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In 1892 a large delegation of both Jews and Arabs, as well as forgienr dignitaries, gathered at Jeruslaem’s newly-built railroad station to welcome the first train from Jaffa, which was the main port city and link to the rest of the world. Among the people greeting the train was Eliezer Ben Yehuda, the father of […]

Just outside Jerusalem, in the Judean desert, sits an unexpected but spectacular new site: DCity.  The D is for “Design;” and specializing in home decor and furnishings, the sprawling shopping and entertainment complex includes life-like replicas of the streets, buildings and canals of Venice.   With a free shuttle from Jerusaelm’s centrally-located Binyanei Hauma convention […]

Jerusalem boasts dozens of city parks. Recently, many of them have gotten makeovers, especially to their playground areas, making a morning or afternoon at a local park a great option for families with young children.   One of the most anticipated parks to undergo renovation recently was Gan Sacher, nestled below the Knesset and within […]

There are dozens of natural springs in the hills and forests surrounding Jerusalem.  In fact this system of streams, pools and underground water sources has helped sustain settlement here for more than 3,000 years, providing a source of life for people, crops and animals. Now, many of these springs provide the perfect place for hiking, […]

In a small art studio near the bustling Mahane Yehuda market, a table is covered with freshly-painted ceramic coffee mugs, mezuzot, and tiles. Paint brushes dipped in pale green, pink and purple paint are also scattered on the table.

In the middle of Jerusalem, a large expanse of wild grasses, trees and ponds is now once again home to a growing herd of gazelles. This spring, 11 babies were born, bringing the total number of gazelles to 38. Nestled between the central Katamonim and Givat Mordechai neighborhoods, and bordered by the busy Menachem Begin Expressway, Jerusalem’s Gazelle Valley is a rare patch of nature in the city.

A red-headed boy leads his sheep across a grassy field, interspersed with trees. The music of a flute plays and the rolling, rocky hills of Judea rise in the background. These are the opening scenes of the new evening sound and light show King David, which transforms the 1,000-year old stone walls of the Tower of David Museum in Jerusalem’s Old City into a surround-sound movie theater five nights a week. Once the sun sets, David and his story come to life in this Crusader-era citadel via 18 laser projectors and 20 speakers.

In one corner of Jerusalem’s Hebrew Music Museum, a group of visiting children and adults are sitting in a circle, playing drums. All the drums and other instruments they are using are from Yemen and Ethiopia and other lands in the region which have been home to Jewish communities throughout the centuries. Nearby, in the sprawling museum built inside ancient stone buildings in the city’s central Nahalat Shiva neighborhood, other rooms are filled with instruments from Europe, Morocco and Central Asia, also home to historic Jewish communities..

An ancient wine press sits in a deep indentation in one corner of Shoshana Karbasi’s kitchen in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Ein Kerem. The wine press is more than 2,000 years old, but was discovered only about 250 years ago when the stone home was built, Karbassi explains. The home’s first owners, Turks who lived here when the Ottoman empire controlled the city, used the wine press as a water cistern, she explains

From Jerusalem’s bustling King David Street, the tiny Elimelech Admoni Street leads down hill to reveal a sprawling green park, shaded with palm, pine and olive trees. Rather than city traffic and honking car horns, here it is quiet, with birds chirping in the background. This magical hidden park in the center of Jerusalem is called Bloomfield Garden, and is tucked between King David Street and the Old City. In addition to a quiet atmosphere, filled with stone paths and benches, there are also sweeping views of the Old City Walls.