They seemed to come out of nowhere: there were angels and demons, cowboys and witches, Mad Hatters and Cheshire Cats. I know I had been travelling for a while and it was 3:00am, but seriously, I was not hallucinating - on the main highway into Jerusalem, near the Ramallah turn off - there were groups of young people, who didn't seem to be drunk or stoned, dressed up and dancing on the road!
Welcome to Jerusalem! (See some of my photos in the slide show.)
I had no idea what was going on but decided to keep it to myself until, as I walked through the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, I saw more and more strange, 'happy' people. Adults, children, grandparents and teenagers all dressed up in costumes with faces painted. On Ben Yehuda Street, the main street of West Jerusalem, there were two orthodox Jewish men dancing to very loud music wearing jester hats to the delights of passers by and locals.
Finally I hear, its the Purim festival, a Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire from destruction in the wake of a plot be Haman, (read the book of Esther in the Bible). A rather bizarre but happy welcome to the Holy Land.
In the meantime, day 1- I have had the privilege of walking some of the Via Dolorosa, wandering through the Old City, visiting some of the Chapels, Churches and Cathedrals and meeting some of the locals, all who have "half price sales today, sir, only look!"
Tomorrow and in the days ahead I will be visiting some of the projects that we manage in the region, amongst them child friendly spaces, women's empowerment, Keeping Children Safe Online and economic development for marginalised people. So, hopefully, more to come...
