A visit to Mahane Yehuda (The Shuk) is an experience!

Despite the rain and cooler temperatures, we spent a few hours today shopping at the most interesting of all places: "The Shuk," otherwise known as Mahane Yehuda. This is a market place which was originally open-air, but now is partially covered in Jerusalem. A very popular place for locals and tourists to shop, it offers more than 250 vendors that sell fresh fruits and vegetables; baked goods; fish, meat and cheeses; nuts, seeds and spices; wines and liquors; clothing and shoes; housewares, textiles, and Judaica (Jewish gifts). In an around the market are juice bars, cafes, restaurants, fish market, and just about anything you could imagine. On Thursdays and Fridays, the marketplace is filled with shoppers stocking up for Shabbat until the Friday afternoon sounding of the bugle that signifies the market will close for the Sabbath. Jeff and Joyce lead the way and the entrance looked like we were going to the ghetto. It truly reminded me when we were in Russia as we were lead from the street to a place we never could have imagined.

At the base of the steps, this was what we saw.

Before we knew it, we saw the most wonderful shops. We stopped at a cheese shop Jeff and Joyce buy from frequently.

We spent the next hour+ walking around and looking at the many shops. This is a spice shop.

The vegetables were amazing and I couldn't resist buying some fresh vegetables.

We also brought several loaves of freshly baked bread.

This is a very strange looking fruit . . anyone know? NOTE: Jan Clayton, past organist at the Jerusalem Center commented: The fruit in question is called Pitaya in Mexico, where they are usually white on the inside. The locals call it "dragon fruit."

Loaded with bags of wonderful purchases, we walked outside so Jeff could show us how the train stops right in front. However, we are not allowed to ride it due to a safety issue. Outside we found many more shops but we didn't stay long because it was raining and cold.

Right before we left the Shuk, we stopped to sample herbal teas and couldn't resist buying several kinds but our favorite was the pommegranite. It is really divine and on a cold evening it is just what we need to warm up. The pommegranite tea is at the far left of the photo. The shop keeper also let us sample some of the dried fruits. This is one shop we will definitely return to.

It was time to leave so Jeff and Garth paid for the parking at the Shuk. One more amazing day in Jerusalem!!