Although hard to imagine today, for almost two decades the rooftop of that home buzzed with the activity of IDF soldiers on alert. Just a few meters away lay Jordanian snipers ensconced behind the concrete wall that kept the two sides apart. Arab homes lie to your right. Sometimes the contrast between the two sides of the street can be striking. One of the Arab homes, right across from the former IDF position, is decorated with a picture of the Dome of the Rock.
Arabic writing is visible on many others.
Here and there you can hear an Arab radio station blaring out. The mostly Arab children who appear on the roads during the day alternate between friendliness and suspicion. Older people act the same way. Some smile at visitors openly. Take a sharp left up to Rehov Gihon.