September 28, 2007

Talpiot Industrial Area










A word of explanation: The Talpiot Industrial Area is today more of a commercial area than an industrial one. Shopping malls, furniture stores, car repair, Some parcels are yet undeveloped or neglected.
From Friday, a couple of hours before the sunset, till Saturday, about half an hour into the night, the place is completely deserted, all businesses closed for Sabbath. A seemingly abandoned synagogue in a prefab next to car bodies, a sculpture indicating a phone number and a lone black cat populate the place at these hours.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ah, this is a part of Jerusalem. Do the people strongly respect the Sabbath all over the town, or are there some exceptional areas? The b/w-character of the photographs emphasizes the desertion very well.

Joseph said...

In Jerusalem, the Sabbath can be felt as a special day almost everywhere. Almost all businesses are closed. Nevertheless, nowadays, bars are open in the city center on Friday night, contrary to the past situation.
Nevertheless, in residential areas, there is a life on Sabbaths - a different life than on weekdays, with people going to and from the synagogues, walking around, kids playing, etc. This commercial area doesn't live when there are no shoppers so it becomes the ghostly town which I wanted to show.
Funny thing is that I live near a street called "The Valley of the Ghosts" (Emek Refaim).

Anonymous said...

Sorry, forgot to sign my comment, but thank you for the answer. Sometimes photos tell you more about a spirit of a place and its atmosphere than words.
Stay tuned, Bernd.

Anonymous said...

Superbes photos !
Ca me rappelle une ratatouille...