A City By No Other Name......

We all know the expression, 'a flower by.....smells as sweet' but this too can be said of a city, such as Jerusalem. For all its glory it has like any other city, downsides, as in the never ending
'light railway' system or traffic congestion difficulties. Nevertheless, for all that, this city is like
no other, for all its large size, it is still a small village at heart.

Daily I try to take a walk/hobble out of my house, up the neighborhood staircase, on to the
main street of the area and off on to do my errands of the day. There is not a time that I am
not approached by a well wisher, who sees my limited ability and stop to wish me 'a speedy
recovery' or asks as to my welfare or even at times offers to help me with a shopping bag
(excluding the garbage ones!), but yesterday it reached an all high, when a smart looking car
pulls up beside me, driven by a young man in his twenties, with an equally young lady sitting
by his side and lowers down his window and asks "can I help you with a lift anywhere, nowhere
is too much trouble".

To say I was gobsmacked is not enough of a visual expression, but I was both touched and
overwhelmed by his offer and could all but do to stutter my thanks and decline out. I refused
not out of fear, but because I needed my daily exercise, but was delighted though at his thoughtful offer.

Yesterday, as on other days, I meet the regular haunters of Jerusalem, the shop keepers,
shoppers, coffee drinkers, tourists and day trippers. Each day is an adventure of seeing new
faces as they pass you by. Walking in Jerusalem is a most pleasurable experience, for it is the
one city that you can almost be 99% positive that you will meet someone you know on your
expedition and this in turn could delay your trip by quite some time.

Debating as to whether to buy some food shopping or not, it is extremely hard not to be pulled
in by all the delectable smells that whiff past your nose as you make your way along the streets.
There are the bakeries, with their delicious baking smells, mingled with Cinnamon, chocolate and
jam that tantalize you at first; further along are the aromatic smells of spices, over shadowed
by the deep fat frying smell of oil, as the falafel balls are prepared. The 'shwarma' (meat on a
large spit) is next and as you take a glance at this over sized meat punching bag, the crispy bits
tempt you with their wink as they turn around away from your gaze.
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Further down the street, there is the butcher, but not displaying his slain wares outside,
instead a view of roasting chickens meats your eyes and the delicious whiff of what is yet to
come tantalizes your palette. But I restrain all these temptations and continue along my way,
saving my pennies for another day, but just enjoying the glorious winter sunshine and the other
pedestrians or cafe sitters and passer bye rs as they too enjoy the friendly warm atmosphere
and smells of this wonderful city, Jerusalem.