Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A 90-Minute Walk around East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem is the Palestinian Arab part of the city.
It lies north of the Old City and east of the main
north-south road Derekh Ha-Shalom, swelling over
the Mount of Olives and down the other side. The
main street is Salah ed-Din Street, which is visited as
part of this walk. High-profile tourist sights are few,
but it is a vibrant area with many points of interest,
including Christian pilgrimage sights and the Holy
Land's most atmospheric old hotel.
Nablus Road
The walk starts at Damascus
Gate
archaeologists, but that does
not seem to deter the coach-
loads of Christian pilgrims
who flock here each day to
engage in open-air prayer
sessions in what is,
admittedly, a lovely
garden setting. Stroll on,
passing on your left the
Arab bus station for
services to West
Bank towns and
Gaza. At the next
traffic junction,
marked by the modest
little Sadd and Said
Mosque, continue north
as Nablus Road becomes
a narrow, leafy lane
squeezed beside the
fortified bulk of the local
US Consulate. On
your right at No.
14 is Palestinian
Pottery
(see p66) , the largest
and one of the busiest of
the Old City gates. Taking
advantage of the perpetual
crowds, small traders
spread their wares on
sheets around the
amphitheatre-like
space in front of
the gate so that it
operates as a small
makeshift market.
Cross the busy road
that runs parallel with
the city walls to the
junction with Nablus
Road, which is also
busy with street
traders selling breads
and fruit. Some of
these traders stand
in the shadow of
Schmidt's Girls' College
2
1
A fruit stall on the corner of
Nablus Road
An elderly
Palestinian
4
,
founded on this site
back in 1922 by the
Balians, one of three
Armenian families
brought over by the
British authorities from
Kuthaya, Turkey, to
renovate the ceramic
tiles on the Dome of the
Rock. Ring the bell to enter
and visit the showrooms
and a small museum on
the history of ceramics in
Jerusalem. You can also
Y
watch the craftspeople
at work hand-painting
designs onto the pottery
, part of the St Paul's
Hospice complex, designed
in fine Germanic style by the
same architect responsible for
Mount Zion's Church of the
Dormition (see p116) .
Walk north up Nablus Road
and shortly you come to an
alley enclosed between high
walls off to the right: this
leads to the Garden Tomb 3
(see p126) . The claims for it
as the burial place of Jesus
Christ have been dismissed by
.64-**.
$&.&5&3:
)
o the pottery
prior to firing.
Further along, on
the left, are several fine
examples of late 19th-
and early 20th-century
buildings, including a
villa that houses the East
Jerusalem offices of the
British Council. On the
right is the high wall
that rings St George's
Cathedral, which is
visited later in the walk.
KEY
Walk route
Nablus Road now joins
with Salah ed-Din Street,
but continue on, taking the
second right, Louis Vincent
Street, a short cul-de-sac
leading to the American
Colony Hotel
(see p127) .
Originally built (1865-76) as
Handpainting a ceramic tile at the
Palestinian Pottery workshop
5
4
For hotels and restaurants in this area see pp257-8 and pp272-4
 
 
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