The Faces of Jerusalem

photo by Scot Proctor

A delightful photographic essay titled The Faces of Jerusalem was just done for Meridian Magazine. Though the photos were taken only on the old side of the city-- not in the bustling urban areas--  the essay accurately captures the wide variety of people in the Old City. 

Seeing the faces of these people is truly like walking through the streets; I promise you'll grasp what it's like to be there yourself if you'll take a quick look.

Curious about my full reaction? Read more after the jump: 

So many things jumped out at me as I perused the photos. First, that I had met a few of those people myself. Second, that not only did I recognize most of the backdrops of the photos and knew where in the city they were taken, but that I knew so often (before reading the caption) what the caption would say. 

The guy outside Jaffa gate with the sesame bread? Yeah. I've bought from him.  Didn't I tell you that stuff was good? Yummy. 

I'm so glad the Israeli soldier girls were included. Saucy glasses they had on, too! When I was in Israel I would always seem to see soldier-women with neon pink fingernails.  That always made me grin, since they'd be carrying enormous firearms. I dig the pink backpack, girls.

Scot Proctor, the author of the photo essay, made a crack about the vibrant "Jerusalem" colors behind a Muslim man who was, I am certain, playing backgammon. I instantly smiled to myself when he mentioned the colors, because Old City Jerusalem is a place full of white stone and vivid paints. 

Kevork, the photographer mentioned, really does outstanding work. His photographs are breathtaking and truly capture the unbiased spirit of the city.  And the Karakashian family who works on the tiles I instantly recognized, because several of my friends thought he looked like old man playing chess with himself on "Geri's Game," the Pixar short.

Armenians were particularly easy for me to spot. Thanks goes there to my friend Greg who made sure the JCenter students of Fall 2007 all visited the Armenian quarter of the old city; we were told that the BYU kids the semester before us didn't "discover" the Armenian section until their last day in town, which was very sad to me; Armenians are so friendly and their district is easily the most clean. Ahem. My friend Greg served his mission in Armenia, and it was so nice to have him around to make sure we met those wonderful people ourselves.

And I've got to say--the Mormon students were SO typical! Their clothes stand out of course, but a large group of young girls traveling the city with a token boy representative? Ha! They're so from the JC. Though I was sad that none of them carried their fanny packs. 

A) Yes, Jewish school boys are always that adorable. B) I was stunned that Proctor caught an orthodox Jewish woman on camera, but so very glad he did; they have such grace. 

My one regret was that the photographer spent so much time in the Christian quarter and so little in the Muslim quarter. I kept thinking where are the Palestinian women? because they are so beautiful, and to me, are more frequently seen in the city than this essay would suggest. But thankfully, they were there! Did you notice the woman with the severe eyebrows? That's fairly common. I'm so glad that Scot Proctor mentioned the women with their children-- Muslims LOVE kids, and are extremely family-friendly.