Old City, Jerusalem --
I wonder if the political architects of the Berlin Wall studied the Old City in Jerusalem to discover exactly how to separate a small piece of land into multiple "countries." To give you an idea, West Berlin was really an "island" inside of an expanse controlled by the former Soviet Union. In order for this island to maintain it's political sovereignty, it was to be treated like a separate country -- hence the Wall serving as a hard border. I can just imagine the folks in Rhode Island having a tough time envisioning being locked into their state and being harassed at the borders with their neighboring states.
The Old City in Jerusalem is in similar form. Although the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Arab quarters are not separated by any border, the so-called "Temple Mount" is. The Temple Mount is really the former site of the two Jewish temples which were destroyed (the second, built by Herod, was visited by Jesus shortly before it was destroyed). When Muslims controlled Palestine last, they slapped up the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa mosque on the site of the Second Temple. These are now the 3rd and 4th holiest sites in Islam and assured that the space be converted to exclusive Muslim use. To give you an idea, the expanse of the Temple Mount is about the size of 4 football fields, and is probably a 3rd the size of the entire Old City. If you add the area of the Arab Quarter to the area of the Temple Mount together, we can safely conclude that the Arabs control around 1/2 or more of the old city (see here: Old City map). Jews praying at the Western Wall are literally praying at the foot of the Muslim-controlled Temple Mount.
These days, to reach the Temple Mount means lining up at some window of time during the day and passing through a type of "border control," perhaps similar to what the Berlin Wallers experienced. Once on the Temple Mount, you realize just how big and at a high elevation the area is. Beautiful wide views of the Mount of Olives (Juda betrays Jesus here) and French Hill, and wide quiet boulevards. At every turn, I had semi-uniformed guards telling me not to enter here or not to enter there. FYI, the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa mosque are off limits to whities, although an 8-year-old kid who looked Lebanese (fairly pale Arabic skin tone) wearing jean shorts and a WWF Wrestling t-shirt got in to the Dome no problem). The question of "who" exactly controls the land is tricky. No doubt the Palestinian Authority controls the Arab Quarter, but who should control the Temple Mount? Jordan did at one time, and the Royal Family was very pleased with their holding. The Palestinians more or less control the area now, although they receive significant help from the international Islamic community for upkeep. Even then, some issues have cropped up. A change the Palestinians made in the Old City water system almost caused the southeast corner of the Temple Mount (and the Old City castle walls) to topple, but they caught the mistake in time.
After the 6-day War, had the Jews acted as folks did 1,000 years ago, they probably would have razed the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa and started rebuilding the Temple. Probably due to a relatively new phenomenon called "international pressure," the Jews not only left the area alone, but them and the Christians + Armenians settled for only a third of the Old City. When it comes to the entire chunk of Land that is Israel + West Bank, it's tricky to talk about who has "religious right" to be where... but when it comes to the Old City, I think it's fair to say that the "religious right" to the land rule be applied -- it is, after all, a super-extra religious site. I'm only bitter about this because, while the Christian/Armenian/Jewish (CAJ) religious area is squashed into a small piece of the Old City, the Arab Quarter is made up of stretches of homogeneous alleyways, in which the stores repeat themselves every 100 meters. I only ask that the Arabs make more interesting use of possibly the most lusted after real estate on the planet.
Some questions: What kind of rules can be applied to micro-states, such as the Old City, Liechtenstein, old West Berlin, Tibet, the Panama Canal, Gibraltar, etc? How should religion play a role in the Old City (hint: the only remaining issue is what to do given the Jewish importance of the Temple Mount?)
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Flea Market Behavior
So you're walking down a narrow alley in the Arab Quarter of the Old City in Jerusalem and you spy a splendid pair of shoes displayed in a messy shop. You hesitate for a moment near the entrance, not sure whether to invest time in inspecting and purchasing, or to simply move on. Someone else noticed your hesitation right away--namely, the shopkeeper, who is eagerly escorting you into his shop with hyper remarks about giving you a "good price." You realize it's too late, so you pick up the shoes and take a look.
You squint down at the shoes, trying to look like a professional. Hmm...some total no-name brand called SpikoPerformanz, squeaky plastic bottoms, cheap suede, and probably one too many places are glued where they should have been stitched. Your thoughts are broken by the shopkeeper, who yet unsure of which of his languages to employ, tells you in Hebrew that the shoes are an excellent choice. "Which size, I find for you!" he says walking towards the back where a pile of anonymous shoeboxes lie. You tell him the price in Hebrew, after which he begins wading through his merchandise. Coming up empty handed, he sheepishly says, "I go to find this size." Given an extra moment to look at the shoes, you think to yourself, not bad looking, they would probably last me a year or two. Would be worth it if I could get them for a good price. The shopkeeper returns with your shoes and a shady-looking friend. You try on the shoes, still trying to act like you're just "mildly" interested. After a few practice steps, you determine they are decent shoes and start to bargain. Hmm, I could probably get these for $10 at K-Mart, so I'll start with $7 and see how it goes.
"How much?" you ask the shopekeeper, to which he replies, "$35." You shoot him a glance that says, how dare you, and tell him how cheap the shoes are before telling him you'll give him $5. In a flurry of drama, he puts the shoes back in the box and informs you that is not fair. You shrug your shoulders and begin walking out, before which he yells, "Okay! $20." You turn around just long enough to clarify that his offer is still a joke. Before you turn the corner, he says, "Okay for you friend, I will do a special price. $15." You turn around and nonchalontly offer $7. He knows the party is over, and after three back-and-forths, you settle for $10.
As an omniscient narrator, I can tell you that the shopkeeper bought the shoes for $3 and would have sold them for $7 to someone who spoke his language and bargained hard. You walked away thinking you saved $25, he walked away knowing he made $3 and, frankly, had a pleasant time doing it. Everybody wins.
Imagine you went into the same shop the very next day and pulled out $10 and asked for a pair of shoes. This time, the shopkeeper sniffs the air, and informs you of some nonexistent faux pas. You try and explain to him you bought these shoes (the ones you are wearing) for $10 and would simply like another pair. "I know the price, let's just skip the drama, okay?" you say. He says no and offers you $15 before you finally turn the corner.
As an omniscient narrator, I can tell you I fail to understand this situation. Some theories are: his ego was not boosted enough by a simple one-price sale; his friends made fun of him for not being able to exact more money the last time and feels dishonored; he sold a pair of those shoes for $15 to another American-Israeli (or another AmI bought a pair from another vendor on the same street); or (least likely) the price of shoes went up 50%.
Some questions are: is there a market price in a flea-market/haggle environment? Does the shopkeeper derive enjoyment/ego boost from using his superior haggling skills? Are tourists quasi-required to pay out more money for items? Should the shopkeeper feel good if he rips people off (imagine a $35 sale) and gloat? Is all this just business? Why do some people feel reticent to haggle?
How does this Arab environment compare to flea markets in other places? Europe, USA, Asia, Latin America?
You squint down at the shoes, trying to look like a professional. Hmm...some total no-name brand called SpikoPerformanz, squeaky plastic bottoms, cheap suede, and probably one too many places are glued where they should have been stitched. Your thoughts are broken by the shopkeeper, who yet unsure of which of his languages to employ, tells you in Hebrew that the shoes are an excellent choice. "Which size, I find for you!" he says walking towards the back where a pile of anonymous shoeboxes lie. You tell him the price in Hebrew, after which he begins wading through his merchandise. Coming up empty handed, he sheepishly says, "I go to find this size." Given an extra moment to look at the shoes, you think to yourself, not bad looking, they would probably last me a year or two. Would be worth it if I could get them for a good price. The shopkeeper returns with your shoes and a shady-looking friend. You try on the shoes, still trying to act like you're just "mildly" interested. After a few practice steps, you determine they are decent shoes and start to bargain. Hmm, I could probably get these for $10 at K-Mart, so I'll start with $7 and see how it goes.
"How much?" you ask the shopekeeper, to which he replies, "$35." You shoot him a glance that says, how dare you, and tell him how cheap the shoes are before telling him you'll give him $5. In a flurry of drama, he puts the shoes back in the box and informs you that is not fair. You shrug your shoulders and begin walking out, before which he yells, "Okay! $20." You turn around just long enough to clarify that his offer is still a joke. Before you turn the corner, he says, "Okay for you friend, I will do a special price. $15." You turn around and nonchalontly offer $7. He knows the party is over, and after three back-and-forths, you settle for $10.
As an omniscient narrator, I can tell you that the shopkeeper bought the shoes for $3 and would have sold them for $7 to someone who spoke his language and bargained hard. You walked away thinking you saved $25, he walked away knowing he made $3 and, frankly, had a pleasant time doing it. Everybody wins.
Imagine you went into the same shop the very next day and pulled out $10 and asked for a pair of shoes. This time, the shopkeeper sniffs the air, and informs you of some nonexistent faux pas. You try and explain to him you bought these shoes (the ones you are wearing) for $10 and would simply like another pair. "I know the price, let's just skip the drama, okay?" you say. He says no and offers you $15 before you finally turn the corner.
As an omniscient narrator, I can tell you I fail to understand this situation. Some theories are: his ego was not boosted enough by a simple one-price sale; his friends made fun of him for not being able to exact more money the last time and feels dishonored; he sold a pair of those shoes for $15 to another American-Israeli (or another AmI bought a pair from another vendor on the same street); or (least likely) the price of shoes went up 50%.
Some questions are: is there a market price in a flea-market/haggle environment? Does the shopkeeper derive enjoyment/ego boost from using his superior haggling skills? Are tourists quasi-required to pay out more money for items? Should the shopkeeper feel good if he rips people off (imagine a $35 sale) and gloat? Is all this just business? Why do some people feel reticent to haggle?
How does this Arab environment compare to flea markets in other places? Europe, USA, Asia, Latin America?
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Rumblings from a strange feline world
Srigim Lion, Israel--
I was shaken out of my comfortable spot in the hammock this delightfully "warm" afternoon by the most strange of cat sounds I have ever encountered. Upon inspection, I found a mother who had just given birth, attacking her newborn while herself bleeding all over. Intellectually, I'm all for letting nature take it's course, but this was just offensive. Christ it was like taking the baby for birthing pains... a tough logical dilemma to be sure.
After fixing the poor things a little nest where they could suffer in peace, I noticed that the wee one's leg was badly injured. Three hours later, two more babies were born and the first baby, unhappily, was dead.
After that introduction, let me formally open this blog... my first. I left it simple to assure that I'm not intimidated by the work involved to actually post. Hopefully, I can slowly create a long term set of themes and topics to begin working up. And now, you're quite invited to post. No personal information required, of course.
I was shaken out of my comfortable spot in the hammock this delightfully "warm" afternoon by the most strange of cat sounds I have ever encountered. Upon inspection, I found a mother who had just given birth, attacking her newborn while herself bleeding all over. Intellectually, I'm all for letting nature take it's course, but this was just offensive. Christ it was like taking the baby for birthing pains... a tough logical dilemma to be sure.
After fixing the poor things a little nest where they could suffer in peace, I noticed that the wee one's leg was badly injured. Three hours later, two more babies were born and the first baby, unhappily, was dead.
After that introduction, let me formally open this blog... my first. I left it simple to assure that I'm not intimidated by the work involved to actually post. Hopefully, I can slowly create a long term set of themes and topics to begin working up. And now, you're quite invited to post. No personal information required, of course.
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