Traveling the World

The idea of markets hidden away in small alleys isn’t special to Asia. This occurs throughout the world, and is prevalent in Israel. Inside the walls of Old Jerusalem, you can see a fresh food market with many fruits, vegetables, snacks, and spices. The best thing about these markets is that Jews and Arabs peacefully co-exist. Being an American Jew and served by an Israeli Arab was no problem for them, and the people seemed happy to see visitors from other countries interested in them and their wares. I sampled many tasty snacks, sadly none of which I can remember the names for.

Living in China, we experience the same style of food markets, and I have to say it’s a far better experience feeling the breeze carelessly float through these alleys than to walk through an air conditioned mega-mall which sucks energy out of the planet at a rate faster than you can imagine.

The First Aliyah in the 1880s brought 15,000 Jews to Palestine, as it was then known. In order to survive, they formed these small communities in which to farm. Because they had emigrated from Russia after years of torment, most of them were poor and unskilled at farming. Within a year of their arrival, they were forced to rely on handouts from others. They took the donations and purchased equipment, with which to advance their farming knowledge.

Today, only about 5% of Israel’s population live on Kibbutzim, but the food they produce is very good and available at your local food market!