Jerusalem’s street names constantly remind me that I am engulfed by the history of my people and my city. I’m fascinated by the names and seeing them shapes my day-to-day life here.
Here is a day in my Jerusalem life, based on some of the typical street names I pass on a regular basis. Click on the pictures to see a slideshow with captions explaining the names of each street name:
The Westerners – in honour of the North African immigrants who started the first neighbourhood in western Jerusalem
Queen Shlomtzion (Salome Alexandra) (141-67 BCE) – the only Jewish regnant queen, last woman ruler of Judea, brought prosperity to the kingdom
L.L. Zamenhof (1859-1917) – signed L.L., not A. as the municipality decided to call him, creator of Esperanto, the most successful constructed language
Mamilla is a beautiful street – can’t help but add a few more shots of it
Mamilla
Omar Ibn Al-Khattab (644-586) – considered the founder of the Muslim empire, reigned over Israel, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, conquered Jerusalem
Mamilla – probably comes from the Arabic word that means “that which comes from God”
Yitzhak Kariv (1902-1999) – mayor of Jerusalem (1952-1955), was fired as mayor, a banker
Yitzhak Kariv
Moses Hess (1812-1875) – a Jewish philosopher, socialist, a founder of Labor Zionism
My Jerusalem Life 