Houses from within

Today was the final day of Houses from Within in Jerusalem. A number of homes, gardens, hospitals, and infrastructure worksites were open for tours. Since there is no transit on Shabbat I decided to keep to the neighbourhood. The German Colony is mostly filled with German Templar buildings that have been modified over the years. There is a decidedly Christian feel to the architecture.

6 Lloyd George Street (German Colony)

I went to see the Convent of the St. Charles Borromeo Sisters (12 Lloyd George St). The Convent was built in 1893 by a German architect. The Convent originally provided care to the old and needy and then to those suffering from the Bubonic Plague. From 1905 to WWII it was a girls school. After WWII it was a shelter for Holocaust survivors. Since the 1990s its been a hostel for pilgrims. (see http://batim.itraveljerusalem.com/)

The garden side of 12 Lloyd George St

It's a lovely building and the grounds are impressive, in the sense that you could walk by this place and never have any idea of the expanse behind it. The tranquility of the gardens surprised me (I know, it's a Convent) but really, it was peaceful back there.  The tour was entirely in Hebrew so I'm a bit short on fun facts to share with you here. 

The tour guide, speaking Hebrew, in the chapel

The grounds at the Convent of St. Charles Borromeo Sisters

The grounds at SCBS Convent

The grounds at SCBS Convent

Next stop: The Natural History Museum. It also had a tour, also in Hebrew. This time I skipped the tour and instead I spent my time enjoying the community garden that is located on the museum's grounds. There were several plots, with signs in Hebrew, and I restrained myself from my giant temptation to pick the gorgeous lettuce that you can see in the pic below. (I'm hard up for greens over here; Israelis don't often put greens in salad. The standard issue salat is cucumbers and tomatoes. At the market I can reliably find something that looks like Swiss chard, but spinach and bok choy (my Vannie standbys) are a bit scarce.)

Community garden plots...lettuce!

I think that lettuce might be talking to me...

Moving on...loads of rosemary.

There were three giant tables of small potted plants...things we would keep in a greenhouse, but were doing fine outside here today. I particularly liked these three, but I cannot tell you what they are. Expert gardeners out there - please weigh in and leave a comment.

To get to my next stop back to the main street in the Colony, I cut through the Rose Music Library courtyard. This is a classic sight -- Jerusalem stone walls adorned by baskets of flowers. I'm also unable to identify these, but I do appreciate them!




There are two cemeteries on Emek Refaim near Rachel Imenu Street both of which are surrounded by high white Jerusalem stone walls and are normally locked. Today they were open too. The tours here were also in Hebrew so again, I'm short on details...and maybe a little long on photos.

First I went to the the Templar Cemetery

Entrance to the Templerfriedhof

The Templerfriedhof is perhaps the nicest cemetery I've ever been too. Not, to be sure, that I make a habit of touring cemeteries. It was peaceful and visually pleasing. Here are a few pix.

And the other cemetery, is the Alliance Church International Cemetery, which wasn't nearly as charming although there is a giant mural along the south wall that depicts the major stories of the Bible. So, if that's your thing then you might prefer this cemetery.

Much to my disappointment this house was not open this weekend. I pass it nearly every day and I always think -- I would love to see inside it. This is Emek Refaim 16, another Templar House, it's in particularly good shape having recently been renovated extensively. I am not sure this picture quite captures how I feel about this house.

Emek Refaim 16

Even though I saw only a few places, it was great to see the grounds that lie beyond the gates. It's given me a greater sense of what the neighbourhood may have looked like a hundred years ago. From a community perspective it was really nice to see the streets filled with folks. Normally, you could walk blocks in the Colony on Shabbat and see only a few folks. Today the streets were very busy and there seemed to be a general enthusiasm to get out and see the neighbourhood.

As part of the Houses from Within event there was a two-hour tour called, Riding on the Bike Paths in Jerusalem. Bike paths? What bike paths? I thought those were called sidewalks.  Sadly (so sadly), the tour was booked up when I found out about it. Alas, my bike research continues...I'll do a post on biking soon.