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The online encyclopedia Wikipedia describes the characteristics of a slum in the following way:“The lack of services such as routine garbage collection allows rubbish to accumulate in huge quantities. The lack of infrastructure is caused by (...) no planning for the poor by government officials.” (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slum)This definition sounds a bit familiar, when one is standing on the balcony of Petra Hostel in the Old City of Jerusalem. In this hostel you will not want to book “a room with a view to the pool”, because what is swimming in the pool is not people, nor anything live. You can click the photo for a full-screen version, or try this extra-large image, and see for yourself what is swimming there. (But don’t forget to enjoy the panoramic view to the Mount of Olives, the golden dome on Temple Mount, and the towers of Redeemer’s Church.) Built by King Hezekiah ca. 700 BC, this historical pool has seen more glorious days too. A 19th-century illustration in Charles Wilson’s book Picturesque Palestine shows two men standing quite exactly in the same location where the balcony of Petra Hostel is today. The view is romantic, and one can almost imagine fish swimming in the water. Having mentioned the Jewish king who built the pool, one might wonder why the government of Israel has not renovated this place into another tourist attraction and a destination of pilgrimage (having controlled the Old City for 40 years already). I leave the answer to the discretion of the reader, but I can mention that this block belongs to the Christian quarter, and the residents of these houses are not Jews. I am not saying that there is any racial or religious discrimination here. |
