Inviting pilgrims back is more than business, it's family history, Holy Land shop owners say

JERUSALEM (OSV News) -- As Lent begins in Jerusalem, the usually crowded streets of the Old City remain quiet, with only a small number of international pilgrims returning after years of disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Israel-Hamas war.

Christian family businesses that have served pilgrims for centuries are adapting in order to survive.

Over 100 years ago, Hagop Karakashian's grandfather, Magardich Karakashian, was the among the first to bring Armenian pottery to Jerusalem after what is widely viewed by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century -- the Turkish genocide of Armenians. Wassim Razzouk's family, with deep Coptic roots in Egypt, has been tattooing Christian pilgrims for over 700 years, 500 of those years in Jerusalem.

For both, keeping their family's tradition alive during the past turbulent five years with the COVID-19 pandemic and the Israel-Hamas war, required a pivoting of the way they worked.

Karakashian, 58, opened the Jerusalem Pottery workshop to local patrons to paint their own Armenian pottery. Razzouk, 52, packed up his tools and took his tattooing skills to pilgrims and tattoo enthusiasts abroad, along the way teaching his sons the craft.

While a few new businesses -- mainly cafés and bakeries with an eye to local traffic -- have tentatively opened their doors near the New Gate and Jaffa Gate with the support of the Jerusalem municipality, it is out of an early sense of optimism and hope of a future tourism recovery, said Razzouk, rather than signaling a current economic revival.

"When you start seeing all the Old City open, every door of the Old City shops open, that's when you know that, OK, things are back to normal," said Razzouk, who plans to remain in Jerusalem at least until the fall.

"But it's not that I'm pessimistic. I'm just very careful. We have to be realistic because we've learned that this country is never going to have a good, steady, peaceful time. ... There is no end to this ... but where will I go? Business is something important, of course, but this is more than just a business, it's a history for your family."

Razzouk said he is trying to convince his 24-year-old son not to leave after he saw a life of stability and normalcy while working in other countries.

The adaptation of his pottery studio and reliance on local engagement helped them survive the challenging period, said Karakashian, whose only daughter, Patil, 24, helps out in the studio -- but isn't sure continuing the family tradition is in her future. For now she is studying chemistry at Hebrew University.

"We've had tourists come. They come to do workshops and they come to buy things because this art became part of the Jerusalemite culture and art," Karakashian told OSV News, "but the bottom line is we need stability."

In the heart of the Christian Quarter, just a few yards from the St. Savior Franciscan monastery, Jack Amer has begun to place a few tables and bar stools outside his bakery, Patisserie Jack, to entice customers to linger a moment longer.

An Italian volunteer from the monastery has stopped for what she says is the only espresso she has found worthy of drinking in Jerusalem -- and a Jewish employee of the municipality has popped round for a slice of cake. Founded 26 years ago and offering everything from pecan pie to tiramisu, the bakery has weathered every storm that drove tourists and pilgrims away.

Amer noted that most of his customers are still locals.

"When you get to the center, to the heart of the Old City, this is the traditional way we live as local people," he said, scooting up to one of the tables to chat with friends who have stopped by for a coffee. His pastry shop is for everyone, he said, Palestinians, Israelis, internationals -- and he is waiting for the internationals to return.

Amer said everyone is carefully optimistic, yet realistic that at any moment things can explode with Iran or on the border with Lebanon.

"A few" foreign visitors returning to Jerusalem "may not be enough, but it is something," he told OSV News.

New restaurateurs are also taking risks. Omar Ayyoub recently opened Angel Restaurant near Jaffa Gate, named for a 1924 fresco he rescued from a church in Abu Gosh. A structural engineer by training, he decorated the space with items salvaged from convents and churches.

His fusion menu of Lebanese, Palestinian and Mexican dishes -- aims to tell a contemporary Jerusalem story beyond religion. Though business is slow, he remains hopeful.

Ayyoub said he doesn't primarily target pilgrims or conventional tourists, but he wants tourists to visit a place "not built for them," offering an authentic dining and mini-museum experience for locals, expatriates, and intellectual visitors.

"I already put in lots of financial investments and lots of emotional investment in the place," he said. "So it's worth it for me to take this risk and open it. We don't have anything compared to tourist areas in the world. We have lots of history. Our history is related mostly to religion but I wanted to open this place first to tell my story."

Nearby, 27-year-old chef Ameer Khoury runs Oak Restaurant inside Jaffa Gate, serving Palestinian-European fusion dishes such as musakhan -- or Palestinian roasted chicken -- rolled in Italian focaccia bread. To cut costs, he works mostly with one sous chef.

Despite challenges, like rent waived in the summer of 2025, Khoury continues to pursue his dream, seeking ways to attract local customers while waiting for tourists and pilgrims to return.

With strong support from his family, who helped him remain in Jerusalem, he told OSV News his faith and hope sustain him and that he believes things will ultimately improve, despite many false hope signals.

"I believe that at some point life will go back to normal. You know, it may take time. I hope. I'm a person who believes in God, so I just pray for better days and that's it."