Secrets of the Machane Yehuda Market | Masa Israel

On weekdays, the alleyways of Jerusalem’s Machane Yehuda market are a bustle of shoppers and sellers, a place bursting with sights, sounds and smells. Weekday evenings are similarly busy, with recently opened restaurants and bars attracting young people out for a night on the town. But on Saturdays, the Jewish day of rest, the market has traditionally been empty and silent, with the shutters of the stalls rolled down and locked.

 

When the shutters are down and the market is closed, it becomes just as colorful as it is when it is open because of one artist, Solomon Souza. He started this project in January 2015 and throughout 2015 and into early 2016, Souza has painted over 140 of the shutters – some are of famous people, and others are of biblical and other scenes. Up until now, it hasn’t been difficult to get the permission of the shopkeepers to paint their shutters. Some have asked Souza to paint a favorite rabbi or the family patriarch who was the original owner of their stall.