Mount Zion Parking Lot

Entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem has been nigh near impossible as of late due to the changes in the traffic rules. The Jerusalem Municipality decided that private cars (except for local residents) could not enter the Old City.

Whether this is a good idea or not is up for debate.

This of course made things very difficult for drivers in Jerusalem, as there was no where near enough convenient parking for people trying to get into the Old City or to the Kotel.

The Givati Parking lot is lot smaller these days ever since they discovered the palace underneath it.

And the Mamilla parking lot is excellent, but it can be a long walk if you are trying to reach the Jewish Quarter.



The Jerusalem Municipality finally did something very smart to handle this problem - they rezoned the Mount Zion parking lot.

For years, the Har Tzion parking lot had space for about 20 cars, and the rest was designated for buses. Lot of buses.

Archive Photo

Yesterday when visiting the Old City, I decided to chance it and see if I could find parking on Mt. Zion. To my surprise, there were no buses parked there at all, and the entire parking lot was converted to parking for cars.

Rumor has it they are planning on building a multi-level parking lot on the site.

While 100 new parking spots may not be much for convenient access to the most important city in the world, it's better than the 20 we had before.

I'm happy to see that the Jerusalem Municipality made a positive change for Jerusalem drivers - something they haven't done in a long time.

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SL

Jerusalem Day

The Jerusalem Day parade was yesterday, but today is actually Jerusalem Day - the celebrations are moved a day earlier so that the Parade doesn't happen on Friday (right before the Sabbath).

The Parade began on King George Street and ended at the Kotel by way of Agron Street.

All these pictures are from Agron Street.

I don't know how many people marched, but the parade took nearly 2 hours for everyone to walk on by. The entire road was packed from top to bottom (and on King George, Mamilla, all the way to the Kotel).

Many of the marchers in the parade held up signs supporting a united Jerusalem (and against a 2-State solution) as they passed the American Consulate on Agron Street.

The US Consulate, at the start of the parade

The bottom of Agron, where it intersects with Mamilla

The bottom of Agron, looking up to King George Street

Dancing during the Parade

A policeman breaking open and checking a suspicious vehicle alongside the parade route

SL

The Missing Menora

In case you were walking in the Cardo of the Old City and couldn't find the solid gold Menora, don't worry.

It wasn't stolen.

It was just moved to the stairs leading down to the Kotel.




SL

Sponsored by Colony Real Estate Professionals

Sukkot of the Old City of Jerusalem

Sukkot may be over (until next year), but we still have a ton of pictures. We present to you the Sukkahs of the Old City of Jerusalem. (We’ll do a more comprehensive review of the Streets of the Old City of Jerusalem another time).



The Sukkah on the Stairs

Look on the roof.

Look to the left.

SL

Sponsored by Colony Real Estate Professionals

The Mamilla Promenade

We just spent the afternoon in the new Mamilla shopping center.

Just opposite the Jaffa Gate and the exclusive neighborhood of Ir David, at the corner of King David Street a new shopping center has opened.

For the moment, parking in the clean, expansive, and well-lit garage is free and hopefully will continue to stay that way. The roof arcade is all that is open so far, and it is already filled halfway with clothing stores, cafes and restaurants. The layout of the mall itself is well done with an eye towards creating panoramic observations points all along the path between the stores – and even in the stores and shops themselves.

What was truly exciting was walking to the Jaffa Gate promenade and looking around at the view. What was once a dingy crossroad has turned in an elegant and attractive combination of beautiful buildings and green areas all directed towards and flowing nicely alongside the walls of the Old City.

There are even rumors that French investors are planning to take it further and turn Agron Street into an Israeli Champs Elysees.

While living in this particular neighborhood may be beyond the means of the average person (Israeli or tourist), the view and amenities are open to all to enjoy and appreciate.

I definitely recommend stopping here on your way to the Kotel.

SL

Sponsored by Colony Real Estate Professionals>