Mama Mamilla

October 6, 2009 - 10:12 PM by David · 2 Comments
Filed under: A New Reality, Business, General, Holidays, Israeliness, Life, design

Even though I should be used to it, I can never seem to get over what a hopping place mamila6 Jerusalem can be. Maybe it’s from growing up in a small New England city where three cars at a red light constituted a traffic jam.

Yesterday, part of the family took a stroll along the Alrov Mamilla Avenue, the posh outdoor shopping promenade that opened up a year or so ago, just outside the Old City walls. Granted it’s during Hol Hamoed Succot, so people are on vacation, but the place was bursting – like the Maine Mall on Black Friday after Thanksgiving.

Around a third of a mile long pedestrian mall with mostly upscale shops and restaurants geared to tourists, the $150 million, the classy avenue was designed as a luxury destination in the style of Los Angeles’ Rodeo Drive or The Grove. Of course, those places don’t have The Tower of David looming over it in the background.

There’s about 140 businesses, including international names like Rolex, H. Stern, Nike, Polo Ralph Lauren, Nautica, and Tommy Hilfiger, as well as local chains like Castro, Ronen Chen, Steimatzky Books, and Cafe Rimon.

The Alrov Mamilla Avenue also includes the luxury David’s Village residential project, the David Citadel hotel, the Karta parking lot (site of plenty of haredi Shabbat protests recently) and the newly opened Mamilla Hotel. During the Ottoman period and the British Mandate, Mamilla was a successful financial district, but in the 19 years between the War of Independence and the Six Day War, Mamilla fell into decay. Looking at the area now, it’s hard to remember how dilapidated it was only a few years ago.

We stepped in to check out the first Gap store in Israel, and enjoyed ogling the merchandise, while rolling our eyes at the prices, browsed through the crafts fair on the upper level, and enjoyed the street musicans along the way. The place was bustling with energy and excitement, and provided further proof that Jerusalem is one rocking place.

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Tags: Alrov Mamilla Avenue, jerusalem, The Gap, Tower of David

Fall into the Gap

September 2, 2009 - 10:16 AM by Jessica · 2 Comments
Filed under: Business, Immigrant Moments, Israeliness

The question that people were asking each other last week in Jerusalem was whether a navy blue Gap shopping bag had appeared on their front door handle. I hadn’t, but as a frequent clothing buyer, I had received a NIS 50 coupon for the Gap from Isracard, my credit card company. Which, if you ask me, is better than an empty shopping bag.

So yes, there was some keen curiousity about the opening of the Gap in Jerusalem’s Mamilla shopping mall, given that this popular clothing retailer — part of the Old Navy/Banana Republic group — was finally coming to Israel and to Jerusalem, no less. Would the clothing cost the same as it does in the States, wondered the locals. Did they open in Jerusalem because rent is cheaper than it is in Tel Aviv? Would Israelis actually buy at the Jerusalem Gap, paying the probably higher prices? Would there be the end-of-season sale racks that there are in the States, where you can snatch up pieces for $6.99?

Probably not, assumed the Anglo Saxons, who swore never to be an Israeli ‘frier’ and buy from the Jerusalem Gap.

Reports began filtering back following the August 24 opening. The store was packed, one source told me, and it was only tourists doing the buying. Someone else said that the usual $65 jeans cost some NIS 300, which comes to some $80 in shekel terms.

So I had to head there myself to check out how the Gap was faring. On a sunny Tuesday morning, just one week after the grand opening, the store was full on both the Baby Gap and Adult Gap sides. People were walking out with more than one bag, and they looked Israeli to me, which wasn’t surprising. As for prices, they were about $15 higher, on average, than what you would pay at the Gap in the U.S. Of course, some of the fall items are already on sale on-line, whereas there were no sales at the Jerusalem store. Not yet, one salesperson told me, promising that we would be seeing some of the fabulous Gap sales in the holy city.

In the meantime, it was fun to peruse the familiar-looking racks and shelves. The jeans styles are translated into Hebrew, so that you can figure out if Sexy Boot jeans are for you, or whether the Little Pocket T is your perfect tee-shirt. I restrained myself, even with my NIS 50 coupon, cuz I’d still rather rely on online shopping through one of my frequent U.S. travelers.

Now when H&M reaches Malcha, that may be a different kind of challenge.

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Tags: H&M, Mamilla, The Gap

School daze returns to Israel

August 31, 2009 - 8:56 AM by David · 1 Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Israeliness, Life

school_supplies1 You can feel it in the air. The relatively cooler temperatures and breezy evenings combined with actual sightings of clouds in the sky can only mean one thing – the kids are going back to school!

All those days of trying to figure out how to occupy the children without TV, computers or spending a fortune, are thankfully coming to an end, as the official Israeli school year begins on Tuesday, September 1st.

But that doesn’t mean parents are scot free yet. First, unless you’re amazingly well prepared and took care of it during the summer, it means running around this week and fighting crowds to buy the long lists of required books, and the ever-increasing collection of accessories that our students need to do their jobs.

Although some communities and schools have started adopting in part the American ‘recycling’ of schoolbooks to be handed down to the next year’s students, most parents need to go out and buy books fresh and brand new each year. And if you think that younger siblings may be able to use them in future years, the problem is that the Education Ministry regularly changed the curriculum, making those books quickly obsolete. Our shelves are filled with school books that nobody will ever use again.

However, there is one area we parents save money in. I remember growing up and eveyone arriving for the first day of school in brand new clothes – especially the girls. The first day outfit was a big deal, and it shaped how you were perceived for the rest of the year.

Thankfully, most schools in Israel now have their own school shirts or outfits that are required apparrel, so we don’t have to rush off to the newly opened Gap in Jerusalem for the latest trendy clothing. And students attending those schools that don’t require uniforms are just as happy to wear their torn jeans and t-shirts on the first day.

The important thing is, regardless of how they’re dressed, that tomorrow morning, sometime before 8:00 am, our children will be on their way to be handed off to our esteemed educational system where they will be intoxicated with the thoughts, concepts and philosophies that have shaped minds for generations. And if that doesn’t quite work out, at least there will be no kids in the house

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