One of the oldest Jewish neighbourhoods in Jerusalem outside the Old City, Meah Shearim (meaning "a hundred gates") was established in 1874 as a walled settlement for ultra-Orthodox Ashkenazi Jews. Today it is one of the most densely populated Haredi communities in the world and functions almost entirely according to 18th-century Eastern European Jewish tradition — Yiddish is the everyday language, religious study runs from dawn to night, and dress codes from another century are observed without irony.
Walking through Meah Shearim feels like stepping into a village sealed off from modern Israel. The streets are lined with posters in Yiddish announcing religious events, modest clothing shops, Judaica stores, and bakeries producing traditional Polish and Ukrainian Jewish baked goods. The neighbourhood is not hostile to visitors, but it expects respect: modest dress is not optional, photography of residents is unwelcome, and Shabbat is strictly observed. Go on a weekday, cover up, and you will find a community of extraordinary coherence and intensity. The Shabbat atmosphere, when the streets fall quiet and men stream to and from synagogue, is unlike anything else in the city.