The People of the Shuk
The People of the Shuk
Israel's outdoor market game is very strong. Machane Yehuda in Jerusalem is the crown jewel.
Today’s post explores the phenomenon of the ‘shuk’, or open-air market.
Some refer to Disney World as the “Happiest Place on Earth”, but for me, that title belongs to the Machane Yehuda shuk in Jerusalem. A holy shuk for the holy city. Many will recount their trips to Israel with a mention of their Friday trip to the shuk to pick up necessities and treats for the Shabbat table.
As special and exhilarating as this Friday pilgrimage is, I’ve found that any trip to the shuk, even during the week, brings with it a unique and robust window into Israeli society. There’s something about people from all backgrounds competing for the best tomato or getting the last starfruit that puts everyone on equal footing. Sure, there might be people at the shuk who are dressed for success and have brought their fashion A-game, but all seem a bit more united in the shuk. You might see someone carrying bags filled with more expensive delicacies while another person has some produce and a challah, but the shuk can be the great equalizer in which people are just people doing their shopping.
I’m reminded of a poem by the great Yehuda Amichai that takes the image of ancient runes and redirects the reader’s focus to the person sitting next to the ruins. This comes to teach us that there are rich treasures to be found within the experiences of passersby, not just by the sights and attractions. This dynamic has created some of the best peoplewatching that one could hope for. There is a lot to see while exploring the shuk - restaurants, stalls, performers, and so on. There is also a lot to see by pulling up a chair at a coffee shop with a solid view and taking it all in.
A non-Israeli, non-Jewish writer also commented on the land. This was none other than the great writer (and namesake for the US’s yearly prize for humor), Mark Twain. When he visited Palestine in the late 1800s, he bore witness to the complete emptiness that existed.
He recounted his experience of a:
“desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds-a silent mournful expanse....A desolation is here that not even imagination can grace with the pomp of life and action....We never saw a human being on the whole route....There was hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere. Even the olive and the cactus, those fast friends of the worthless soil, had almost deserted the country.”
- Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad. London: 1881
I think that this quote is relevant here as the current reality is the complete opposite of what Twain found on his trip. The Machane Yehuda shuk, and Israel more generally, is filled with people, life, and action. Instead of deserting the country, there is a deep connection to it and people flock to the country, and to this glorious shuk. I’m not even sure if the imagination of someone in the 1880s could’ve come close to the reality of today. Life and action are at the top of the list of words I would choose to describe Israel. So much so in fact that ‘action’ has become slang in Hebrew. You can hear Israelis using the English word, ‘action’, to describe that stuff is happening.
History of Machane Yehuda
Many of the major Israeli cities have their own shuk, but there are a few standouts that really draw the crowds.
It is a beautiful thing to have people loud and running around, when we have a history of needing to be quiet.
The Machane Yehuda shuk dates back to the Ottoman period, specifically the late 1800s. Local peasants and Arabs turned the empty lot into a marketplace to sell their produce. The market’s location near the Old City was seen as its secret to success. It developed over the years and took it to the next level when the Jerusalem Governor during the British Mandate was put off by its appearance and hired an urban planner to revamp it. It has picked up significant popularity in Jerusalem and around Israel, and it has become a fixture on the list of must-sees in the Holy City.1
Bringing Some New to the Old
Over the last decade or so, the Machane Yehuda shuk has taken things to a whole other level. Not only is it a hotspot during the day, but a nightlife scene has developed as well. Bars, restaurants, and spontaneous dance parties abound.
As part of this push for modernity and highlighting the local arts scene, a graffiti artist by the name of Solomon Souza was hired to bring new life to the stalls after hours. This new life comes in the form of graffiti murals on the closed stalls ranging from former Prime Ministers of Israel to pop culture icons. All in all, there are 360 stalls in the market and it is no small task to thoughtfully electrify them with stunning art2.
The Times of Israel has a brief video about the project:
I’ve been admiring these murals for years and only learned of their origins while doing research for this post. An especially exciting picture that I found was a map of all of the murals that Solomon has done. It’s also an impressive map of the shuk in general. I can’t say that my trips to the shuk include well thought out movements. I just generally go with the flow. This map, however, gives a certain structure to the potential balagan.
A Few Recommendations for Your Next Visit
Pepito’s Street Food - wow! delicious and fun
Always Marzipan rugelach
Stuffed baked potatoes - taking the country by storm - cheese, cream, tuna, and any and every vegetable
Song of the Week
לא לבד
Loe leh-vawd
Not alone
Brought to us by Jane Bordeaux - the champions of Israeli neo-folk
Slang of the Week
תעשה חיים
Ta-ah-seh chai-eem
Make life (literal), Have fun (slang)
Thank you for reading this week’s post. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them. Wishing you a Shabbat shalom and a restful weekend!
“The History of Shuk Machane Yehuda”. https://en.machne.co.il/category/history
“Young artist turns Jerusalem’s market into gallery of famous faces”. https://www.timesofisrael.com/young-artist-turns-jerusalems-market-into-gallery-of-famous-faces/