Mahane Yehuda market

Mahane Yehuda, the Shuk, is an outdoor, covered market (so you can visit even on a rainy day) that sells fruit, vegetables, grains, legumes, spices, halva, baklava, bread, pastries, chocolate, cheese, salads, fish, meat, housewares, clothes, flowers – almost anything you could want. When you walk around Mahane Yehuda you stimulate all your senses: sight – check out the arrangements and colors of the fresh fruit and vegetables, sound – listen to the vendors hawking their wares, Middle Eastern music on CDs, davvening/prayers, smell – fresh breads and pastry, taste – free tastes of halva, sometimes new fruit in season, you can ask if you can have a taste and touch. The busiest times are late Thursday and on Friday when many people are buying things for Shabbat but if you don’t mind the bustle you’ll have a great experience. Invited to dinner, the shuk (market) is a great place to pick up something to show your appreciation to your hosts.

The Shuk is bounded by Jaffa Road on the north and Agrippas Street to the south; the 2 main streets of the Shuk are Mahane Yehuda Street and Etz Hayyim Street, with a number of smaller cross streets, named after fruits: Tapuah=Apple, Afarsek=Peach, Agas=Pear, Shezif=Plum, Shaked=Almond, Tut=Berry. Get my free map of Mahane Yehuda to help you navigate. If you’re interested in learning about the history of the market, discovering and experiencing its specialness in addition to exploring contact me to arrange a walking tour of Mahane Yehuda.

Wine, beer and liquor, both local and imported, are available at a number of stores, the drinking age in Israel is 18 – imbibe responsibly. Israel now produces many fine wines – besides the Golan and Yarden brands, there are smaller boutique wineries all over the country (Galil, Dalton, Yatir, Etzion, Tabor to name just a few) and the prices are a fraction of what you would pay back home. Another great idea is to visit a winery while you are touring Israel and are in the area.

If you’re going to pick up some Israeli wine then why not cheese and make it a party. When I lived in Cambridge MA the corner store we walked to was a Whole Foods and if you’ve ever been to one you know that their cheese department is incredible – it was one of the things that I knew I was really going to miss about living in Jerusalem. And then one day, while walking through Mahane Yehuda I discovered Basher’s, cheeses imported from all over the world (they are kosher) plus some fine Israeli cheeses; just for your information they also carry an assortment of artisan breads, fine wines and chocolates. Oh and be careful, it’s easy to spend more money than you budgeted.

If you start to feel a little tired, there are a lot of restaurants and cafes where you can sit down and enjoy a meal from hummus and felafel to a full, multi-course meal. Two of my favorites are Topolino, a small, family-run restaurant at 62 Agrippas that serves pasta, pizza and fish dishes (kosher) and Ichikadana, an Indian vegetarian restaurant (kosher) at 4 HaEshkol Street - the cook and owner is originally from India (in either case, mention that Shmuel recommended them).