The royal family has put on spectacular festivities every Thursday night during November. They have invited  knights,  singers,  troubadours, magicians, dancers, soothsayers and court jesters and much more to entertain you, and to show you Jerusalem’s magic.

Your best access to the festivities is to enter the Old City through Jaffa Gate, and then wander through the Christian Quarter, particularly down to the Muristan Square. But keep your eyes and ears open for the entertainers are everywhere. This is truly a royal affair. All expenses for the entertainment has been paid for. You enjoy it all free of charge.

You may end up spending something, as some of the shop keepers will stay open late, as well as the eateries.

For more information: Jerusalem-Old City, Knights Festival

Slava Ganelin

Within the music world Israel is best known for within classical music from the Israel Philarmonic to the many soloists and conductors.

A field of music less prominent, but no less popular within Israel, is jazz. If you happen to be in Israel, and in particular in Jerusalem, and you want to hear international level jazz, you are in the right place.

Beginning Nov. 25 the sixth annual Jazz Globus Festival will run through to December 2. Most of the event will take place in the Nahlat Shiva area in downtown Jerusalem. The host of the event is the small, but excellent Harmony Hotel.

During the festival 120 musicians and 22 bands from Israel and from around the world will play to the delight of the audiences. International names include jazz guitarist Alexei Kuznetsov, trumpeter Igor Shirokov, the jazz ensemble Round Band and pianist Tony Pancello.

Israeli musicians, many of international renown, include Slava Ganelin, Michal Cohen, Robert Anchipolovsky, Yuval Tabachnik, Ivri Boruchov and Dmitry Grodsky.

All the events will take place in the Harmony Hall of the Harmony Hotel. If you are lucky you may catch some of the musicial jamming it up in the lobby of the hotel prior to the concert, or even during the day.

When: Nov. 25 through Dec. 2
Where: Harmony Hotel, Nahlat Sivah, Jerusalem

Tickets can be purchased at the Jerusalem Cultural Center, Hillel St. 27, just prior to concerts. Price per ticket – NS 60.

To see full program of the Jazz Globus Festival

To give you a taste of what you may experience, I found this video on YouTube of two of the visiting artists, who will be performing at the Globus Jazz Festival in Jerusalem – Robert Anchipolovsky and Tony Pancella from a previous visit to Israel