Final mosaic and tile from Jerusalem

I think I already shared one mosaic that is on the sidewalk of Emek Refaim Street. There are others.According to the label these are based on old Jewish coins from the Roman period. Some were silver some were bronze.  I like the idea of the QR code, but I haven’t used my code reader on my phone in so long, I’m not sure I even have it installed. Not to mention that without my knowledge data use must have used up all my Israeli phone number minutes. I didn’t make any calls and yet I ran out quickly.One thing I noticed is that Israeli mosaics are made mostly from tile, unlike Italian mosaics that are often made of glass. Of course these are in the sidewalk so of course tile makes much more sense.  The artist hand cut the circles, they are irregular which I find wonderful. Pity most people just walk over these without paying them any attention at all.This one is probably the first to be installed. It is the simplest image, the label is mostly worn off from the foot traffic. The QR code on the other hand looks just fine. So why didn’t they use the same printing method on the label?Unlike the debate about who to put on the $20 bill, these ancient coins do not have any human image on them. Of course had they been Roman, they would have had the head of the emperor. These are Jewish coins, no graven image means no image of a person. A tree, a cup, a date palm or palm frond are perfectly acceptable.This store sign has been here for a very long time, good thing the beauty salon is still in business. For all I know it’s a different business than the original one that installed the mosaic. They never put the name, just a wonderful barbar pole with a pair of scissors.This isn’t exactly a mosaic. Just a small section of Hamsas on the wall of an incredible restaurant, Fortuna. If you are in Jerusalem, don’t walk, run to this place. These are just a few of the many Hamsas that decorate the wall. The center silver one say: Tfu-Tfu, which is what someone says when trying to avoid the evil spirits. So it’s a double amulet, as for the strange butterfly, sorry I can’t explain that one.Handpainted Armenian tiles have been a fixture in Jerusalem forever. This is a very upscale store where one of the artists was sitting inside painting. The work here is really exquisite.This piece isn’t for sale, it’s embedded in the exterior wall. It says: You are peace, your home is peace and all you own is peace. It’s not a saying I’m familiar with, I’m wondering if it is translated from Armenian.Once again an unitentional selfie, along side that gorgeous tile.