Coffee in Jerusalem

Take a trip back in time to the late 1800s, to the days of the Ottoman empire. A trip back to Jerusalem, into Abu-Rashad's qahweh (cafe) past the neighborhood khodarjee (grocer) -where the men's harra (neighborhood) crowded every Friday for entertainment. Where Saleem, the local singer, strummed his 'ud at the corner of the store, down under the majestic chandelier.

The scence above vividly sprung across my imagination as I read into Salim Tamari's article "Popular Music and Early Modernity in Jerusalem". Salim describes the story of Wassif Jawhirriyeh, a renown 'ud player from Jerusalem, through his memoirs as he tells about his past stories and adventures. In this article we are taken aghast into a time where religious identity (as Jawhariyeh describes it) owed little contribution to the locals of one of the most revered cities for all three major religions. Jawhiriyeh through his memoirs brings out the late night scenes of the city into focus. The drinking, the cocaine use, and all the unholy affairs taking place in the holy city. Tamari's article helped shed light on life in that era, an era of harmonious inclusion before as Jawhiriyeh remarks "the cursed Balfour declaration" came along.