Shopping in Old Jerusalem

Yesterday morning Sister Ohman took the wives of the professor's shopping.  We parked at Mamilla (?) Mall.  A beautiful outdoor mall.  It is fairly new.  They have tried to capture the old world feel with lots of modern and beautiful sculpture mingled among stone.  Between each store is a different piece of sculpture.  (Whenever you go to any of the malls with underground parking lots your cars are searched. Then you personally pass through a metal detector before you enter the mall.  Even once we were in the mall they had a special section that had the Gap and some American stores that you again had to have your bags checked and walk through a metal detector.) 

 Once we walked the length of this beautiful mall we came out by Jaffa Gate.  This Gate leads to an open air market in the Christian Quarter of the Old City.  Sister Ohman is a costume designer and has worked on many LDS and Hollywood productions.  She showed me some of the textile and fabric stores.  They had amazing and beautiful things. 

Above, the green bottom tapestry has all the different gates from the city woven in.  These are wall or table coverings.

Beautiful bolts of shimmering fabrics.

These are some of the beautiful silk scarves he sold.  I've never owned a silk scarf but these were beautiful.  I told Sister Ohman I wouldn't know what to do with one.  She said we should have a girls night and she would show us all kinds of ways to wear and use them.  She has an amazing personal collection.

 The proud store owner showing off his goods.

 Some beaded dresses and skirts.  The skirts are only about $7.

Here are some beautiful glass blown balls.  Looks like Christmas!

 Purses and goods hanging from the beautiful ancient stone ceilings.

Belly dancing, anyone?

This jewelry store sells Ancient Roman glass.  They take the pieces of glass and fashion them into jewelry.  The store itself had beautiful rugs, furniture, stone arches and artifacts.  All the variety and beauty in the glass reminded me of growing up with Dada and Gumma's colored glass collection.

 The glass comes in blues and greens.  It is very lovely, and pricey.  

Here is Sister Ohman trying on a necklace of Roman Glass Jewelery.

 Ahh, look what we found!  Only at the mall!