There are cities with reinforced concrete and government-issued instructions laminated on the wall.

And then there is Jerusalem.

Here, when the siren goes off, you descend into a 1,500-year-old Byzantine well beneath the Old City and hope the WiFi holds.

It may not be up to code, but it has survived Crusaders, Salahadin’s brother in law, Mamluks, Ottomans, the British, the Jordanians — and now, apparently, this.

This is who you meet there.

1. The 90-Year-Old Armenian with the Keys He has a ring of keys large enough to open half the Old City. His family has been here longer than most borders. He doesn’t speak much, but when he does, it’s Very. Precise. He has seen different flags, different uniforms, different promises. Same sky. “We always stay.” It’s not defiance. It’s point of fact.

2. The Amateur Archaeologist He insists the well survived empires and will therefore survive this. He runs his hand along the stones like they’re old friends. “Feel that?” he says. “Byzantine engineering.” He says it the way other men say, “Trust me.” He is not calm. He is performing calm for the rest of us.

3. The Broadcaster from East Jerusalem Two phones. One on speaker. An entire extended family pouring out of little squares like the Brady Bunch — cousins, uncles, someone’s sister’s friend’s mother’s hairstylist. Advice. Prayers. Rumors. The well somehow has WiFi. He keeps saying, “One second, one second,” to both the people on the phone and the people in the room. Everyone is talking with their hands and shouting. It’s a Woody Allen movie in........

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