more on the market

I am calling the area of the Old City with the long shop lined alley-like streets the market, but it is also called the Arab Market, bazaar, and I don't know what else. What I do know is that once we were there, Casey and I kept saying to each other things like, "This is just fabulous!" And it was. We were able to go twice. The first time was when slipped off by ourselves. It was pretty easy. We walked to a nearby corner to catch the train, then got off at the third stop, the one after Damascus Gate. After asking directions a few times, we reached the gorgeous, modern open air "mall" Mamilla. We enjoyed walking along and were able to resist the fantastic art and jewelry. When the mall ended, we found ourselves atop the roof that began the Old City and found a palpable sense of peace there. We made our way to some market streets and joined in the fun. I loved talking with the shopkeepers, all of whom were enormously kind, helpful, and took time to educate us. We had conversations with Bedouins, Moslems, and an Aramaic speaking Christian. There is a verse in one of the Gospels, which in describing the ministry of Jesus, says something like it would take many books to write all that Jesus had done. That was one thing I thought of there as it applied to my visit. We had too many wonderful experiences in such a short time that I cannot write them all down. The second visit was a couple of days later while it was still light, and we entered through a different gate. It was filled with masses of local people in what I will ignorantly describe as their native outfits. It was just as exciting.