Machane Yehuda is full of shops selling breads, fruits, vegetables, fish, meat and dry goods during the day. Shoppers pull their shopping carts through the crowded lanes as they stock up on the goods that they need for their household use.
At night, Machane Yehuda turns into a hot spot where you can find any type of restaurant, pub, dance club or other social venue that suits you.
Machane Yehuda wasn’t always a gentrified spot for the Israeli yuppie crowd. In the late 1800s, the area was a large open space. Peasants and farmers started to bring their produce and goods to the market during the Ottoman era.
Soon house owners from around the city came to rely on the market as a place that could supply their goods. This continued during the British Mandate and the British helped develop an infrastructure with drainage ditches and stalls for the sellers.
Both Arabs and Jews sold and bought in the “shuk.”
After the War of Independence the shuk continued to develop. It slowly grew to its present size which covers a large area that stretches from Jaffa Street to Agrippas Street and from the Beit Yakov School to the Etz Chaim Yeshiva. Many projects and initiatives have been introduced to benefit the market and the shop owners.
Today Machane Yehuda is an authentic slice of old Jerusalem during the day and a cutting-edge, entertainment center at night. If you want to join an organized tour you can check out any of the Machane Yehuda tours including the Wine and Cheese tour, the Bakery Tour, the Chef-Guided Tasting Tour, the Graffiti and Night life tour or the Alcohol and Bars tour. There are also special tours at special times of the year.
The POST Hostel Night Out takes you on a walk through the bars, pubs, eateries and specialty shops that stay open till the wee hours of the morning. Some of our stops include Aldos where you can get fresh market gelato, Fishenchips with fresh, made-from-scratch fish, chips and dips, Pasta Basta, Hachapuria Georgian pastry shop, HaAgas 1 for the vegetarians and Uzi Eli’s amazing juice bar.