In 1997 I went to Jerusalem with my wife because she had to attend a congres. During the daytime, when my wife would be present at lectures and discussions on ancient languages, I made walks in the city. I walked along the ancient wall and visited some of the gates of Jerusalem. The thing that most impressed me was life in East-Jerusalem. The Israeli part of the city made me think of the US, the west coast. In the eastern part of the old city I felt I could experience life in the middle east. I made a series of drawings in my sketchbook. Looking forward to another visit to Israel, I thought it might be interesting to publish some from my 1997 sketchbook.

The text on the first sketch says:
This sketching book starts in Jerusalem on August 5, 1997.
It concerns only some small details that I noticed, that entered my eye and it mingles with what is already there.
The choice of subjects is probably decided by what preceded our journey.
I saw the eye in an advert in East Jerusalem, a nice start for a series of sketches.