Day tripping

September 15, 2008 - 2:03 PM by Jessica · 2 Comments
Filed under: Food, General, History and Culture, Travel

Judean Hills-1.jpg I had to head out to the Maale Hahamisha hotel yesterday for a meeting, and was reminded as I drove through Abu Gosh, passing Yad HaShmona and Neve Ilan along the way, what a great little tour this area makes for a day tripper.

Abu Gosh is an Arab village that is named for the Abu Gosh family and which has remained friendly to Israel throughout 60 years of statehood. Known for its annual music festival and Christmas Eve services, Abu Gosh also has a slew of Middle Eastern style restaurants and hummousiya stops, serving grilled meats, salads and hummous. Two of the most famous are the Lebanese Restaurant, built around a mulberry tree and known for its popularity among Israeli politicians and the Abu Gosh Restaurant, which is owned by Ibrahim Jawdat, an Abu Gosh native who won $17 million in a Chicago, IL state lottery while working as a mechanic. Legend has it that Jawdat used his last $50 to buy a bunch of lottery tickets at a 7-11, and, well, got lucky.

If you keep on driving through Abu Gosh, you’ll see a signpost pointing up toward Maale Hahamisha, a kibbutz that has its own hotel — with a great indoor pool — and the orchid hospice, part of the kibbutz orchid greenhouse, for those possessing an orchid obsession. For another alternative cooperative community, stop at Yad Hashmona on the way out of the area, a moshav of Finnish Christians who offer lodging, food and a biblical village in the Judean Hills.

Finally, before heading home, stop at the Elvis Inn for a necessary viewing of the incredible collection of Elvis memorabilia…It’s one thing to see this kind of adulation in Graceland, but it’s fantastically out of place for the Judean Hills.

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