Schools out 6/17: Art and God at a high altitude

Zafat is Israel's highest town at 2,800 feet and one of those places that make your ears pop as you drive up the incredible twisty roads. It's famous for two things, namely a very orthodox community of Jews and a lot of artists. It's a kind of Israeli St Ives, possibly because of the quality of the light or just because it developed an artistic centre of gravity that naturally got bigger.

This picture shows a Jewish couple walking down the long narrow lane where there are more shops and galleries than any other. It has a lovely atmosphere and is one of those places that reminds me of  Italo Calvino's "Invisible Cities". A lot of the art is kitsch to be frank although I loved one gallery where the stuff had a Chagal like quality to it. The main attraction is the endlessly fascinating alleyways and lanes, the beautifully decorated courtyards and coloured doors, and the everyday shapes and patterns of everything from ironwork to plants. Very difficult to do justice to.

Did visit a couple of synagogues, one sephardic and another ashkenazi, and met a lovely rabbi who did his very best to communicate despite his poor English and our non-existent Hebrew.

There were attacks on buses and the inevitable Israeli retaliation today but that was far away in the very south of the country. Tomorrow we head for Jerusalem, and hopefully it will calm down again.