As I write this, I am in Israel. I’m here for a three-week stay. My wife is from Israel. We used to come here every summer along with our two kids. My wife still has family here. But ever since her mother (affectionately known as ‘Safta’, or Hebrew for grandma) passed away nearly two decades ago, we have only been to Israel a few times.
This is my first time in six years. My wife and I are staying in Tel Aviv, renting an apartment only a couple blocks from the beach. But earlier today, we spent the day in Jerusalem. The Eternal City. For those that have only seen Jerusalem in documentaries, the Old City is everything National Geographic depicts it as, and then some.
The different ethnicities–Arab, Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Armenian, and tourists from all over the world–blending seemlessly, negotiating labyrhintine alleys hundreds of years old … this is why they make TV specials about the Old City … it is truly special.
But I am especially fixated on Jerusalem’s architecture. Perhaps I’ll be more inspired to create more three-dimensional landscape art based on the Old City. Currently, I have one painting in my series of Doors and Small Buildings, called Jerusalem Doorway, which is available as a print on my online gallery.
You’ll get a sense of the reliance on stone that has been used for millenia in Jerusalem’s various structures.
We just happened to be in Jerusalem while approximately one-tenth of Israel’s population flocked to the Old City for the funeral of the spiriitual leader of the Sepharadi community. It was utter chaos. But an experience I’ll never forget.
Being stuck in traffic–a total standstill–forced me to really take in the architectural gems of the Old City. Who knows when/if I’ll ever come back to Jerusalem. Hopefully, I will be back here to take in even more areas of this amazing city.
I’m mostly inspired by cityscapes and urban architecture. Even though Jerusalem is a city, I consider replicas of the Old City landscape art. This is not a hip, modern, vibrant skyline like Tel Aviv. But maybe just maybe I’ll start working on morearcheological/historical landscapes. Stay tuned….
