Т Р А Н С А Э Р О №8 AUGUST
E N G L I S H Travel
TR ANSAERO
Moscow D M E / V KO
hours minutes
U N /
Tel Aviv TLV
SHUK AND SHOUT How to spend some quality time in Jerusalem and feed the whole family at the same time. SVETL ANA KOMISSAR
DIOMEDIA SHAMIL GAR AEV
“LOOK AT THOSE TANGERINES! EVEN MY BROTHER’S WEDDING DIDN’T HAVE ONES LIKE THESE!” Arab barkers shout. “Come in! Dvash apricots!” Incidentally, “dvash” means “honey” in Hebrew. Tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, candy, figs, apricots, dates, pineapples, kiwi, mango – Jerusalem’s market has everything. The oldest wooden counters of the city’s main grocery shuk (“market” in Hebrew) have been around since the 1920s, during which time the market’s first streets were paved – Agas (Pear) Street and Tapuach (Apple) Street. The Jerusalem market was established on an empty lot between the two neighborhoods of Mahane Yehuda and Beit Yaakov at the end of 19th century. It was first known as Shuk Beit Yaakov, but changed its name to Mahane Yehuda when
the first brick of the permanent stalls was laid on July 15, 1930. Until the 2000s the shuk remained a typical oriental bazaar, offering lower prices than the supermarkets, which at the time were few and far between anyway. Prices tended to drop towards the end of the day and many customers would come for this reason just before closing. Every penny, or rather every agora, was haggled over. The shopkeepers were reluctant to cut prices, but a masterful use of weights and scales would make up for any losses. Sellers in Jerusalem responded to an influx of immigrants from Russia in the early 1990s by quickly learning the language and soon questions like “How much are the eggs?” needed no second thought – “Ten shekels” was the answer. Unlike the Soviet markets, however, where it was a common thing, tasting fruit was not allowed here.
A multi-storied shopping mall with a parking lot, air-conditioning and separate stalls called Shukanyon was built in 2001 for the residents’ convenience. Instead of