Jerusalem of Gold

When I travel, I’m always on the lookout for an authentic souvenir to remember my trip by, an adornment for my neck or wrist, an accessory from another land.

Hedya Jewelers is located in downtown Jerusalem, in the passage between Hillel and Shammai streets. These streets are named after the leaders of two opposing schools of thought from Talmudic times who held vigorous debates on ritual practice, ethics and theology. These debates were crucial for shaping the Oral Law and ultimately the way that Judaism is practiced today.

And it was quite a debate that raged inside me when I spied these Bedouin beads strung on a gold chain in the display cabinet. Originating from Gaza and fashioned from gold coins, each hand-made, hollow bead was a slightly different shape and length to its counterpart. The price was prohibitive, and I knew I shouldn’t even try them on.

Once I allowed myself to do exactly that, the tinkle of their desert music transported me back to Sinai where I had lived under a date palm in my teens. Nuweiba was all the rage then, safe under Israeli auspices, sun, sea, and pita breads sprinkled with sugar served by Bedouin women who trenched barefoot in the sands – and that’s when I first saw such beads glinting in the sunlight under their black robes embroidered with red and yellow flowers.

When I clasped the necklace around my neck I was not aware that they were dowry beads, traditional to the Bedouin from the Negev and Sinai deserts, fashioned in the same style and with a similar technique to ancient Egyptian jewelry. Nor did I notice the hallmark for 21 karat gold appearing on the lip of each bead. I simply knew, as I glimpsed my regal reflection in the mirror, they could not be resisted. These beads were a must have; a necklace that I would never take off - its jingle- jangle becoming part of my very own rhythm.