was strong in spirit! She had a dream to restore this into a museum that Christians, Palestinians and Israelis could visit.

Even though the museum is small, it has a charm we haven't found in other museums and it was apparent that Nora was passionate about her project. The process to restore this was challenging but she found an architect who was willing to work on her project. Because she works with officials in "high positions" she was able to raise enough donations to begin the restoration but the hardest part was reinforcing the external wall so the whole structure wouldn't collapse. One of the workers who worked tirelessly fell off a ladder and died. Another time two workers were attacked and stabbed but survived. The attacker was the storekeeper below and he was continually opposing her efforts but nothing would to stop Nora. When her home was burned down full of treasures from her ancestors, she never gave up even though she was homeless for several months. In her efforts to return to her home, she became sick from the residue of smoke. However, Nora was relentless and worked tirelessly until 2010 when her project was finished. She was truly an inspiration!

She gave us a tour through other rooms and showed us the original kitchen that was used but photos weren't allowed so we went to a beautiful Arab sitting room. I asked where she got the furniture and she said she literally begged people to sell her their furniture for the museum. Everything was authentic and beautiful and the upholstery coverings were all original. There were chests inlaid with Mother of Pearl and two rooms that contained the original mosaic sections of tile.

She said that in the past centuries Arab women were seldom allowed to leave their homes. Therefore the interiors were decorated in a way that they would make them happy to stay inside.

Arab homes were adorned with beautiful furniture, cabinetry, upholstery, pillows and lots of red. Blue represents death but red is for life. If women ever had to leave their homes, they had to veil their faces and today we've seen women who are covered from head to toe and only a small slit for their eyes. They made every effort to adorn their homes with beautiful furniture so the women would feel content. The original window seat still remains and all of the windows were covered with lattice work so that people outside could not see the women inside. Nora said that the women literally had only tiny peep holes to view the outside world.

The smaller windows also had lattice work but these were left open to give visitors of the museum a better view.

Next we were taken to a hallway where there were some beautiful stained glass doors. She explained they represented the Tree of Life. Outside the doors was a tiny balcony which overlooks one of the two dry pools of Jerusalem, the pool of "the Bath of the Patriarchs" or otherwise called "Hezekiah's Pool."

The pool was once a reservoir forming part of the city's ancient water system. As of 2010, the pool has been dry and you can see it is surrounded by buildings on all sides. This was once a large water reservoir and is finally being cleaned up. (Really?) The ancient pool covers three-quarters of an acre but is completely hidden from the public because of the stores and homes surrounding it.

The bottom of the pool is cemented and leveled natural rock.The pool is 240 feet by 140 feet in size.

As you can see, it's a sorry state right now but Nora's next dream is to get official approval to restore the pool and make this area into an open market place. However, as you can see, people rent apartments that are owned by landlords. The renters have tried to increase their living spaces by building makeshift porches or rooms which are not up to code. It would take a major restoration to turn this into a market place but it is still Nora's dream. Knowing how determined she is, I would not be surprised to see this happen in the coming years.

The original pool referred to in 2 Kings 18:17 is believed to be the upper pool where King Hezekiah met messengers from the king of Assyria. At a later time it was fed from the Mamilla Pool, one of the three reservoirs constructed by Herod the Great during the 1st century BCE by an underground conduit which still partially exists.

We went up to the roof which has been set up with an outdoor tented eating area.

We looked out from the roof top and saw a desk and chair. I guess somebody needed their private space and this must be the only place they could find!

Photo: This is a sitting area for men to have tea. Notice that the stools are small so that they couldn't sit too long! Time was flying and we had to get back to the Jerusalem Center. Our visit to this museum was educational and a delightful place I would highly recommend for everyone to see.

Beautiful handmade purses by local crafters were for sale.

One more new adventure in Jerusalem!