Thought I would start off with this one. Don, JJ and Anthony are relaxing in the staff room. The garden is closed from noon until 2 pm so this is where we meet every afternoon at 145pm for staff devotions. There are often 15 - 20 of us and someone will share God's word, a testimony, or a blessing and then we finish praying. We also come here for our breaks as tea, coffee (instant - they don't have coffee makers here!), and a nice assosrtment of cookies are offered.
The next 2 pictures are in the wrong order and I can't figure out how to move them!!! Anyway, the first picture is our bomb shelter room and the following picture is the entrance to the bomb shelter. They haven't had to use it for many many years, but thought I would throw it in so you all know we are always safe if something should happen!!!
The next few pictures are what we see everyday when we leave the Garden. The Garden Tomb is situated in East Jerusalem which is populated with Arabs. We walk around here and I never feel unsafe. Damascus Gate - entrance to the old city is right at the end of this block. Again I wish I had a video camera so I could send some action and the noises we also hear. This is a very busy street as traffic is constantly coming in both directions. Right next to the garden is an Arab girls school, and down the street in the opposite direction is a boys school.
On the side of the street they are selling everything from candy, to childrens shoes, to baby clothes, to cigarettes. Every night they pack everything up (we've walked by at 9pm and they are still there), and by 8am the next morning they are there again. Many of the Arab women will come on buses to this area to buy their vegetables and clothes.
This is a little store right down the street where we will buy our milk, bread and a few groceries. As you can see some of the bread is packaged and some is unwrapped sitting on the shelves while vehicles are constantly driving past. The man that owns this store is a Christian so we try and support him as much as we can. His prices are not too bad for some things, and other items are very expensive so we will try and get those things when we go to a larger supermarket.
A couple doors down is this market selling fruit and vegetables.
At the corner of the street a vendor selling bread and drinks!
Around the corner and down a couple of blocks is another market selling vegetables and fruits!
These ladies are sitting selling their herbs and vegetables that I assume they grow in their gardens. They are scattered down each street. I haven't bought anything from them as they don't speak English and most of the time I have no idea what they are actually selling!
AND now to the meat markets! As you will see from this picture and the next the meat is hanging right in front of you. So you tell them you would like as much as you would like 1kg or 2kg etc, if you want a chunk that would be a roast, or if you want it minced up - which would be hamburger. I thought it would be nice to have a roast one night so I asked them for a chunk but I wanted it to be tender when I cooked it - not too tough. One of the men spoke fairly good English so I got a chunk. It cost me the equivalent of approx $15.00 and it wasn't a very big piece of meat. It served 4 of us for a meal and enough for me to have a small piece for a sandwich. Since then, we have made due with hamburger which is till about 2 -3 times as much as it would cost here
Hanging outside in the open air just waiting for you to tell them the piece you want. Then they come with a huge knife and cut it off. All the while, they also have a cigarette in their hand! You take it to the man to pay and he also is smoking. Oh and if their cell phone rings, then they answer it and you wait until they are finished with the call before they continue to help you.
Another vegetable/fruit stand around a different block. You never know if you are getting the same price as the locals as no prices are marked anywhere. I just go with it as I know I need some onions or carrots or bananas, so what am I to do.
The next 2 pictures are in the wrong order and I can't figure out how to move them!!! Anyway, the first picture is our bomb shelter room and the following picture is the entrance to the bomb shelter. They haven't had to use it for many many years, but thought I would throw it in so you all know we are always safe if something should happen!!!
The next few pictures are what we see everyday when we leave the Garden. The Garden Tomb is situated in East Jerusalem which is populated with Arabs. We walk around here and I never feel unsafe. Damascus Gate - entrance to the old city is right at the end of this block. Again I wish I had a video camera so I could send some action and the noises we also hear. This is a very busy street as traffic is constantly coming in both directions. Right next to the garden is an Arab girls school, and down the street in the opposite direction is a boys school.
On the side of the street they are selling everything from candy, to childrens shoes, to baby clothes, to cigarettes. Every night they pack everything up (we've walked by at 9pm and they are still there), and by 8am the next morning they are there again. Many of the Arab women will come on buses to this area to buy their vegetables and clothes.
This is a little store right down the street where we will buy our milk, bread and a few groceries. As you can see some of the bread is packaged and some is unwrapped sitting on the shelves while vehicles are constantly driving past. The man that owns this store is a Christian so we try and support him as much as we can. His prices are not too bad for some things, and other items are very expensive so we will try and get those things when we go to a larger supermarket.
A couple doors down is this market selling fruit and vegetables.
At the corner of the street a vendor selling bread and drinks!
Around the corner and down a couple of blocks is another market selling vegetables and fruits!
These ladies are sitting selling their herbs and vegetables that I assume they grow in their gardens. They are scattered down each street. I haven't bought anything from them as they don't speak English and most of the time I have no idea what they are actually selling!
AND now to the meat markets! As you will see from this picture and the next the meat is hanging right in front of you. So you tell them you would like as much as you would like 1kg or 2kg etc, if you want a chunk that would be a roast, or if you want it minced up - which would be hamburger. I thought it would be nice to have a roast one night so I asked them for a chunk but I wanted it to be tender when I cooked it - not too tough. One of the men spoke fairly good English so I got a chunk. It cost me the equivalent of approx $15.00 and it wasn't a very big piece of meat. It served 4 of us for a meal and enough for me to have a small piece for a sandwich. Since then, we have made due with hamburger which is till about 2 -3 times as much as it would cost here
Hanging outside in the open air just waiting for you to tell them the piece you want. Then they come with a huge knife and cut it off. All the while, they also have a cigarette in their hand! You take it to the man to pay and he also is smoking. Oh and if their cell phone rings, then they answer it and you wait until they are finished with the call before they continue to help you.
Another vegetable/fruit stand around a different block. You never know if you are getting the same price as the locals as no prices are marked anywhere. I just go with it as I know I need some onions or carrots or bananas, so what am I to do.
Thanks for the pictures mom and dad...although that meat store looks a little sketchy. Don't think i could eat something that was only hanging a few hours ago...It's amazing the difference in cultures. We take so much forgranted.
ReplyDeleteGreat post mom and dad. Love being able to see where you guys are. I remember in Kenya lots of flies and stary animals around the open meat. Do you have any of that there or is it pretty clean?
ReplyDelete