Ein Kerem and the Beit Zayit Dam

Our first hike after Israel's third lockdown started in Ein Kerem, a beautiful village in the southwest of Jerusalem. The name of the village means "Spring of the Vineyard". It is surrounded by natural groves and the breathtaking landscape of the Jerusalem Hills. Christian tradition holds that Saint John the Baptist was born in Ein Kerem and the village is a pilgrimage site for many Christian visitors. There area number of active churches and monasteries in the village, as well as restaurants, galleries and artisan shops.

We have visited Ein Kerem many time over the years. I blogged about it back in 2013. On this occasion we simply began our hike in the village, soon finding our way onto the Israel Trail via a set of steps known as Madragot Gan Eden (The Garden of Eden Stairway). At the bottom we took a break in the Ein Kerem Community Garden for breakfast before continuing on with our hike through the Ein Kerem national park, following the route of Nahal Ein Kerem (nahal is Hebrew for "stream").

January to March is the season of the beautiful wild anemone, called Calanit in Hebrew, and of the almond tree, Shaked, the first of the fruit trees in Israel to wake from their winter sleep. These particular flowers and trees were in full bloom as we made our way down along our route. They were a welcome reminder that spring is just around the corner. Centuries-old olive trees - among the most ancient in the country - were growing on the agricultural terraces, reflecting devoted care by the local inhabitants down through the ages. We even spotted a hyena making its way along the path!

After a short while we reached the bottom of the hill where we turned onto a new tree lined trail and bike path, towards the Beit Zayit reservoir and dam. 

The Beit Zayit Water Reservoir is a seasonal reservoir that was built in the 1950s for the purpose of storing rainwater so that it seeped into the ground and reached the water reservoir (aquifer) in the coastal area near Tel Aviv. In order to build the reservoir, a dam, above, was built to prevent the Sorek Stream from flowing through Jerusalem. 

After the construction was completed and water was stored in the reservoir, the engineers discovered that the water was indeed seeping, but the wrong way! Instead of flowing to the reservoir in the coastal area, the water was seeping into the springs in the Judean Desert, in the east of Israel, and not accumulating properly.
Despite the engineering and hydrological failure, it was decided not to destroy the dam and the reservoir but to leave it as a tourist attraction. It is now a pretty picnic spot and a great place to hang out for a relaxing afternoon.

We found a gap in the fence around the reservoir where we were able to get closer to the water's edge (most of the area is fenced off). One side of the reservoir is lined with trees, while the side we found ourselves on was grassy. In quieter times the reservoir is a great place for birdwatching. Mallards, sandpipers, coots, moorhens and grebes can all be found there. 

 

After a short while we backtracked along the bike path then turned left, up into the hills, past farmland and the neighbourhood of Beit Zayit, a moshav which was established in 1949 by Jewish immigrants from Egypt, Romania and Yugoslavia. The moshav's economy was once based on fruit orchards, vegetables, poultry and other farm products. Nowadays Beit Zayit is a trendy alternative to living in Jerusalem.

Turning right, we then picked up a green trail, returning to Ein Kerem on Shvil HaHaruv ("The Carob Trail"). We walked along a rocky pathway, under the shade of pine trees and passing clumps of Rakefot (Persian cyclamen). Rakefot bloom throughout late winter and into spring and it was truly delightful to see so many of these delicate pale pink flowers during our hike.

After a while we were treated to a wonderful view of Ein Kerem and the terraces just beyond. We turned onto a black marked trail, which brought us back into the village and to our car.

It had been a beautiful hike and the perfect way to enjoy the outdoors once again, after being in lockdown for so many weeks previously.

* This post has been shared on Nature Notes, The Good. The Random. The Fun., Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday), Our World Tuesday, Tuesday's Treasures and My Corner of the World.

The Best of 2020 - Part II

1. POP-UP Museum TLV 2  2. Gazelle Valley 3. Beit She'an National Park 4. The Argaman Iris Reserve 5. Celebrating My 50th Birthday in the Middle of a Pandemic 6. Nahal Arugot 7. Latrun Fortress 8. The Masrek Nature Reserve  9. The Scroll of Fire and Anne Frank Memorials 10. Shvil HaErez (The Cedar Trail)

Happy New Year! I am going to start the year with my second review of 2020, my top 10 favourite places that I visited last year.

When I started writing this blog back in 2008 I initially kept it as a blog purely about my papercut art. However, I soon found out that people were interested in reading a little more about me and my life here in Israel. I started to write blog posts about my Jewish faith and many of the holidays we celebrate and about some of the beautiful places I have been fortunate to visit in Israel.

This month I will be marking 26 years living here. Over the years I have enjoyed exploring my little country, from north to south, indoors and out. Of course 2020 was like no other year. We have been in lockdown three times and were barely able to leave the house. Foreign travel was impossible, though back in February I was fortunate to spend a lovely couple of weeks with my dad in the UK, before all the coronavirus troubles really began.

Having said all that, Mister Handmade in Israel and I have made the most of it and have really got to know the area around us. From the summer onward, we hiked almost weekly, rarely driving more than 40 minutes from the city where we live. We have discovered some beautiful areas and some amazing history. I was once hesitant to hike without a guide but now we regularly pull on our walking boots and set off on a new route. I'm not saying we never get lost - of course we do - but that has been part of the fun and there have been no major disasters!

The Ancient Synagogue of Beit Alpha

Rosh HaAyin Forest

The Beit Itab Ruins

As you can see from my Top 10, the year started off with just one "indoor" visit, to the amazing "Pop-Up Museum TLV" graffiti event in Tel Aviv. Also in January, we spent a lovely day in Beit She'an with friends visiting from Cyprus. After that, everything has been about just the two of us exploring the hills and forests around us. I celebrated my 50th birthday in a national park just outside Jerusalem and in June we travelled further afield to the Dead Sea area, to spend Mister Handmade in Israel's birthday hiking at Nahal Arugot. I have blogged about many of these amazing places and more. Please click on the names above and enjoy exploring Israel with me!

The Mazor Mausoleum and Kula Forest

Ein Kobi and the Seadim Ruins

* This post has been shared on Nature Notes, The Good. The Random. The Fun., Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday), Tuesday's Treasures, Pictorial Tuesday, Our World Tuesday and My Corner of the World.

Shvil HaErez (The Cedar Trail)

In the early years after the State of Israel was founded, Jerusalem was a small city surrounded by bare rocky hills. The Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) initiated the planting of a large area of forest to the west of the city and in 1956 the second President of Israel, Yitzhak Ben Zvi, planted the first tree in what was to become the Jerusalem Forest. Afforestation continued apace until, within just a few years, the Jerusalem Forest covered an area of some 4,700 dunam.

Trees planted included pine (Oren), cypress (Brosh matzue) and cedar (Erez). These trees grow very quickly and they rapidly achieved the function they were intended for. However, it subsequently became apparent that pine in particular is not ideal for forests. It has a shallow root system and the cones and trees readily burn. Arson and accidents can destroy a forest. More recent afforestation in the country now uses a variety of trees, especially those indigenous to the country.

Many years have passed since the forest was first planted and Jerusalem has expanded enormously. Large neighbourhoods and suburbs - Ein Kerem, Beit Zayit, Givat Shaul, Kiryat Yovel, Beit HaKerem, Har Nof, Motza - have encroached deep into the forest, as have two important national monuments - Yad Vashem and Herzl's Tomb. The boundaries of the forest have receded and its area now covers only 1,250 dunam. But the forest is easily accessible to the general public and footpaths have been marked out, signposts have been provided, picnic tables and children's playgrounds have been built. The forest has a variety of trees, flowers and wildlife, remains of ancient farming implements and burial caves, wine presses and cisterns that attest to the habitation of the region long ago. One may often see gazelles running in the area and hear the sounds of the numerous songbirds. It's a great place to hike.

Mister Handmade in Israel and I recently followed Shvil HaErez (The Cedar Trail) within the forest. The circular trail was around six kilometres long and the walk took us approximately two and a half hours. The route is signposted and indicated by blue trail markings all the way. It lead us first through an area of forest comprising both planted conifers and Mediterranean woodland trees such as Palestine oak, terebinth, carob, olive, fig and pomegranate. The path continued to climb up a slope, though a forest of pine and cypress trees, eventually leaving the valley and climbing a steep slope until it reached the road. On the other side of the road was Australia Park, a recreation area which is actually the real starting point of the Cedar Trail.

Continuing on, we passed agricultural terraces planted with fruit trees and an olive grove. In the spring, orchids such as the the Anatolian orchid with its red-spotted leaves, peep out from among the bushes, along with anemones, daffodils and cyclamens. The path lead us past a eucalyptus grove, a cave from which an impressive fig tree emerges and, deviating slightly from the path, to a small plaza where Ben Gurion's Cedar grows, below. David Ben Gurion, Israel's first Prime Minister, planted it with his own hands on 2nd February 1958. Admittedly, it is not overwhelming!

From here we made another brief detour from the path and climbed up to Mitzpeh Kerem, the Kerem Viewpoint. Its Arabic name is Khirbet Hamame, which means "Dove Ruins". This hill has been a site of habitation since the Bronze Age and throughout the years has held great strategic importance. We walked past trenches dug by the Ottoman Turks in the First World War as they took up positions ready to confront the British troops, below. During Israel's War of Independence the hill was occupied by Arab forces that fired on the neighbourhoods of Beit Hakerem and Bayit Vegan below. On 10th July 1948 this vantage point was successfully captured by the Jonathan Platoon (Plugat Yehonatan) of the Gadna (the Youth Battalions), a group of fighters too young to be drafted but recruited because of a shortage of fighters to relieve the besieged city of Jerusalem. Six combatants, two of whom were 16 year-old privates, fell in the fighting and dozens of others were injured.

Mitzpeh Kerem was supposed to offer magnificent views that include, among other sites, Yad VaShem's Valley of the Communities, Pilots' Hill (Har HaTayyasim), Eitanim and Ein Kerem's Hadassah Hospital. Unfortunately tree branches blocked the view and it was hard to see very much at all.

We returned to Ben Gurion's Cedar and from there made our way back to the blue-marked trail, which descended through the forest to the main road and back to our car. We had enjoyed beautiful views of parts of Jerusalem and the surrounding wooded hills. It had been pleasant to walk through the forest and woodland scenery but the fact that the forest is so near to the centre of town and that so many neighbourhoods can be seen from the trail, made it feel a little bit like I was still in the city instead of far from the madding crowd.

* This post has been shared on Nature Notes, The Good. The Random. The Fun., Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday), Our World Tuesday, Tuesday's Treasures, Pictorial Tuesday and My Corner of the World.