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The site where Joshua beat his enemies while the Sun, obeying his bidding, stood still: "Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, and thou, Moon, in the Valley of Ayalon" (Josh, 10, 11).
We follow the ancient way from Jaffa to Jerusalem. The road continues and soon we enter Sha'ar Hagai (Bab el-Wad in Arabic = Gate of the Valley). Opposite the petrol filling station is an old Turkish building where (before the introduction of modern transportation) the caravans used to stop, change horses and prepare for the long climb to Jerusalem. The Khan (in Turkish, similar to the word Hanaya in Hebrew = Camping) is under renovation and will be opened to the public soon. (picture on right).
The route, up to now a gravel strip, turned into a modern paved road, although narrow, to allow the horses to make their way up the steep winding way in safety. During winter the slopes were muddy and horses pulling heavy carts could not manage the steepy lane unless paved. For many years parts of this trail was still noticeable until the modern highway covered the past.
During the 1948 War of Independence, the Arab gangs controlled the steep hills, and the Jewish convoys fought to break through to relieve besieged Jerusalem. Many did not make it to the city and every year on Independence Day the silent rusty remains, left by the road side, are covered with Israel national flags, and flowers. A memorial was erected at the highest point on the road in memory of the brave.
Further up the mountain road, passing the villages of Shoresh and Shoeva we reach the top of the hill known as Castel (Castellum = fort in Latin). Today the summit is an observation post. During the War of Independence (1947/48) it was the object of bitter fighting as a key stronghold on the road to the capital. A few more miles, the road winds down the steep slope towards the village of Mozza, and another 5 miles and at he first traffic-light, the sign posts welcome us to the city.
Looking to the left beyond the valley, are the newly built districts of Ramot Alon. Beyond on the far ridge, stands a single minaret: this is Nebi Samuel, the burial place of the Prophet Samuel. Turning further to the right the white stone buildings of French Hill dominating the skyline. As we enter the city we notice the large conference and exhibition hall of Benyanei Haoma on the right.
To the left the district of Romemah, known for the First-Aid center for Jerusalem (Magen David Adom), the Egged central bus station. Less famous is the monument to commemorate the surrender of the city of Jerusalem in 1917 to the British Army then in the hands of the Ottomans.
On December 9th 1917 two cooks from the British 60th Regiment were roaming the mountainside in search for eggs and fresh vegetables for the evening meal. They were approached by a group of local nobles holding a white flag and asking for surrender. The cooks immediately referred them to the commander-in-chief who accepted their plea.
Jaffa Road is the main road crossing the city from west to east until it enters the old city through the Jaffa Gate. This same route was used for centuries by travellers arriving by boat at Jaffa port on the Mediterranean shore. The road passes the old district of Mahane-Yehuda.
Mahane Yehuda Clock Tower: Contributed by Shmuel Levy, an American Jew who settled in Jerusalem. The building was built in 1906 and the sun dial and clocks were locally manufactured by Moshe Shapira, a Mea-Shearim watch-maker. The sun dial would allow the prayers to determine the time of day, a matter that was of most importance. Before hand would involve walking outside the city limits morning and evening. The two clocks on either side served two-fold: showing the time in winter when there was no sun, the one on the right was set to local time (Cairo Clock) while the left one, was showing European time.
The road slopes towards the center of the new city, passing the Davidka Junction where the famous mortar gun is displayed. Named after its builder, Engineer David Leibovitz, it was constructed in the underground workshops during the British occupation of Palestine.
These guns, only a handful built, were used extensively during the 1948 War of Independence in the battles of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and the North. The story about the gun is that it was not the damage but the noise it made when the shells were fired that was so frightening. As there was only one gun in each city, it was mounted on a vehicle, fired a few rounds, then moved to another quarter, thus bluffing the Arabs and giving the illusion that there were many guns available. The sentence on the monument behind is from Kings II: (19:34) For I will defend this city, to save it
About half a mile further down the road passing the Zion Square, known today as the "Triangle", we arrive at the Generally Building noted for the winged lion statue on the roof. Built in 1935 by the Italian insurance company, was used by the British Mandate as part of its headquarters, was known as Bevin Guard. To the left, up a short road we arrive at the Russian Compound. As of 1860 the property of the White Russian Church. Several building dominate the grounds the most noticed is the green domed Russian Cathedral. The rush of Russian pilgrims to thye holy land in general and Jerusalem in particular was the drive behind the building of the compound. The city Police headquarters and the District Courts of Law now occupy the surrounding buildings. The site is known to be the place where the armies of the Assyrians in 700 B.C. and later the Roman Legions in 70 A.D. camped before they advanced on the city of Jerusalem and took it by force.
Just in front of the cathedral lies a 12 meter marble pillar sunken in a shalow ditch. This massive stone, carved from the rock on site was being prepared for Herod's Temple in the old city. It broke and was left in the quarry uncompleted.
A short distance and we are in full sight of the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, built by the Turkish Sultan Suleiman the great in 1538. The road ends as we enter the Jaffa Gate into the Old City. Next to the gate the wall was breached to provide for the passage of carriages. This was in honor of the arrival of the German Kaiser William 2nd in 1898.
The major change to the city structure was the initiative of a British Jew by the name of Sir Moses Montefiore. He had visited Palestine seven times from 1827 until 1875 at the age of 90, and was aware of the hardship of its citizens. On his return to England he spread his plea in front of the Sultan in Istanbul, to allow the building of a new district outside the walls of the city. At the time there was nothing but olive-groves and grapevines growing on the slopes surrounding the old city.
The year was 1857, Sir Moses with the aid of Judah Touro, an American Jew from New Orleans, acquired a strip of land opposite Mount Zion and founded the first suburb outside the walls. It was named Mishkenot Sha'ananim. It consisted of a low long fortress-like building and a windmill to allow work for its inhabitants. The quarter spread in the next coming years with the growing demand for dwellings outside the walls and is now known as the Yemin Moshe quarter.
This was the turning point for the establishment of other residential quarters in the surrounding mountains. Several districts were founded by various ethnic groups that were ready to face the hardship of living out side the protection of a walled city:
Nahalat Shiva (7 dwellings): was established in 1869 on the Jaffa Road, at the time just a dirt path leading to the city. Built by members of the seven influential families in the city, among them Yosef Rivlin, Yoel Moshe Solomon and Yehoshu Yelin.
Mea Shearim (100 Gates): the foundation was laid down in 1874 by a group of extremely orthodox immigrants from Poland and Lithuania.
Even Israel (1875); Mazkeret Moshe (1882); Ohel Moshe (1883): in honor of Sir Moses Montefiore. A few years later the large quarter of Mahane-Yehuda, built in 1887 by Yosef Navon, the initiator for the Jerusalem-Jaffa railway track, today the major fruit and vegetable market. All the streets are named after fruits of the Holy Land. Jews from Bukhara established the Bukharian Quarter in 1892.
These quarters consisted of closely built houses, surrounded by a thick wall, with a few entrances leading in, all the doors were facing the inner courtyard. In the center was the water hole that supplied the inhabitants with the water supply without the need to leave the compound. The entrances were closed at nightfall, their metal gates guarding the families inside.
Several Christian establishments existed outside the old city walls and stood alone for many years. The Monstery of the Cross (4th century), the Ratisbonne Monastery (1874) built by Alphonso Ratisbonne of the Catholic order of the Fathers of Zion, the College of Terra-Sancta (1924) were islands in the wilderness of the Jerusalem terrain.
It was not until 1924 when a new trend was started in Jerusalem: the establishment of modern Jewish buildings: the residence area of Rehavia by the grandson of Yehoshu Yelin, one of the founders of Nahalat Shivah. The area was swiftly covered with building, some of the finest in the city today. Among them the Gimnasya Ivrit (1927, grammar and high school), the Jewish Agency Buildings (1928) and many other fine buildings.
Turning westwards as you enter the city (right at the traffic lights) are the suburbs of Beit-Hakerem, Beit ve-Gan and Kiryat Hayovel. Opposite Beit ve-Gan is Mount Herzl, the final resting place of Dr. Theodore Herzl. The modern prophet who forecast the establishment of a Jewish State in Palestine 50 years before its birth in 1948. It was only 45 years after his death in Vienna, by the specific order of David Ben-Gurion, the first Prime-Minister of Israel, that Herzl's remains were brought to Jerusalem to rest in the mountain bearing his name. At the entrance, to the left, is Herzl Room a small museum with Herzl's private study and a library. Atop of the hill we arrive at the grave covered with a black granite stone and a single word HERZL in Hebrew carved into it. The paved courtyard beyond is used every year on Independence Day eve to declare the opening of the official ceremonies. Herzl bust appears on many of Israel Post Office stamps.
Also adjoining is the Jerusalem Military Cemetary, and the graves of the leaders of the State, among them the Late Prime-Ministers Mrs. Golda Meir, Levi Eshkol, and Yitzhak Rabin.(the first prime-minister, David Ben-Gurion is burried along side his wife, Pola, in the village of Sede-Boker, a kibbutz in the arid south). Menahem Begin is burried on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem.
Yad va-Shem is situated behind Mt. Herzl. This is the national moemorial site for the Remembrance of the 6-Million Jews, victims of the Holocaust in Europe, killed by the Nazis during World War II.
A stone throw from Mt. Herzl down a winding mountain road we arrive at the village of Ein-Kerem, the traditional birth place of Saint John The Baptist. The village comprises of small stone houses built on terraces on the mountain-side among olive trees. Although part of the city today, the village still retains its ancient appearance. There are churches of many denominations, closest to the main road is the Church of Saint John The Baptist, a Franciscan church: built over the grotto of the Nativity of Saint John. We pass under an arch with Latin inscription:
"Blessed be the Lord of Israel, for he hath visited and redeemed his people".
Walking along Maayan street we arrive at the village spring, the Fountain of the Virgin. From here a path winds around the mountain side and up many wide steps to the Catholic Church of The Visitation, commemorates the visit of Mary to her cousin Elisabeth. In the courtyard the Song of the Blessed Virgin appears on panels of coloured tiles in more than twenty languages. Several fine restaurants are located in the village.
A few minutes drive down the winding road below the village we arrive at a cross road: turning right will take up up the hill-side to the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv Highway near the village of Mevaseret Yeruslayim and the ruins of the Kastel fortifications. We continue straight, following the road as it curves to the left, passing a road to the left that leads us to the Hadassah Medical Center, seen on our left. As we continue along the road it once again drops to the valley basin and we reach the ruins of the village of Sataf. The hillside is covered with fruit gardens, and a running fountain hidden inside a cave, is well worth a visit. Opposite the steep slope on the other side of the road is the Franciscan Monastery of Saint John. The surrounding area is believed to be known as the Desert of Saint John, where he lived in his early days.
The war of Independence in 1947-1948, the establishment of the State of Israel on May 5th 1948 was not kind to the city of Jerusalem: fierce fighting on all fronts, Arab gangs supported by the Jordanian legion and the Egyptian army attacked the city and bombarded it for days on end. The main route to Jerusalem was under siege and the inhabitants had to ration food and water. Many took to the fields to look for edible vegetables, the famous of which is the hubeisa.
It was due to the bravery and determination of the youngsters riding the convoys that food, water and fuel did reach the city; many gave their lives for the freedom of the city.
When armistice between the Israeli and the Arabs was established a grim scene was met: the city was divided along the fighting front line, many houses were in ruins, and parts of the city were in Arab occupied zones. The limited force in the old city surrendered to the Jordanian Legion and was escorted out of the city, the women and children allowed to cross to the west while the men were taken to Trans-Jordan as prisoners of war.
The holy places: the Western wall, the Mount of Olives, the ancient synagogues were all now under the rule of the Hashimite Kingdom of Jordan. Not a single jew allowed to live under their role.
Mount Scopus, housing the Hebrew University and the Hadassah Hospital remained in Israeli hands but was physically cut off from the city. An armored convoy escorted by the UN observers would cross the border at the Mandelbaum Gate and ascend the mountain every two weeks bringing fresh food supplies to the defenders. The Hadassah Hospital at Ein-Kerem (mentioned above) was built as an answer to the growing medical needs of the city as an alternative to the besieged hospital on the Mount of Scopus.
It was not until the 1967 Six-Day War, 19 years later, that the city of Jerusalem was once again united, the dividing walls and barbed wire fences cleared and the ruins that were part of the scene for 19 years in no-man's land restored.
In central Jerusalem starting from the Damascus Gate in the Old City and ending at the Davidka Square in western Jerusalem. Along this 19-century picturesque street are many fine buildings. Built by various nations (European and African) in the attempt to achieve a holding in the holy city. Among them are the Italian Hospital, the Ethiopian Consulate; the English Missionary; the German Hospital; the Swedish Theological Seminary (Tabor House); the house of the British artist Holman Hunt at 64 Hanevi'im St (picture).
Press for SHAGALL STAINED GLASS WINDOWS
Located in a beautiful quiet residential area overlooking the city of Jerusalem and the Judean mountains. House57 provides the guests with a comfortable free access to kitchen and dining room, cold and hot drinks, daily cleaning. Very close to Ammunition Hill