Of Cars and Peace

The Jerusalem Post proclaimed the Formula 1 Event (aka the Peace Road Show) a success. Why? Because all the communities of Jerusalem (Arab, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Orthodox, Secular) came out to see the event and there was no conflict. It was a "peaceful" event as people jockeyed for perches on sidewalks, fences, and garbage bins from which to view the cars. Of course it's great that the various communities of the city could gather together civilly. Still it strikes me as a long way from "peace".

Some of you will know I am no fan of motor sports. (Thousands of litres of fuel burning up in whining race cars that occasionally take lives in gruesome ways: not a sport I choose to follow. Although to be fair, I don't really follow sport these days.) Anyway, since I could hear the cars from my house I thought I'd wander down to the "track" and see what was going on. I went to the intersection of Karen Ha-Yesod and King David. The cars were following the "track" in a counter-clockwise direction and my vantage point was at about 7pm (if you image the route as a very oval clockface).  There were tons of folks out, but I managed to get to the second row of the people behind the security fence. I did see cars go by but I didn't see a single Formula 1 car. I don't know the technical term for the cars I did see, but they looked somewhere between a Formula 1 car and a Nascar car. And, I failed to capture a single photo of a car so you won't be able to help me identify what I did see. Actually, none of the pix I took are particularly good. Anyway, rather than racing the cars I saw were definitely putting on a show, executing fishtails just in front of the grandstand down the hill from where I was watching.

Here's a few pix:

Crowds at Karen HaYesod and King David Streets

looking down Karen HaYesod

behind the crowds which weren't that big at this intersection

crowds

Contingency Planning: Israeli Paddy Wagon

Blocked streets; buses passing the Inbal Hotel on diversion

Parking at a premium -- sidewalks!

Take aways: Formula 1 is likely to come to Jerusalem again; the "Peace Road Show" could have legs as a bit of an industry. If you are in Jerusalem for F1 -- go to Jaffa Gate. It's a way better place to view the event from, you'll see the cars climb the hill along the west side of the Old City before they sweep left to Mamilla Mall and the tight intersection at King David. Or, go big and buy a ticket to sit in the grandstand.