Page 79 - (DK Eyewitness) Top 10 Travel Guide - Israel & Petra

Around Jerusalem ❮❮ 77

A WALK IN EIN KEREM
Har Herzl tram stop
Notre Dame (1.5 miles)
de Sion
Church of
St. John
the Baptist
Mala Bar
Karma
Yitzhak Greenfield’s
Studio
Mary’s Spring
Church of
the Visitation
AFTERNOON
Cable cars at the ancient city of Jericho After lunch, take the Light Rail to
Har Herzl. Disembark, follow the
palm trees. A Herodian aqueduct sign to Yad Vashem down a side
also follows the course of the road, then turn immediately left
into the forest, where a stony
stream. The hike passes St. George’s track descends through a
Monastery (see p78) and continues to wooded valley. This agreeable
Jericho. The Roman road along the walk finishes less than 30
top of the gorge is accessible by car. minutes later in Ein Kerem, at
the rear of the Catholic Church
Herodion
0 of St. John the Baptist (see p78).
The church opens at 2:30pm, so
MAP F4 • Route 356, 7 miles
(11 km) SE of Bethlehem, West Bank if you’re early, stop to have coffee
• Taxi from Bethlehem • Open and snack at one of several hole-
in-the-wall cafés.
summer: 8am–5pm Sat–Thu, 8am–
3pm Fri; winter: 8am–4pm Sat–Thu After visiting the church, cross
This magnificent hilltop palace is the main road and follow the sign
to Mary’s Spring, which is topped
named after Herod the Great, and by a quaint mosque. From here,
ruins of bathhouses, towers, and steps ascend to the right, to the
mosaics from his time are dotted Church of the Visitation (see p78).
around the site, along with his tomb. Admire the split-level church and
The cone-shaped summit affords great vista, and then retrace your
amazing views, and below lie pools steps. Before the main road, turn
and gardens from Herod’s day, plus left and follow the sign to painter
churches added by Yitzhak Greenfield’s studio to see
his Jerusalem-inspired work.
Byzantine rulers. Continue to the Notre Dame
de Sion Guesthouse (closed
Reconstructed on Sunday) and ring the bell to
tomb, enter. You can visit the church
Herodion and cemetery, and sit a while in
the peaceful garden, which has
wonderful views across the
valley to the golden domes of
the Russian Monastery. The lane
loops back to the main road.
There is no shortage of res tau-
rants and café-bars to choose
from, but a failsafe option for
dining is Karma (see p79), which
has plenty of window seating.
Afterwards, enjoy a beer at Mala
Bar (see p79), which outdoor
heating on chilly evenings.
See map on p74

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