Jerusalem - Mea Shearim

To the north of the Abyssinian Monastery in Jerusalem is the Mea Shearim district, where the second Jewish settlement outside the Old City was established in 1875. At the entrances to this quarter are notices asking visitors to respect the customs of the strictly orthodox Jews who live here. This applies particularly to the Sabbath, but at all times visitors should avoid wearing "improper dress" (e.g. shorts, short-sleeved blouses and dresses) and taking photographs of the inhabitants. The name Mea Shearim ("a hundred gates") refers to Isaac's "hundredfold" harvest (Genesis 26,12). The ultra-orthodox Jews can be recognized by their old East European dress, their black clothes, felt hats (streimel) and side-curls (peiyot). They speak mostly Yiddish, since they regard Hebrew as a sacred language to be used only in religious services. An extreme group (Neturei Karta) refuses to recognize the state of Israel because it was not established by the Messiah and regard themselves as a ghetto of true orthodoxy within the Jewish state. In this quarter there are numerous synagogues, ritual baths (mikvot), Talmudic schools and Torah scribes. The shops, particularly round the market square, sell religious articles, silverware, etc.