Hi Everyone:
We are travelling to Israel and Egypt this fall. Does anyone have
any unusual or interesting jewelry sites or attractions to recommend?
Thanks
Sue Shaffer
Sue,
I hope to travel to Israel maybe next year and I will look up an
artist who works in large scale copper and other things. His name is
Daniel Kafri. His work is REALLY stunning.
Mary A.
There is a great place in the old city of Jaffa next to Tel Aviv.
The name escapes me but it is in Lonely Planet and features Yemeni
jewelry. It is a must!!
The Royal Jewelry Museum in Alexandria, Egypt is well worth a visit.
It’s in a palace that is regarded as an architectural masterpiece
and holds the collection of jewels from the Mohamed Ali Dynasty (19th
century) from 1805 - 1952.
http://www.touregypt.net/teblog/alexandrianews/?p=15
Check the same site to find out where all the Tutankhamum treasures
are at this point. I believe the new museum in Giza has them now,
(That’s been the plan since before 1990, but it may have finally
happened.) In any case, there will still be much ancient jewelry in
the Cairo Museum from the Old - New Kingdoms.
Touristy as it is, don’t miss going to Khan el Khalili, the largest
bazar in Africa (and the location of the stock footage of Egypt
always shown on CNN and CNN Internationa). I spent a good deal of
time prowling around there in 1992, the summer I lived in Egypt. All
the jewelry for tourists and locals was cast. When I went back in
1995, I couldn’t have swung a proverbial dead cat without running
into a store full of handwrought open back filigree. Weird…
Have a great time!!!
Victoria
who really misses good tammelia (falafel)
Victoria Lansford
There is a great quirky jeweler in the Old City in Jerusalem. His
name is Hadaya and he is on street level on the right above the old
part of the cardo excavation(It’s a little tiny hole in the wall).
He has some peices that have become VERY popular with American
college students studying abroad. He is a captivating story teller
and will tell you stories to go along with his peices (make sure you
take some time to sit in his shop and listen, it’s worth it). In
Cairo, make sure you go to the silver market at Khan El Khalili.
Everything is sold by weight and it’s dazzling to see all the silver
jewelry.
Have an amazing trip and soak up all the culture!
Jennifer Kaufman
www.jenuinejewelry.com
The Yemenite Jewelry store mentioned is called Yemenite Art (Artist
is called Ben-Zion David) Address -3, Mazal Dagim, Jaffa
His neighbor is the Ilana Goor Museum, fantastic art collection and
furniture design museum with amazing views, with plenty of her
jewelry in the basement gift store.
Good jewelry collections in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
Art jewelry in the gift shop in Tel Aviv Museum and The Eretz Israel
museum gift shops.
Top silversmiths in Hutzot Hayotser in Jerusalem, some jewelers too.
Contemporary jewelry and Jewish artifacts on Yoel Solomon in
Jerusalem.
Local contemporary gold and silver jewelry in the areas of Basel and
Neve Tsedek in Tel Aviv.
The museum in Cairo has an incredible collection of Tutankhamen
jewelry (this is what inspired me to study silversmithing and
jewelry)
Laura
Laura Cowan
www.lauracowan.com