Neighborhood Tour: Ein Kerem
Far to the west from the city center, where the urban environs of Jerusalem give way to the pine trees and olive groves of the steeply terraced Judean mountains, lies the neighborhood Ein Kerem.
Its name translating to "spring of the vineyard," bucolic Ein Kerem almost seems to grow organically from the Jerusalem hills, its narrow streets and stone houses closely hugging the heavily forested slopes. Naturally, with its verdant character and stunning 360 degree views of the Israeli mountain country, the neighborhood has become a haven for artists, architects, musicians and intellectuals - although it also boasts the Hadassah Medical Center, the largest treatment and research hospital in the Jerusalem area.
But the aesthetes and the doctors are more recent arrivals in Ein Kerem - long before Ein Kerem became part of modern Jerusalem, it was a major Christian pilgrimage site, long identified by the faithful as the birthplace of John the Baptist. The spires of the neighborhood's many churches rise into the sky above the peaks, and constant streams of pilgrims flow between them hoping to touch a piece of Biblical history. Among the religious sites in Ein Kerem are the Church of the Visitation and the Church of Saint John the Baptist.
Those interested in culture and cuisine will find plenty to hold their attention in Jerusalem's extreme west too: Ein Kerem's Eden - Tamir Music Center is the de facto center of classical music culture in the Holy City, and a host of quiet cafes (Cafe Inbal) and upscale restaurants (Pundak Ein Kerem, Esti and Perla, Bistro, Agua, Karma, Beit HaMa'ayan) specializing in rustic local food and international fusion cuisine cater to any palate.
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