My Favorite Color Is “Jerusalem.”

By Sarah Tuttle Singer

My favorite color is “Jerusalem”

Do you know what I mean by that?

Jerusalem is a mosaic – of color, of culture, the colors shift with the light here.

Jerusalem is a rainbow:

Pink — A sweet-faced girl running past, her skirt fluttering like rose petals as he chases her brother past that twist in the road.

Or red — a ripe pomegranate, the color of rubys, such sweetness when you drink after walking through the Armenian Quarter.

Or orange — Bowls the color of burnt pumpkin, full of spices and stones. The fragrance from the burning frankinscence lingers in the air.

Or yellow — Baklava soaked in honey, if you smile at the shop keeper, he’ll throw in  an extra piece, no charge.

Or green — the little flowers growing wild through the cracks in the stone. When you touch the Western Wall and look up, you’ll see them growing there. Where there’s hope, there’s life.

Or turquoise — tiles against a wall, simple geometric shapes that create something that can shock and awe.

Or purple —  a gauzy scarf wafting over the shuk. 15 shekels — or even lower, if you bargain.

Or silver — the sun shines through the edges of the clouds, and when you see the city from way up high, the rooftops gleam.

Or gold — always gold, these stones that wrap around the heart of this place.

Yes, I freaking love Jerusalem. And I”m in the Old City often, at least once a week, bargaining over a scarf in the shuk, or drinking cappuccino at the Austrian Hospice, or eating sweet kenafe at Jaffar’s or walking that road I know by heart to the Western Wall.

(If you know me on Facebook, then you know how often I’m there — and where I am — through snapshots (and selfies 😛 ) that I share.

But it’s time to branch out.   If Jerusalem is the heart of Israel, then the roads leading from it are artieries, and it’s time to follow new ones and explore new places and add new favorite colors to my palate.

I can’t wait to rapel down the side of a canyon in Mitzpeh Ramon. Or go rafting on the Jordan River.  Or visit a synagogue in Tsfat. Or walk the crusader walls of Acco. Or stand by the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  Or climb to the top of Masada at sunrise. These, and so many more.

And how lucky am I that I’ll be working with Touring Israel and exploring so many interesting places in this wonderful country.

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