A Day of Food, Art and Renewal in Beersheba
A travel piece from Beersheba describes a city shedding an old image and pushing ahead with new cafes, museums, food trucks and cultural venues. The writer says the city now feels like it is working hard on its own transformation, rather than waiting to be discovered.
The day began at Patput, a historic Beersheba cafe that was moved into a food truck in the museums complex of the Old City. Beside Ottoman-era landmarks, including the Great Mosque, now the Museum of Islamic and Near Eastern Cultures, and the Saraya building, the team tried an artichoke sandwich on focaccia, a good coffee and a cruffin patisserie. Locals said the real hit there is a pretzel with garlic butter. Later, the group toured the Negev Museum of Art and saw three exhibitions, Zvi Meirovitz’s desert landscapes, Avishay Piltak’s "Theater of Nature," and Anna Promchenko’s video and sound installation "The Wish Well."
Across the lawn, the Museum of Islamic and Near Eastern Cultures was showing "Living Water," an exhibition about water in Muslim culture and the Quran, with ancient vessels, artworks and other items. The article notes that the lawn between the museums will host summer performances by Harel Skaat, Yishai Ribo and other leading artists.
The itinerary also included Hagit Ronen Maimon, who says a mysterious phone call once led her to medical tests that found thyroid cancer. After that, she turned to art, where mandalas emerged from her canvas, and she now teaches in rehabilitation settings and prisons, runs a mandala studio and vintage shop in the Old City, and holds workshops there. Nearby, Diana Kriav created a flower studio with bouquet workshops and local products.
The day ended at Beersheba’s renovated market at BARbonia, a food truck that serves fish sandwiches from fresh catch taken daily from a nearby veteran shop. The writer says the fish dishes were among the best they had ever eaten, especially fish balls in hummus and hot peppers in fresh frena with pickles, vegetables and sauces, plus fish cigars with amba, pickled lemon and tahini. A watermelon seller then brought a chilled slice to the table, ending the desert day.
