Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
11th century by monks
from Mount Athos,
with financial backing
from King Bagrat of
Georgia. According to
tradition, it marks the
spot where the tree
grew that was used to
make Christ's cross.
In the 13th century
the Georgian poet
Shota Rustaveli lived
here and commis-
sioned the frescoes in
the main church. They were
repainted in the 17th century
respecting the original style.
By the 14th century the
monastery had become the
centre of Jerusalem's Georgian
community and a major centre
of Georgian culture in the
region. Gradually, however,
their standing declined and
by 1685 the monastery had
been taken over by the Greek
Orthodox Patriarchate.
The church is
largely in its origi-
nal, 11th-century
form, while many
other parts of the
complex have been
altered or added to.
The courtyard and
the late Baroque
bell tower display
clear signs of 19th-
century changes. In
the late 1990s large-
scale restoration
was undertaken.
The simple dome is
one of the church's
most beautiful features. Also
remarkable are the frescoes,
which show an unusual com-
bination of Christian, pagan
and worldly images. Visitors
are permitted to wander freely
around the complex. Particu-
larly evocative of monastic
life are the refectory on the
upper floor and the kitchen.
Israel Museum
3
See pp132-7.
Bible Lands
Museum
4
25 Avraham Granot St, Givat Ram.
Tel
(02) 561 1066.
@
9, 17, 24, 99.
#
9:30am-5:30pm Sun-Tue & Thu,
9:30am-9:30pm Wed, 9:30am-2pm
Fri & eves of Jewish hols.
ยข
Sat &
Jewish hols.
& 8
English-speaking
guides available (phone for times).
The refectory at the Monastery of the Cross
LA Mayer Museum
of Islamic Art
1
2 Ha-Palmakh St, Talbiya.
Tel
(02) 566
l
1292.
@
13, 15.
#
10am-3pm
Sun, Mon, Wed & Thu, 10am-6pm
Tue, 10am-2pm Fri & Sat.
& 8
While the cream of Islamic
artifacts collected in the
Holy Land are to be found
in the Rockefeller Museum
(see p127)
and the Museum of
Islamic Art on the Haram esh-
Sharif
(see p70
f , this modern,
purpose-built museum offers
a beautifully presented collec-
tion of pieces from the greater
Islamic world. Especially
attractive are the examples
of Persian tiling and Indian
Moghul miniatures, and there
is a very informative section
on Arabic calligraphy.
Opposite the Israel Museum
is this rather unremarkable
building which houses
an outstanding collection of
archaeological finds that
reflect the different
cultures of the
Holy Land region
in biblical times.
The museum was
inaugurated in 1992
with the private
collection of Elie
Borowski, a pas-
sionate scholar of
ancient Middle
Eastern civilizations.
The collection fea-
tures many finely
crafted objects from
ancient Egypt,
Syria, Anatolia, Mesopotamia
and Persia. Among these are a
great number of artifacts that
shed light on the culture of
the Mesopotamian region in
Monastery of the
Cross
2
Shalom St, Neve Granot.
Tel
(02) 679
l
0961.
@
18, 31, 32.
#
10am-
4pm Mon-Sat.
&
Babylonian tablet,
Bible Lands Museum
Stranded in the middle of
a large area of scrubland,
ringed at its outer perimeters
by main roads and modern
buildings, this solitary Byzan-
tine monastery has the look
of a place that time forgot and
urban planners ignored. Its
high, buttressed walls empha-
size still more its seclusion
and reflect its once precarious
position outside the Old City.
There was a church here
in the 5th century, but it was
destroyed by the Persians in
614. Part of its mosaic floor
can still be seen on one side
of the main altar in the present
church. The monastery which
exists today was built in the
The Bible Lands Museum, covering the early history of the Middle East
For hotels and restaurants in this area see p258 and p274
