Hot town, summer in the city

July 13, 2008 - 9:00 PM by Jessica · 1 Comment
Filed under: General, Israeliness

When it’s hot in Jerusalem, it’s easiest to escape to air conditioning, particularly in a house like mine, which unfortunately lacks the all-necessary western exposure. But the moment the sun starts setting, the air outside gets cool and it’s amazing what kind of breeze you can catch.

I was thinking about that twice over the last four days; the first time, on Thursday, when we sat in Sultan’s Pool for the opening event of the Jerusalem Film Festival, watching Wall-E and actually wearing jackets. Bliss for July. But tonight’s outing was an even better combination of air, view and nature, as we headed up to Har Haruach, or Windy Hill, for a picnic in honor of my nephew’s birthday.

Located in the Judean Hills near Abu Gosh and Maale Hahamisha, Har Haruach is a JNF-KKL forest with several picnic areas that include playground facilities, a flat, one-kilometer walking trail and a beautiful view into the valley below. Beyond the park is the Himmelfarb’s Har Haruach organic goat cheese farm; a great stop for some tasty treats or as a complete outing. We didn’t head there today. Instead, we copped a squat in one of the picnic areas, set up some dinner and watched the sun go down over the Judean Hills.

There were some bees bugging us, but the air was clean and fresh, and we had the place to ourselves. Even better, though, was driving though the forest on our way home, and seeing a circle of people sitting around a medura (bonfire), singing, and probably roasting potatoes. Simple pleasures.

Share with others