Monday at Mahane Yehuda

The summer holidays have been pretty good so far. The kids and I have been on a number of outings together, some good and some less so. Occasionally we stumble across something that is just wonderful. Something that make us all wake up the following morning with big smiles on our faces, as we relive the events of the previous day. The  Ba LaBasta happening at the Mahane Yehuda open-air market in Jerusalem was one of those things!

Balabusta is Yiddish for a “good housewife.” In this case Ba LaBasta (Basta is Arabic - and Hebrew slang - for a stall in the market, so the name was a play on the similarly sounding Yiddish-Arabic-Hebrew expressions "come to the stall") was the name chosen by the Jerusalem's Department of Culture and Arts for a street party in the shuk (as the market is also known). And what a street party it was! The party had something different on almost every corner and on the roofs too. We heard klezmer and jazz, bagpipes and rock and everything in between. In one corner of the crammed market we saw a bench and the surrounding pillars being decorated in coloured wool and had our family photo taken for free in a small studio setup. In another Prime Minister Golda Meir's portrait had been created out of beans and sunflower seeds. Frida Kahlo got similar treatment, this time with kosher gelatin-free jelly beans. The kids had their cartoon portraits done. Dinner was fish and chips, eaten the authentic English way, dipped in batter and deep fried to perfection. A real treat for my family!

We had such a great time, as did the many thousands of people who filled the narrow walkways of the shuk. It got a little too much at times but we took a breather with a free tour of the area. Vered, the sweetest and most knowledgeable guide I have ever come across, explained to us the history of nearby Nachlaot and told us stories of its residents. She related the history of buildings on the Jaffa Road, which we have passed many times without knowing, and we ended up back at the shuk to hear her recommendations as to what to take home with us.

After five hours we were tired and it was time to head home but not before we had purchased fresh figs and plums, along with some wonderful cheeses. It seems that Mahane Yehuda has become quite gentrified over the past few years, with upscale cafes and restaurants interspersed with gourmet cheese and nut stands. We will definitely be going back.