Hiking in Jerusalem
Blogger: Mideast Youth - Thinking Ahead
Article: Hiking in Jerusalem
Originaly Posted On: 2007-02-24 16:05:44
I chose well to take last Tuesday off. The weather was incredibly warm for February and I sat on the bus next to an ex-pat Canadian journalist from the Jerusalem Post and we were both smug as we got off the bus and stepped onto lush grassy areas and views of blooming almond trees. If we had stayed in Canada, we would have been knee deep in snow and not being able to hike anywhere but to the car in minus -0 weather. We were like drunk in happiness. I was thrilled not to be sitting in my stuffy office. The hike was with a group called Esra (English speaking residents association) and we were a mix of Australians, South Africans, Brits, Canadians and one American couple. It began easy up and down hills - up Har Hatayassim, to Kibbutz Tzuba - one of the few successful kibbutzim that make furniture, run a children’s amusement park, a kiddy zoo, a 4-star hotel, tourism, etc. They’re quite resourceful over there. Then we were climbing up to Tel Tzuba with a crusader fortress called Belmont (beautiful mountain in French) and with ruins of a Palestinian village pre-1948. There was also a mention of a Jewish village of talmudic times 1700 years ago or so - probably in the same area. Every town and village here has its layers of history.
Trudging through the easy part of the long - 7-hour hike, it was easy to keep up conversations and I found good camaraderie with the journalist who, like me, wanted open (a big stress on the “open”), peaceful mid-east borders. After which we can join up with the EU and make it one big happy family. “There aren’t many people here who think like you and me”. But now that I found out HE thinks like me, I’m sure there really are others and I’m gonna find them wherever they’re hiding.
The tour guide explained that there were many Palestinian villages here but he believes that in 1948 the Jordanian legion told the residents to flee because they were gonna whip the fledgling Israeli army and then when they do, they’ll be able to return back to their homes. That never happened of course and the only thing that remained of the villages were the terraced hills, with almond, carob, olive and fig trees. There were traces of biblical farms with the “shomeras” structures where farmers and/or watchmen slept guarding their fields.
The difficult part of the trail was when we were in the valley about to go up to Moshav Even Sapir. The place was called Wadi Yusouf and we had to climb on ledges and the forest was thick and overgrown. It reminded me of some enchanted forest - that if there were such a thing as elves and fairies, they’d be right there. I ended up walking like some Neanderthal woman, on all fours because climbing was so steep and there was nothing to hold onto. But we did get back to civilization, eventually.
And now for the photos….
