Rama 18, Jerusalem

I photographed this doorway a couple days ago for a book cover, at the request of a small publisher in the UK. The book is about house numbers (what else?). The house is on Rama Street in the Nahlaot neighbourhood of Jerusalem. The alley is quite narrow and I wanted to include the door and window; I almost regretted not having brought a wide angle lens, but in the end I managed to get the shot. The photo was taken around 9 a.m., so the numbers were in the shade and the light wasn’t too intense (just before we moved the clocks to summer time).

Hebrew numbers are represented by letters, and the number 18 is considered auspicious because it represents “chaim” or life. Blue is also an auspicious colour in Mediterranean cultures, so this is a very lucky doorway!

Passover Is Coming….

One of the signs of Passover is green garlic in the shuk. I’ve seen piles of garlic, braids of garlic, but I’ve never seen it as it is delivered! Layers of garlic bulbs are stacked in a cube and wrapped with nylon netting. That must be quite a trick!

Photo taken in Mahane Yehuda, while rushing to Nahlaot.