With a hungry belly I end up buying grapes from one of the old Arabic ladies at the New Gate. This gate was built in 1889 to provide direct access between the Christian Quarter and the new neighbourhoods. I sit down on the grass and a group of guys are renting out "hubbly bubbly's". I enjoy the grass and start eating my grapes. Suddenly they guys start to play loud Arabic music. I enjoy it. Two police officers with huge guns come, and they are forced to switch off the music.
That evening my belly rumbles, and I end up with a food poisoning. I expect it would be the grapes. A friend in Jerusalem invites me for a performance night relating to Tu B'Av. She explains it is the Jewish valentine's day. According to the Mishna, Tu B'Av was a joyous holiday in the days of the Temple in Jerusalem, marking the beginning of the grape harvest. Yom Kippur marked the end of the grape harvest. On both dates the unmarried girls of Jerusalem dress in white garments, and went out to dance in the vineyards. In modern times, it has become a romantic Jewish holiday, often compared to Valentine's day, and has been said to be a "great day for weddings, commitment ceremonies, renewal of vows, or proposing". Also, "It is a day for romance, explored through singing, dancing, giving flowers, and studying."I walk out of my room and I stand in front of the Damascus gate. A highway used to connect this gate to Damascus in Syria. I see how the police is suddenly closing the gate. With roughness, stress and pressure. And with a huge sound the metal gate blocks the entrance. I wonder how that will be for the people living inside the city. Where can they get out if they like? Is this a way to establish safety? Or is this a way to make a huge prison out of the old town in Jerusalem? Instead of dancing like the girls on Tu B'Av in the old city, I experience violence.
That night a lot of police is around the old walls of Jerusalem. Police man on horses are galloping in the street. It is the last day of "Eid al adha", it creates tension in the air in Jerusalem. It feels great to hide in one of the theatre's in town. Far away from the old city. Subtlety is celebrated. Sensitivity gets a place. Stereotypes are there to be celebrated and to reflect on. Not to feel triggered. In the performance a man goes through the well known phases of loss or death. The performance makes me aware that it helps me to be aware of stages in difficult situations. Especially internal stages, feel more accessible then the stages the outside world goes through. The performances hit me deeply, how essential it is to be aware of stages. A man in white clothes lays down on the tiny stage. The stages he acts out are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. A theory developed by psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross suggests that we go through five distinct stages of grief after the loss of a loved one: Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally acceptance. Although, the model will never suit all. The model is also the product of a particular culture at a particular time. It does give me some insight to deal with the many shock events people seem to go through in this fragile place on earth.
When the show is finished I read the news. A man is stabbed to death in the old city centre. I wonder where the loved one's of the person will go through. I finish my drink and go back to the Arab quarter. My friend advices me to take a cab home after the tensions, instead of walking. I'm learning to move along the tensions.
At home I'm still feeling bad of the food poisoning. I say to my friend "maybe I got food poisoning because I had eaten the grapes before Tu B'Av". She laughs as well and says yes "We need stages for everything".
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