Pining for rainy days in Jerusalem

There is little that feels as welcome and liberating as our usually arid city’s first rain. Unfortunately for the lovers of drinking and irrigation water (and fortunately for the lovers of sunshine), aside from a few minutes of drizzles here and there, winter 2010-2011 has been a dry one in Jerusalem so far. The situation has become so dire, that the chief rabbis of Israel have called for special days of fast and prayer, but the drought has gone on regardless.

Usually, around the time of the Sukkot holiday in the early fall, pregnant storm clouds gather in a sky that has remained an unchecked blue since the last days of winter, and soon fat raindrops are splashing onto the parched grass in the parks and atop the dusty ramparts of the Old City, water rolling through the gutters downtown and invigorating the gardens of Rechavia and Ein Kerem. Both sky and Jerusalem stone turn a
persistent shade of slate gray, and the smooth paving stones of the
city’s pedestrian walkways become a rain-slicked means of population
growth control, when frosty ice cafe has yielded to piping-hot sachlab at the coffee shops.

Everyone pours into the streets, enjoying the warm showers, overlooking the fact that soon the restaurant awnings will be rolled up and the cafe tables will be dragged into storage for the winter season, not thinking about the cold winds, damp stone and umbrellas that will come to define urban life over the next few months.

Yes, as the following pictures show, for a brief and shining moment, Jerusalem in the rain can actually be quite lovely, and though the cold driving rain might not be headed our way right now, we at GoJerusalem.com feel it’s our duty to remind you of how it feels to be in the thick of the rainy season.