50 things to do in Jerusalem this summer

• Опубликовано пользователем Михаил Дмитриев July 10, 2011 - Рубрика Отдых - #Иерусалим  #лето  - 174 просмотра

  These aren't necessarily the "dog days," you know. Thanks to GoJerusalem.com's list of 50 indispensable ways to spend the summer of 2011 in Jerusalem, you'll hopefully never run out of inspiration for enjoying high season in the Holy City. So get out there, and start having your way with Jerusalem. 
  
  

  1. Check out some fresh edgy art at the exhibits of graduates from Jerusalem's top art schools, including digital animation from Bezalel and sound art from Musrara. 
  
  

  2. For some, including many born in 1970 and well thereafter, the 1960s have never ended. Celebrate hippie-dom and benefit Israeli community sports as Kraft Field hosts the 2011 Jerusalem Woodstock Revival, with local rockers re-interpreting the classics in a family-friendly atmosphere.
  
  

  3. Head to the nation's premier cultural institution, the Israel Museum, for Contact Point, a moon-lit night of interactions between artists and inquisitive art-lovers. Major exhibits hosted by the museum over the summer include the highbrow cartoons of William Kentridge and the provocative imagery of Rodney Graham, with the 26th annual Kite Flying Fest eventually bringing the summer to a close.
  
  

  4. The planners at the Front Stage line of Friday afternoon street parties have taken it up a notch for the summer of 2011, getting bigger, more creative,  more international and covering more days of the week than ever before. The Front Stage kicked off at City Hall on a Thursday night with hometown heroes Hadag Nachash duelling rhymes with Matisyahu, and the series culminates in Auguest, again on a non-Friday, with guitar god Berry Sakharof (pictured) trading swirly riffs with psy-trance superstars Infected Mushroom at Sacher Park. In between are forays into Creole post-jazz on the Shushan Street pedestrian mall, rock and DJ sets on Ben Yehuda Street, a headphones-only "beach party" outside Jaffa Gate and more.
  
  

  5. Head to the Machane Yehuda market for the second annual series of Monday evening quirky carnivals there (pictured), organized under the moniker Balabasta.  
  
  6. Let's go out to dinner and see a movie. And take your pick of hundreds of flicks as the Jerusalem Film Festival takes over the city's theaters, auditoriums, cinemas and outdoor spaces. Festival headquarters the Cinematheque offers live music before marquee premieres and catered wine and nibbles after.
  
  

  7. The summer ain't over 'til the soprano belts it out at Binyanei Hauma. Well, the Season of Culture series of events concludes in late July, hardly the end of summer, but there's surely some poetry in international sensation Renee Fleming's upcoming appearance with the Israeli Philharmonic. 
  
  

  8. Sick of your summer threads of yesteryear? Head out on a shopping tour of Jerusalem. Don't want to be a slave to the retail grind but want a wardrobe reboot regardless? Check out downtown's series of "Stock Day" events, with live music and inventory-clearing deals. 
  
  

  9. Celebrate 20 years of the Yellow Submarine live music club in Talpiot with a block party featuring Idan Reichel spin-off project Yemen Blues, Balkan Beat Box solo act Tomer Yosef and Umlala (pictured), Perach Adom axe-man's day job. 
  
  

  10. Join Jerusalem's party crowd for two nights of spudsy fun at the Old Train Station fairgrounds, with more brews than one could possibly taste, and a lineup of well-known live musical acts, forthe seventh annual Jerusalem Beer Festival.
  
  11. Prefer your fermented beverages made from grapes rather than hops? Buy a bottomless goblet at the Israel Museum's annual Israeli Wine Tasting Festival there in August. 
  
  

  12. Celebrate 50 years of the Israel Festival by checking out a retrospective photo exhibit or an overseas-based performance troupe.
  
  13. Head to Beit Avi Chai for some Jewish-Israeli cultural vanguard. On tap this summer are up-and-coming rock musicians on Mondays, kiddie tours of the thought-provoking multidisciplinary Ever Green exhibit (pictured) and top-draw entertainers (Eyfo Hayeled, Kobi Oz, Shlomo Bar and more) re-interpreting centuries-old Jewish poetry.
  
  14. Soak up some mineral healing with day excursion to the Dead Sea and its healing sulfuric salts. 
  

  
  15. Ponder the role of space as an urban commodity as poets share their feelings amid the greenery of the Botanical Gardens for the 2011 One Meter Square poetry festival. 
  
  16. On weekdays, the city's top kitchens offer deliciously attractive fixed menu deals under the name "Business Lunch." You don't need a briefcase to check out the best offers. 
  
  17. Enjoy a breathtaking, panoramic city-scape sunrise from the Tayelet (promenade) of Talpiot orsunset from the Tayelet of Mount Scopus. 
  
  18. Hear some authentic ethnic music (pictured) at a Confederation House concert.
  
  19. Think you can eat a lot? Just go ahead and attempt to conquer the new 1.1-kilo burger (nearly 2.5 lbs of quality ground beef), available through the end of July, at Black Bar 'N' Burger. The monster patty comes with the side dish of your choice for only 129 NIS, and you can wash it down with a glass of Miller beer and a shot of Jim Beam for just 21 NIS more. Alka Seltzer not included.
  
  20. Join a pickup game of ultimate frisbee, or watch the skater kids do their thing at Gan Sacher. 
  
  21. For the readers out there (hey, you made it almost halfway through this page so far), check outeverything literary that Jerusalem has to offer, including Book Week, a writing workshop and regular readings at landmark cafe-bookshop Tmol Shilshom. 
  
  22. Have a coffee, or a full continental breakfast, outside in the historic courtyard of the American Colony Hotel. 
  
  23. Fill your home with imported ethnic handicrafts purchased at the Chotzot Hayotzer festival, one of the city's most beloved annual draws, featuring art, food, music and more. 
  
  24. Take a tour of the city on a motorized bicycle or on a futuristic segway - great ways to get around Jerusalem's hills and limestone-lined streets. Or just twiddle your thumbs until mid-August, when authorities claim they'll finally launch the city's Light Rail system!
  
  25. Think you've got moves? The professionals do it better. Late July brings not only Argentina'sTango Seduccion but also the Spanish-Israeli co-production Compas Flamenco to the Jerusalem Theatre. 
  
  26. Head down to Liberty Bell Park's picturesque stoneamphitheater on Wednesday nights (pictured) for a Jerusalem mix of live music covering the spectrum of genres. 
  
  27. Taste some super-local, super-fresh food. Alternatively, if you prefer that your sustenance sit in your gastric passage for days on end, head to a landmark Ashkenazi soul food joint. 
  
  28. On Fridays, enjoy ambient chillout DJ sets, drink specials and plenty of chef surprises all summer long at Kedma. 
  
  29. Don't let the heat hold you back from being out and about - splurge for a VIP car service-style tourto take you around the sites. 
  
  30. Odes to Zion have many manifestations, including those inspired by Rasta culture's affinity to the Promised Land. Check out Ziggy Marley (pictured) and the Easy Star All Stars, as the two reggae superstar acts reach the end of their collective Road to Zion at Sacher Park in late July.
  
  31. Reserve tickets for Mini Israel through GoJerusalem.com to enjoy a big 25% discount and skip the lines to the box office. 
  
  32. Listen to classical vocal performances at a Crusader-Benedictine Church. 
  
  33. Do your kids seem to prefer television over live entertainment? Meet them halfway with a trip to the Malcha Mallfor in-person encounters with the Care Bears and the Smurfs.
  
  34. A movie thriller-worthy back story just makes these timepieces all the more compelling. Head to the Museum for Islamic Art's exhibit of recovered clocks and watches before it closes in the months ahead.
  
  35. The academic year may be over, but that doesn't mean that student deals at restaurants have ended too. Every Tuesday through the end of July, the Shlomtzion St. branch of Hamoshava 54 offershalf off the entire menu to aspiring intellects. 
  
  36. Get some bread, organic olives, preserved fruits and boutique wines at the Botanical Garden's healthy farmers' market on Fridays.
  
  37. Take a flight across the Holy Land without moving at all, thanks to Mini Israel's 3D movie attraction.
  
  38. Mamilla Cafe's themed evenings of special menus and live music continue into the summer, with Greek Tuesdays (pictured) followed by Latin Wednesdays. 
  
  39. Rock out in the great outdoors with Friday concerts at the Botanical Gardens. 
  
  40. Check out Verdi's opera Jerusalem under the walls of the Old City. 
  
  41. Think the Herodian ruins of the Jewish Quarter are inspiring? Wait until you see the original Old City that is the City of David (pictured). 
  
  42. The Tower of David brings out its best for the warmer months. Check out klez-master Emil Aybinder live in the courtyard, a series of love-themed historical tours, a glassed-in re-interpretation of Steve Reich's Different Trans, or extra-late Thursday hours with activities for the whole family.
  
  43. Prepare to drop your jaw as the acrobats of Circus Y take over Mini Israel's brand new amphitheater for The Butterfly Effect (pictured), featuring a combination of video projections, tightrope hijinks, an original score, space-age costume design and no trace of Ashton Kutcher. The production premiered at the Old City's Festival of Light earlier this summer.
  
  44. Every Thursday is a Night of All Things George'z, a taster menu of Georgian specialty foods that comes with a shot of vodka. 
  
   45. Sick of the same old reheated slice? Head to one of the city's more creative pizza restaurants for an artisan pie. 
  
  46. Stay cool with icy drinks inspired by conventional and unconventional flavors like strawberry, coconut, marshmallow and chili at Mia Bar's Festival of Cocktails. 
  
  47. Keep the vacationing little ones info-tained to the max at the Bloomfield Science Museum, where summer 2011 offerings include a construction corner for children, an imagination-themed comedic theater show (pictured), and an inventors' workshop, offered in conjunction with the new buzz exhibit,Innovation Ltd.
  
  

  48. All-you-can-drink domestic beer for 40 NIS, or unlimited cava for 50 NIS every Sunday? What's the catch? Management atnightlife landmark Hatza'atzua insists there isn't one.
  
  49. Harness the elements of the universe to balance your mind, soul and bodily vessel at the Mamilla Hotel's new swanky wellbeing center, Akasha. 
  
  50. Why eat indoors when Jerusalem offers so many great al fresco opportunities?