Nachlaot

[Music] Nakhlaot, a vibrant colorful neighborhood, dotted with picturesque monuments of Jerusalem's greatest architecture and a scent of times gone by. What are the origins of this neighborhood? And how did it come to be one of the most hip and central neighborhoods in the city today? Hello and welcome to Eertziom. We are Aitan Ansara, the English representatives of Eertziom. Eertziom was created by Maya and Avi, our friends, a couple who love Jerusalem and tour its neighborhoods. We have created these walking tours so that others can also enjoy the magic this city has to offer. This walking tour will take about half an hour. Listen to this tour at normal speed since the walking distances on this tour were carefully calculated to match the average walking and listening speed. You can see the different stops on this tour on the map attached. In case you'd like to take a peek at our intended path, but this is not necessary at all. Just follow your ears as we guide you. Our tour will begin in the Ebenehsrael neighborhood. This neighborhood is tucked away between Agavipa Street and Yafo Street, where our tour begins. We are currently on Yafo Street number 85. There's a hidden alleyway here named Harav Khayim Al-Bochir. Please enter. Al-Bochir was a beloved Jerusalemite teacher. He taught for many years in a nearby Sphardic orphanage. And this street is named after him for that reason. Keep walking into the center of the neighborhood till you reach a courtyard with an amphitheater inside it. [Music] Welcome to the first neighborhood built in the Nakhlaot area. Ebeneh israel. Feel free to sit on the amphitheater stairs. Ebeneh israel is the sixth Jewish neighborhood to be built outside the old city walls. Following Mishkeno-chananim, Makhaneh israel, Nakhla-Chi-va, Bedavid and Meashaavim. Nakhlaot is a neighborhood made up of no less than 32 neighborhoods. The joint name Nakhlaot probably comes from the fact that a few of the names of the neighborhoods begin with the word Nakhlaot, meaning the homestead of in Hebrew, like Nakhlaot Josef, which translates to the homestead of Joseph, and Nakhlaot Cian, Nakhlaot Akhim and more. Firstly, you must understand that Nakhlaot is a made up concept. You are listening to Dr. Nourit Shalev Khalifa, who has spent years researching Jerusalem and is the author of the book, Nakhlaot in the heart of the city. The class that it goes by the name Nakhlaot is not one neighborhood, but many neighborhoods. These neighborhoods were so small that today they are referred to as one continuous neighborhood. But when you walk into one of these neighborhoods, you usually talk about one house, or one courtyard, or a row of houses, and each one of these things is a whole world. This world is created by the people who share history and culture and who live there, because they want to continue to carry on living the way their ancestors lived for hundreds of years. In the year of 1874, an article in the Lebanon newspaper announced that a new building company, Evanie Srelle, was beginning to work on this project. The company had bought lots, amounting to 53 homes. The number 53 is equivalent to the letters Alef, Bet, and Noon in Hebrew Gammatria, a practice of assigning numerical values to a name, word, or phrase, according to an alpha numerical cipher. For this reason, the company chose the name Evanie, indicating the 53 homes they intend to build Alef, Bet, Noon. The purpose of building this neighborhood was to further establish Jewish settlement in Jerusalem by extending Yathur Street westwards. If you look around, you'll notice that the homes can be accessed mainly through the interior courtyard we are now sitting in. The idea of these courtyard neighborhoods was to have all the doors face inwards, so that there would be an exterior wall protecting the neighborhood and a joint courtyard at its center. In the courtyard, one could usually find a communal oven and well. Look to the center of the amphitheater, and you'll see white stones shaped like half a crescent, and half a circle in the center of the crescent. This is where the well used to be. For drinking, the residents relied on rainwater in the winter months, but in the summer they had to draw water from nearby springs and have mules carry it over. And the courtyard was the gathering place of the neighborhood members. This is where they played games, hung laundry, and of course gossiped. Everything happened here. By the way, the population here was diverse, made up of Ashkenazi Jews, who came from Europe, predominantly Eastern Europe, and Sfarti Jews from Spain, North Africa, the Middle East, predominantly. This combination was pretty rare in Jerusalem of those days. One of the most notable members of this neighborhood was the single millionaire Rebecca Levy. She lived on the third floor of the building to your left, behind the edge of the amphitheater. Can you see the old building that has a top floor covered in tin? Tin was a cheap resource that the locals used to insulate their homes from the Jerusalem cold, and you'll see it used in many houses around Nachlaot. It is a little hard to imagine this today, but Miss Levy's apartment on the third floor was the only third floor in the entire neighborhood. It was considered to be the Jerusalem skyscraper of the time, and all the children of the neighborhood tried to win Miss Levy's favor in order to get a glimpse of Jaffa Street from her balcony. Many urban legends were formed around the limitless views that could be seen from that apartment. Imagine what Miss Levy would have thought if she were here today, and saw all these tall hotels and apartment buildings springing up around here. It would be hard for her to believe. Thanks to an initiative led by Jerusalemite families to remember the first residence of Nachlaot, called Tmunaba-Evan, a picture in stone. You can see full stories of the locals at the bottom of the amphitheater to the right and left of where the well ones was. And behind the amphitheater, Tits Wright, you'll find some artist cooperative galleries. One of the famous ones here is the Marie Gallery named after Marie-Awadish, who lived here from 1936 until she died in 2017. You are welcome to take a look inside if it's open, admission is free. To continue to our next stop, we will leave this neighborhood through the Chaim Al-Bahal alleyway, but this time head towards Agripa Street. If you have your back to where we came in from, you'll see the exit to the right of the amphitheater near the graffiti. We are now situated between two main roads, Jaffa Street and Agripa Street. But look how quiet and peaceful it is here. This inner courtyard feels totally isolated. That is the magic of most of the neighborhoods in Nachlaot. We are right in the center of town, but it feels common peaceful as though we were in a small village. Continue down the graffiti covered alleyway to the main road. Look up at this beautiful stone archway, influenced by Ottoman architecture. We are leaving Ebene-Sraen neighborhood towards Agripa Street. From here, you will continue to the next neighborhood just across the street. Go around the traffic circle to the left and cross at the crosswalk. This traffic circle is named after Rabbi Yakov Baruch, a central figure in the Jerusalem Sephardi community. To the left of the traffic circle, there used to be one of the central cinemas of Jerusalem, the Eddensinima. This movie theater was bustling with life during the years of the British Mandate. Today, new skyscrapers are being built here that are going to change the Jerusalem skyline. Cross the road and walk up Agripa Street. Now that we've crossed safely, let's take the opportunity to look back at the Ebene-Sraen neighborhood, where we've just been. Look at the short buildings and square shaped structures that surround the courtyard we just visited. Keep walking up Agripa Street. This street used to be called Dürjacin Road, named after the village that it led to. The remnants of Dürjacin can be found near Givatchaul, neighborhood, not far from the entrance to the city. After the Israeli state was founded, this street was renamed the Gripas I, after the grandchild of Herod, who built the third walls of Jerusalem. Continue walking up Agripa Street. Till you'll see Sukaccha Long Street on your left-hand side. Turn left into the Sukhat Chalom alleyway. On the right hand side you'll see a changing wall mural that focuses on multiculturalism and the different vocations of the local residents. Keep walking down the alley. Look up to the edge of the wall on your right where you'll see a sign for Sukhat Chalom Street number 10. Can you see rusty metal rods that make up an eight symbol? Those are anchor plates commonly used in Jerusalem to support building walls. Over the years walls of many buildings tend to tilt inwards. This happens for various reasons, some of them geological, but this can bring to the collapse of a building. After the earthquake that occurred in 1927, the buildings that were supported by these anchor plates survived better than those which were not. And therefore, the British demanded that anchor plates be included in the mandatory building standard. Having rusty metal bulge out of your building doesn't look so nice. So many architects designed these metal plates to have some sort of ornamentation. Therefore, you'll be able to find many designed anchor plates like the numeral 8 in front of us or other creative shapes. Keep walking straight until you reach the central court to our right. Cross the court and you'll see two sitting benches. Feel free to sit at these benches before the next stop on our tour. Now enter the Batagoral neighborhood. The first few neighborhoods to be built outside the walls of the old city were deemed relatively successful. And therefore, attracted more residents who were happy to live in a less cramped space and to take part in expanding settlement of Jerusalem. You can hear more about the first settlements outside the old city wall in our tour of Mount Zion coming soon in English. For some, the expansion of settlement in Jerusalem was also in line with their religious beliefs and was perceived as a step towards redemption. People joined together to form small companies for land purchasing that secured properties in comfortable conditions and fair prices. This neighborhood, Batagoral, was built for the Yemenite community with money donated by the British community in London, arranged by Rabbi Mordechai Adler, the son of the chief Rabbi of London at the time. You might be wondering about the connection between Rabbi Adler and Ashkenazi British Rabbi and the Yemenite community that arrived in Jerusalem following a challenging journey. The first Aliah or immigration of the Yemenites to Israel was in 1882. Roughly three years before this neighborhood was built, the Yemenites who arrived in Israel came with nothing and were living in severe poverty. They had so little that some of them made their homes in burial caves in the Silwan area. The Christian churches that witnessed the lack of sanitation and immense poverty sought to help these people for humanitarian and missionary purposes. Only after the Christian involvement, the old Yishuv, the original Jewish community in Jerusalem, came together to help the Yemenite community. They founded an organization called Israel Nidakhim, the help for the far flunk and Rabbi Adler decided to donate this sub-nabrhood to this community. Twelve homes were built in this neighborhood with one central synagogue. The neighborhood is called Batagoral, which translates as the home of the raffle. This is because the residents were giving their homes by raffle. This was like the OG subsidized housing program in Israel. No one I know would refuse to take part in that kind of raffle nowadays. Yeah, it's not a bad arrangement. This project includes only twelve apartments and there were many more families who needed a home. So the aim of the raffle was to decide who would live in these apartments first as part of a rotation. Rumor has it that those first residents never moved out. Number two, you can see the characteristic courtyard neighborhood building style with the central well and oven. Today, we cannot see the full courtyard. The makeshift building across from the benches was added at a later period. But imagine how big this courtyard used to be. See those tall wooden pillars in the center of the courtyard? Can you guess what they were used for? These were pillars used to hang clean laundry from. They're super tall in order to allow for families to raise and lower the hanging laundry as needed. This allowed for the clean laundry to stay out of harm's way when the children were playing in the yard. Imagine just how frustrating it would have been after lighting the fire, boiling the water and scrubbing the clothes if the little children would have dropped all the clean clothes in the mud during their game. What a simple and genius idea. Now look at the house at the end of the courtyard close to where we entered. Can you spot the double window? You'll find those double windows also on the house adjacent to the two benches. It's fair to assume that during the Ottoman period, there was a correlation between one's tax level and the number of windows one's house had. These double windows were counted as one window. And this is how the Ottoman tax collector influenced the architecture of Jerusalem. We will now enter Mishkinut Street. Behind the back of these two benches, just walk straight until you reach the first alleyway to your right. Once you've reached the first alleyway to your right, look at the sewage pot. That's what we call the "dry" in the middle of the courtyard. Have you spotted them? Look at the inscription on the square lid. Can you read it? It is attributed to the Elyans school, Koli Israel Khavirim. That craftsman school won the Jerusalem Municipalities Tender in the end of the 19th century. Today only six of these lids remain. Have you been wondering why the old lids are square and now the new ones are round? The reason they change the shape of the lids is related to some very naughty children, who found a way to lift up the square lid and fit it down the pothole into the smelly sewer while they ran away and laughter. Once the engineering problem was realized, they begun creating these round lids that do not fit down the drain, like the ones we know today. Now head back to the benches we sat on in the Bathe Goral neighborhood. Look at the large mural to your right. We will tell you about it in a minute. The spot that graffiti to your right has been here for a bunch of years by now. What elements do you recognize in this mural? Pace tribute to a unique figure who appears in the top right corner of the painting, Rev. Aria Levine. And this scene depicts a sensitive moment in his life. When he used a mystical, kabbalistic practice, the Graz fate to identify the bodies of fallen soldiers from the Lamed He Convoy. This Convoy was a Convoy of 35 Haganaf fighters sent during the 1947-48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on a mission to reach by foot and resupply the blockaded Kibbutzim of Gushat-seon in January 1948, who were spotted before they could reach their target and killed in a prolonged battle by Arab-Irregulars and local villagers. This ceremony is the reason behind the dark and mysterious atmosphere of this mural. Get into the Rev. Aria Levine alleyway that is at your backs, adjacent to Mishkanut Street. Keep walking until you reach his home. It'll be on your right hand side. Rev. Aria Levine's identification of the fallen soldiers was not confirmed by scientific proof since it predated the use of DNA testing. But it certainly provided a great comfort to the families of the fallen soldiers. Reve Arié Levine, whose portrait and home we can see right now, moved to Israel from Poland in 1905. He was an extremely humble and kind man. During the British mandate, the Jewish paramilitary organizations like the Haganah were outlawed. Therefore, anyone who was caught engaging in paramilitary activity was sent to jail. In Jerusalem, the captured fighters were sent to the jail in the Russian compound near where the Jerusalem municipality now stands. Reve Arié Levine used to visit the sick, those who suffered contagious diseases like leprosy and tuberculosis, and he used to visit the captives in jail. He was named the father of the prisoners. Every Shabbat he used to visit the prisoners and memorize their messages, and go pass them along from home to home to let their loved ones know. When the prisoners were released, he welcomed them to his home and aided them as they adapted to life outside the prison walls. Continue walking up Reve Arié Levine Street to our next stop. Reve Arié Levine was the last person to be with the Irgun fighters, Mayor Feinstein and Moshe Barazani, just before they were executed. Now, cross carefully Shambhwan Street and continue walking down Reve Arié Street. Reve Arié Levine was a humble and modest man who greeted everyone who crossed his path. When the Jerusalem municipality wanted to give him an honorary citizenship, he preferred not to receive the honor. These are a few examples of his unique nature. Many of the street names around here are named after hills in Israel. We just crossed Shambhwan Street. Reve Arié Street used to be called Mount Ghezeem, and following his death, this street was renamed after him. Following the request of local residents and his disciples who wished to commemorate him. Turn left down the first narrow alley facing the kindergarten. Have you reached the real street? Turn right carefully and then turn left to Hunat-Siv Street. Look at the elongated building on the corner, the one with a street sign hanging on it. This is the next neighborhood we will be discussing. Venture down Hunat-Siv Street till you see two entrances, one on each side. Over the right hand entrance, you'll recognize a sign that is common in the Charradi neighborhoods of Jerusalem. These do not walk through our neighborhoods in immatist clothing. We are currently situated between two courtyards of Charradi communities. The homes of Broida that belong to Lithuanian Charradi community and the homes of Rand that belong to a Hasidic community. There are seven Charradi neighborhoods within Nakhlaot. They all resemble each other externally, but they are stark differences between the residents of each neighborhood. Before we get into the differences between the communities, it is worth touching on the term Charradi what it means and where it comes from. Up until the end of the 18th century, most of the Jews in Europe grew in insulated communities where they were responsible for their own economies, internal law, religious and cultural institutions. At those times, Jewish life in Europe resembled Charradi life as it is today in many ways. Following the emancipation movement in Central Europe and the Western countries, many Jews were exposed to the New World and they adopted the fashions, traditions and practices of modern life. The exposure to education and the change in lifestyle shook up the traditional communities as many members of the community became more secular or simulated. Following this intersection between the modern world and the traditional Jewish communities, new Jewish movements were born. The reform movement is an example of this. This intersection also gave birth to the new ultra-orthodox community founded by Rabbi Moshe Sofer or the Khatam Sofer who was based in Hungary. He maintained that the way to preserve Judaism was to close it off from the modern world in order to protect the ancient tradition. The Khatam Sofer revived an old Jewish proverb from the Mishnah that reads, "The new is forbidden according to the Torah." One may think that the Charradi community preserved the Jewish tradition as it was, while the Jews who integrated into the secular world broke the Halaqic status quo. In reality, as Professor Eisenstadt pointed out 10s of years ago, the Charradi movement also changed. The rabbis stopped looking for Halaqic solutions that solved modern problems, and the efforts to find compromise when modern issues arose stopped. The Charradi movement is also a response to the times and it created a new stream in Judaism, the ultra-orthodox stream. The most poignant ones are the Mishnagdim or the opponents also known as the Lithuanians, and the Hacidim, a stream that strung up in the 18th century and is most closely identified with the Baal Shemtov, the rabbi called the one with a good name. The Baal Shemtov emphasized the personal and emotional connection that each one should have with God. As opposed to the stringent and conservative framework that was commonplace at the time, this movement believed that everyone had an equal path to their religious connection, and that there isn't one uniform way to turn to God. When the Hacidic movement sprung up, it created a great crisis within the European Jewish community. This opposition movement gave birth to one of the two main Charradi sects, the Mishnagdim or those who oppose. Who do they oppose? The Hacidic movement. This history leads us to the place where we now stand between two courtyards, the Breuda home and the Rand home. The Breuda courtyard, the one with a sign that calls for modest clothing, is a Mishnagdim courtyard, and the Rand courtyard is a Hacidic courtyard. You can often see little Charradi children playing in the yard, or women hanging laundry to dry. During the holidays, it is a wonderful place to see many wooden huts that are built and lived in during the holiday of Sukut, or the twinkling of olive oil candles on the evening of Hanukkah. In the Rand courtyard, you'll spot an arched stairway. This agricultural symbol is common in homes in Jerusalem, that you can spot in other neighborhoods like Measha'a-Rim and Bataeunga-Rim. Feel free to enter the courtyard, but be sure to respect the wishes of the residents and enter in modest attire and without making noise. Head back to Tavol Street where we came from and then turn left. So is there a way to tell the difference between the Hacidic and Mishnagdim or Lithuanian ultra-orthodox Jews? There is an entire codex of norms around dress codes, similar to that of army uniforms. Here are some basic guidelines that will help you identify who is Hacidic and who is a Mishnagdim. The Lithuanian Mishnagdim generally wear short jackets to the hips, where the Hacidic men wear long coats to their knees. The Hacidim have long-crowled sideburns called peot, or peyes with a Yiddish accent frequently used by this community. Unlike the Mishnagdim who have short sideburns tucked away behind their ears. Within the Hacidic community there are also many differences in garb, but we'll keep that for another tour. Come to a halt at the next crossroad between Hattavor and Maskeret Moshe streets. Have you been wondering how these courts remain unchanged and untouched despite the bustling real estate market in this area today? Look at the entrance to the building right ahead of you on Hattavor 3. You'll see a dedication plaque in memory of Yakov Voida. This sign reads that the neighborhood is operated and owned by Hacidish, an organization that maintains this property for public and social purposes. The Broida Court was originally purchased by Yakov Voida, a Lithuanian Mishnagdim who did not have offspring as a way to give back to the community and have something that continued his name. Since the founding of this neighborhood, all of the residents had to sign a contract promising that they would not make any changes to the property and will adhere to the Mishnagdim lifestyle. These flats do not belong to the residents, but to a committee that operates the Hacidish. This ensures that the Haredi Mishnagdim lifestyle continues to be maintained to this day. This courtyard is estimated at a billion Israeli check out if sold. And due to the high value of these properties, there have been some shady deals by Hedesh operators and real estate developers that surface at the court every few years. Many do not know this, but a huge portion of the old parts of Jerusalem are operational. decorated by Hikdisheem, including most of the old city owned by religious Hikdisheem belonging to the Islamic Wakhv and the various churches. Hikdishe in Hebrew comes from the word Kadosh, holy or a set apart. So Jerusalem is a holy city, Kadosh, full of Hikdisheem, properties dedicated and set apart for specific use. Please continue to the corner of Hattavl and Maskerat Moshe. Continue up Maskerat Moshe for about 20 meters and then turn left onto Rav Aria Street. Turn left to Rabbi Aria Street. Can you spot the synagogue of the Orhan Moshe neighborhood to our left? We are currently standing at the intersection between two neighborhoods. One is called Maskerat Moshe or the Memento of Moshe and the other is called Orhan Moshe or the tent of Moshe. Who do you think these neighborhoods are named after? To date, there are no less than five neighborhoods named after. Sir Moses Mantefiori, Ohal Moshe and Maskerat Moshe, where we are currently standing, and also Yemin Moshe, the picturesque neighborhood near Mishgenot-Shananim and the Winn Mill, Zichran Moshe near the center of town and Kriat Moshe at the entrance to the city. Shia Gnun, the Nobel Prize winner, wrote in his book Oni yesterday the following thing about these neighborhoods. And every place in Jerusalem is called Moshe, either Al Moshe or Zichran Moshe or Yemin Moshe or Maskerat Moshe. If you want to get to one of those places, you forget which word is attached to Moshe. You will go from Moshe to Moshe and don't get to the Moshe that you wanted to find. You may be wondering why the Mantefiori Foundation funded two neighborhoods in such close proximity. The reason is that these neighborhoods were divided between the Ashkenazi community, originating in Eastern Europe, and the Sfardi community which came from Spain and the Arab lands. In those days, the population in Israel was quite different and having the two communities lived together was a big no-no. Maskerat Moshe was built first and was intended for the Ashkenazi Jewish community. A year later, due to requests from the Sfardi community, the Foundation invested in Ohel Moshe to create a distinct Sfardi neighborhood in order to maintain the social and cultural fabric of each of the communities. Maskerat Moshe and Ohel Moshe are great examples of the evolution of the new era of Jerusalem. The Sfardi and Ashkenazi community were quite skeptical of each other. You are listening again to Dr. Niri Chalyev Kalifa. The Ashkenazi Jews were more eager to start living outside of the old city and the structure of the communities according to their communities of study, the colors to which they belong. This created more uniformity. The Sfardi community had a less structured model which allowed it for more creativity and innovation. This is the background for Ohel Moshe and Maskerat Moshe. Each community did not only live separately, they also prayed separately to maintain their respective liturgic traditions. We already mentioned that there were 32 communities in this area, so just imagine how many synagogues were sprinkled around here. And some of the neighborhoods had a mix of ethnic groups, so just picture it. We are currently standing in front of the Ohel Moshe synagogue. It is on the second floor of this building. The interesting stories actually took place on the first floor of this building where the communal oven was placed. This oven was shared by a few of the neighborhood. Anshabat, observant Jews, abstained from laying fire. Therefore, on Friday, before each Shabbat, various pots of slow-cooked stew were placed in the oven, so the families could enjoy a hot meal on Shabbat afternoon. But each group had its own style for the traditional slow-cooked stew. The Nazi community called "There's Cholent" and it is totally different from the Yemenite Chameen. Every so often a family took the wrong pot and tasted a totally new flavor. Slowly but surely the neighborhoods began exchanging pots and got to know each other better through their stomachs. The big home on the corner of Ohel Moshe street to our right currently hosts the community center Lev Ha'ir. Previously, the home was owned by one of the wealthiest men in Jerusalem, Shra'a 5el Yakovson. Yakovson gained his wealth in Lithuania, in the textile industry, and then donated great sums to the scholarly community and the needy in Jerusalem. The Yakovson complex includes his private home and the building behind it, which we will visit soon. You can see more pictures of the original residents of this neighborhood on the walls of this complex. Inside the community center you can find a public bathroom and a not-for-profit coffee shop named Hadalta. We recommend a short break if it's open. Now turn right on Ohel Moshe street and then take the first left to Ha'ir's street. Have you turned onto Ha'ir's street? To your left you can see the Yakovson complex. The building on the left was his private home that is now the community center. And the next building is divided into apartments for Torah scholars. Continue down the street until the first alleyway to your right. Turn into the first alleyway you see to your right, Hagil-Bah street. You'll enter through a stone archway. A head of view, you can see the well and courtyard of the Ohel Moshe neighborhood. Find a comfortable spot to stand near the well. The communal wells were the OG water coolers. They were important meeting points and are bed rocks to interesting stories. The Svardi Ohel Moshe neighborhood and Ashkenazi-Maskeh-Maskeh neighborhood lived in commune. In a fashion similar to the 20th century Kibbutseem in Israel, the residents were poor and they built a community that saw everyone as equals. Money was collected into a central pot and decisions were made by a majority rule. Each community wrote an internal constitution that depicted the rules for shared communal life and described the cultural atmosphere they wished to maintain in public spaces. He came from a traditional and well-respected Svardi family that self-identified as many of the Svardi families who grew up in Jerusalem as Samir-Tet, which stands for Svaradita-Haw or Purebred Svardi. Navan wished to preserve the history of the neighborhood of his youth and wrote a play depicting life here called "Spanish Orchard". The play depicts a rough neighborhood that is filled with joy. Navan wanted to convey the message that despite the poverty, life here was happy and good. The play gives over a feeling of closeness and familial life and is accompanied by traditional Svardi songs in the unique language that belongs to this community, Ladino, which combines Spanish and Hebrew. This is how Yitzhak Navan describes this place. The homes were built adjacent to one another, but between each row of homes, the builders left enough space to plant a garden and dig a well. In terms of today, my neighborhood had somewhat of a communal center. Everyone knew each other and one was never alone, not in your happiest moments and not in your deepest grief. Even though this play tells the story of families from the fringes of the Svardi community in Jerusalem, this play is one of the most loved and frequented plays in Israel ever, and it has been performing continuously to this day. We are reaching the last stop for this tour, Gan Hatut, or the Mulberry Garden. Continue into Hagia Boa Street. Notice how the crumbling homes in the Spanish orchard turn into luxury boutique buildings. No doubt this is quite a twist in the story of the play. Please enter Gan Hatut, also called Gan Habustan or the Garden of the Orchard, based on the name of the play. Welcome. This garden is one of the courtyards of the Ohi de Moshe neighborhood. The original name stems from the old white mulberry trees that envelop the garden. There is a song by Hadagna Khash, a famous Israeli band that mentions this garden, and also Yosib Bani, who lived on Hagastreet just nearby, mentions it in his song, Me Simon and the Little Moys. Today, this spot is a safe haven for those who wish to escape the bustle of Mahna Yuhuda market. These benches have harbored many loving couples and local artists who live around here and often wander into the park. The place that is described in Yosib Bani's song has changed and can no longer be recognized. In the end of the 70s, brave students moved into these dilapidated buildings, and some of the old tenants wished to escape to more suburban areas of the city. Let's head towards Mahna Yuhuda market. Cross the garden and turn right to Haqarmel Street, and then turn left and exit these alleyways onto Agrifas Street. As you leave the garden, you can see the old neighborhood well to your left. Just before we exit the quiet and lush haven of these alleyways, to the hustle and bustle of buses and people. Here are some recommendations for the Mahna Yuhuda market. If you're in the mood for coffee, look for Etzhaim Street in the heart of the market, and walk up until you see a local bar and coffee shop called Roasters. If you're hungry, we recommend you head towards Betia Akov Street, where you'll find some great pizza, delicious ice cream chef restaurants and a boutique chocolateery called Gustel. If you aren't sure what you are in the mood for, just follow the colors and fragrances. The chances of you being disappointed by the fresh food the market has to offer are very low. Nakhlaot. A maze of tiny neighborhoods, a puzzle of sects, a book of stories. Here, both the days and the nights are full of life. Nakhlaot is the magic of the new city of Jerusalem. A meeting place for people from different cultures and groups who come together in one courtyard. It was our pleasure to walk with you through the nostalgic neighborhoods of Nakhlaot. If you are interested in learning more about Jerusalem, we have an English tour in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Hebrew tours in many other places in Jerusalem. We would love to get your feedback for this tour. On Facebook via email, find us at [email protected] or feel free to WhatsApp us through the link attached to the podcast. Please follow us on Instagram and TikTok. Our handle is irzion. We were Saren Etan who translated this episode and Mayan Avi founded Iltsion and wrote the original Hebrew. Thank you for being with us at Iltsion. I have the perfect song to end this tour. Yala, let's hear it. (Music) (Music) (Music) (Music)