In the past few years, Israel has been building up its name in the culinary seen. With the unique multicultural cuisine Israel has to offer you can really enjoy different tastes from all over the world.

Since before Israel’s independence, Jews have been coming from all over the world. No matter where they’re from the Jews kept the family recopies and have been cooking them for centuries. During holidays, the Sabbath or even on week days, you can always find somewhere, someone cooking Gulash/Kubbe/Couscous… you name it.

Jerusalem has restaurants and cuisines from all over the world. You can find Japanese food next door to a Moroccan restaurant. In many of the restaurants kitchens you can find an old lady cooking her grandmothers recipe. That’s what makes Israeli food so exciting.

Chefs from around the world discovered the uniqueness of Israeli tastes and have been coming here to taste it for themselves, the combination of spices that usually aren’t put together are cooked in the same dish and make the Israeli kitchen one of the most exciting and special cuisines in the world.

Jerusalem offers not only foods from around the world but also different religions foods. Walking through the old city you can enjoy Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Armenian traditions foods; especially if the time of year is around a holiday like the Jewish New Year or the festivities of the Muslim Ramadan evenings.

In the past few years the Jerusalem municipality recognized the uniqueness of the Jerusalem Tastes and started a food festival in the old city. The festival is usually celebrated in March, the beginning of spring and includes stands with different foods from countries and religions around the world.

You can also enjoy the restaurants that are scattered around the whole city and offer special Kosher and non-Kosher menus. No matter what mood you’re in- you’ll find the food you want right here in Jerusalem.

Click on this link to see what the food festival looks like in the old city-

http://www.israelinsideout.com/In-Israel-Blog/jerusalem-old-city-food-festival-2011.html

For the complete Jerusalem restaurant list click on this link-

http://www.gojerusalem.com/discover/category_23/Jerusalem-Restaurants

Bete’avon!

Hanuka celebrations in Jerusalem

During the week of Hanuka, a Jewish holiday, Jerusalem is offering many different activities every day of the week.  There are plenty of day and night activities offered throughout the city whether you want to go out as a family or have a nice romantic evening.

Every day in the Mamila BLVD there is a central Hanuka Menora candle lighting where you can see well known Israeli personas lighting the candles. In addition there is an exhibit of different Hanuka Menoras along the BLVD and children activities in the Mamila mall and out on the street while you’re just passing by.

You can also enjoy the big verity of “sufganiot”, the Jewish doughnut. It is customary to eat deep fried foods in commemoration of the miracle associated with the Temple oil. The “sufgania” is ball shaped dough deep fried with jelly felling and powdered sugar topping. In the past few years many bakeries invent original and interesting fillings and toppings; this makes the streets of Jerusalem beautifully colorful and smell great!

For those who like a unique evening, there are tours that walk through the streets the old city and the Nachlaot neighborhood and enjoy the special sight of hundreds of Hanuka menoras all let up in the windows and the entrances of the houses. These tours are usually at the beginning of the evening (5, 6 PM) to enjoy the full impact of the candle lighting.

For more information check out this site, there plenty of activities you can enjoy during this special week.

http://www.jerusalem.muni.il/jer_main/defaultnew.asp?lng=2

Happy Hanuka!

This year Jerusalem is hosting the 9th Jazz Festival “Jazz-Globus”. Every year the festival is dedicated to specific musical theme or a famous Jazz singer. This year the festival is dedicated to the memorable dates of some well-known performers, iconic albums release, and the world premieres of compositions that have rocked Jazz world.

Seventy Israeli and foreign musicians are going to play and sing classical, experimental, electronic and ethnic Jazz at five different concerts. You can enjoy different styles, from mainstream to free jazz and all kinds of musical experiments. The festival started on November 28^th and will continue until December 3^rd.

The first Jerusalem Jazz festival took place in 2004, during that festival only Israeli Jazzmen participated. By the next year the festival attracted some international musicians and today, only 8 years later the Jerusalem Jazz festival is getting worldwide reputation.

Here is a taste of the festival from earlier years-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO3jtmA9WJM

For more information and booking click here – http://www.jazzglobus.com/en/program

This year is the 8^th year in a row that Jerusalem is celebrating its culture and tourism. During the wintry month of December, every weekend (Thursday through Saturday) Jerusalem offers a unique opportunity to enjoy the many different cultural events, museums, restaurants and more. This year’s festival’s theme is ‘Humor’; you can find plays, stand-up comedy and films in that category. The word ‘Hamshushalaim’ is a combination of a few words in Hebrew- Hamishi/Shishi/Shabat and Yerushalaim, these words mean “Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Jerusalem”.

The museums all around the city (including the Israel museum, the Bible lands museum, science museum and more) are open for free until the late hours of the night. Music performances will take place in central and special areas around Jerusalem; the performances are all by famous, well known Israeli musicians and singers. Dance performances and other events on the streets or in famous cultural institutions in the Museum District, the Old City, Ein Kerem and the City Center are either free of charge or at a reduced rates.

Many of Jerusalem’s top restaurants offer discounts and specials. “Culinary Hamshush” includes a choice of two set meals at Jerusalem’s leading restaurants for either 78 NIS or 118 NIS, and a children’s meal for 28 NIS.

Many hotels in the city are offering special packages. Guests who stay at the participating hotels for two nights during the ‘Hamshushalaim’ weekends will enjoy the accommodation packages that include a 50% discount off the first night.

The events will start on the weekend of November 29^th for four weekends, the last one is December 20^th.

To read more about the festival you can visit the official ‘Hamshushalaim’ web site:

http://www.jerusalem.muni.il/Humshsh/2012/eng/hamshush_eng.asp?weekId=1

This year Jerusalem is hosting the 13^th annual Oud festival. Over the years the festival has become a tradition of bringing together cultures from North Africa, the Mediterranean and all the way to India. The Oud is a musical instrument commonly used in North Africa and the Middle East.

Israel was built by people from places and cultures all over the world that intertwine in to one unique culture. The Oud is considered an instrument that unites and connects diverse musical cultures and traditions and that is the reason this festival has been getting many good revues and still continues to happen every year.

During the festival well known musicians play beautiful music, sing songs and tell stories about the different cultures. One of the singers is Etti Ankri, born in Israel to a Tunisian family; Etti combines songs she remembers from her childhood, stories and Piyutim with the Oud.

Here is a link to Etti Ankri singing a song as a tribute to the Tunisian people-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6euDZ3D8Fo

You can also enjoy Listening to Moshe Havusha playing and singing at the festival at this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL4v9xXXk9s

The festival is taking place in the Jerusalem Theater, Confederation house and in Beit Shmuel. It started on November 8^th and is continuing until the 17^th.

The price range is 80-170 NIS for a performance.

You can get your tickets via the website- http://www.confederationhouse.org  or by phone- 02-6245206

For more information you can click on this link:

http://www.confederationhouse.org/en/festival/international-oud-festival

Jerusalem is known to be one of the most historical cities in the world, you can explore the city by walking around the old and new sections, seeing different sites and meeting interesting people.

There are many tours you can go on and learn all about the wonderful city. Here are some tours that might interest you:

“Friday in Jerusalem”- a 5 hour tour that will take you through Jewish and Christian sites, you’ll visit the museum of psalms where you will learn about a kabalistic artist that painted paintings for each and every chapter in King David’s book of psalms. You will also visit the western wall, the Via Delarosa and the church of the holy sepulcher.

Departure is at 11:00 every Friday during November from the Zion square of Jaffa road.

For more information and booking you can visit this page- http://www.itraveljerusalem.com/en/BusinessAbout.aspx?id=122

If your more of a night person and you like to see the city lit up in lights, you might enjoy the “Jerusalem magical evening” tour. This 3 hour tour takes you from the Jaffa gate towards the Dung gate along the walls of the old city; you’ll enjoy the beautiful view of Jerusalem from atop. After a brief visit at the western wall you will continue to the Tower of David and finish at the Mammilla mall.

Departure is at 17:00 every Thursday during November and December from the Jaffa gate.

For more information and booking you can visit this page- http://www.itraveljerusalem.com/en/BusinessAbout.aspx?id=121

Every year Jerusalem holds a night festival, this year’s festival subject is ‘Knights and Dragons’. The festival will take place within the walls of the old city of Jerusalem on Thursday’s the 1^st and 8^th of November between 6:00 pm and 11:00 pm.

Walking around the old streets of Jerusalem you’ll enjoy exciting displays from the medieval times with knights, princesses, fire-spitting dragons and many more characters.

The festival is free of charge and outdoors. Entering through the Jaffa gate you well walk into an ancient world filled with music and dance, the displays and characters will take you in a circle root to the Moristan church and back to the Jaffa gate.

Here are some movies you can watch to get in to the atmosphere:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANPhKCMSdt4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwDwDRumoxI

For more information you can check out the official festival website-

http://www.jerusalem-oldcity.org.il/pages_e/Knights_festival.aspx

Other than the festival you can enjoy the old city by just walking around, you can visit the western wall at all times of the day and night. Walk through the Arab market to see and buy unique local objects and items.

You can also visit the renewed Hurva synagogue. The Hurva was built it the 18^th century but since then has been destroyed twice. In 2010 the synagogue has been rebuilt and is used by the Ashkenazy congregation every day of the week. You can just get a look of the beautiful building during the services or book a tour in advance-  02-626-5922.

For more information about the Hurva synagogue and the old city feel free to visit the official old city site-

http://www.jewish-quarter.org.il/atar-hurva.asp

Etz Chaim Yeshiva courtyard – entrance from Jaffa Road (near the district health bureau)
The Old Beit Yaakov school courtyard, in the Beit Yisrael neighborhood
Mosiof Street in the Bucharian Quarter
Shmuel Hanavi Street
Chevrat Mishnayot Street in Mea Shearim

So you do not want to miss one of the most extraordinary things that have to do with the holidays cultures and values.

 Night Knights Festival returns this year to celebrate the magical medieval alleys of the Old City

Knights in the Old City Festival returns this year for the second year, to the alleys of the Old City of Jerusalem. After the fruitful cooperation that took place last year with carnival masks, Italy Venice, will return to the festival at night fall into the old town with dozens of musicians and dancers, magicians and Iidaoniot, knights, princesses, troubadours, Fools and vendors from ancient times that have just emerged from the pages of history and tempt you into the world of fairy tales from another time.

On Thursday, October and November 2012, in the twilight of mystery, the audience is invited to recognize the ancient world re-created specifically for the festival.

The Knights Festival will be held in the Old City dates: 18 ‪.  10 ‪.  2012, 25 ‪.  10 ‪.  2012, 1 ‪.  11 ‪.  2012, 8 ‪.  11 ‪.  2012, between the hours of 18 : 00 – 23:00.

The festival’s experiential route will pass through all quarters of the Old City, with each district could bring surprises and mystery that awaits visitors to the festival. This year, the restaurants, cafes and markets in the Old City and Sderot Alrov Mamilla also join the solemn festival and will remain open until late evening.

Festival visitors will meet with dozens of knights, princes and medieval figures, life threatening shadow of dragons specifically. Battles, heroic stories and scary encounters with knights and dragons. Everyone come out straight from the pages of history and magic fill the alleys of the Old City of Jerusalem.

Each area of the Old City from Jaffa Gate, Brown City of David , the dance anyway, talents Mooristan and Christian Quarter flooded kings, princes, knights and dragons shows spectacular featuring scenes of wars knights dragons spitting fire: big dragon comes from the walls of the Tower of David, which Knight mounted him and wage battle knights, cage descends into the procession, Knight put the princess into it and starts a battle knights on success, dragon long dimensions range from the walls of the market, keeping egg dragon, dragon with three heads, wise old man standing at the mouth of the exchange puzzles ancient and crowned with mystery and visitors should meet the enigmas.

Plaza Tower of David will be the traditional victory parade procession liberation of Jerusalem Knights of the royal court, including the soldiers of the palace, walking drum band, flag kingdom, Knights of the palace in a show, chariots with fire dragons, dancers dancing palace period.

This is a remarkable festival you do not want to miss!