Jerusalem’s Own
‘Little Soho’ Neighborhood

By George Medovoy, Editor

Jerusalem's famous windmill rises above the city like a trusty beacon in the pleasant neighborhood of Yemin Moshe, Hebrew for 'the right hand of Moses.'

A guidepost to the city's modern history, the windmill was built in the late 19th century by British philanthropist Sir Moses Montefiore, who encouraged Jerusalem's Jewish community to move out of the squalid quarters of the Old City.

Montefiore, who also installed London's gas lighting system, constructed new housing near the windmill, thus giving rise to one of the first neighborhoods to be built outside the Old City walls.

Today the neighborhood is a lovely enclave of charming, very high-priced white-shuttered apartments inside quiet alleyways overgrown with bougainvillea. The view of the Old City is spectacular.

We walked inside the windmill and saw a photo display of Montefiore's early visits to the Holy Land, which began in 1827 and ended in 1875, when he was 91.

The neighborhood is also home to "Mishkenot Sheh'ananim" (Hebrew for 'Dwellings of Tranquility'), apartments owned by the Jerusalem municipality and reserved for visiting artists and writers.

One of the most famous writers to stay here was the American writer Saul Bellow, who wrote his novel "To Jerusalem and Back" during a visit.The apartments command a panoramic view of Sultan's Pool — a yawning expanse used 2,00 years ago to prevent rainwater from flash flooding down to the Dead Sea. Today, the dry pool, named for one of Jerusalem's early Turkish rulers, is a popular venue for open-air symphonies, rock concerts and other events.

Beyond Sultan's Pool, we looked out at Mt. Zion and the Benedictine contours of Dormition Abbey, a German-Catholic church built on the traditional site where Mary is said to have drifted off to eternal sleep.

The Cenacle, a bare room washed in rays of Jerusalem sunlight, is located behind Dormition Abbey above David's Tomb and is supposedly the very room of the Last Supper.

A short walk down the broad steps of Yemin Moshe, we found one of Jerusalem's best restaurants, named, appropriately enough, Mishkenot Sha'anamin, which enjoys a top rating in the new Gault Millau Guide.

With a striking night-time view of David's Tower, the restaurant's menu features dishes like foie gras, veal sweetbreads in wine and anise, braised duck with figs, along with an array of fine Israeli and foreign wines.

Walking south of the windmill for about five minutes, we found the gates of St. Andrews Church of Scotland. Underneath the church, archaeologists happened upon a cemetery dating to King David's time -- and within it, a finger-sized silver plate with the same priestly blessing used to this very day in synagogues all over the world.

The church has a hospice for visitors and a memorial to Robert Bruce, the Scottish king who died in 1329 and asked to have his heart taken to Jerusalem. Poor King Robert -- his heart never made it, for it was stolen somewhere in Spain on its way to the holy city!

But nearby is the Khan Theater, which will lift your own heart with evenings of jazz and folklore.

From the windmill, we crossed the street and visited Liberty Bell Park with its replica of the famous American Liberty Bell, a gift of the city of Philadelphia to the Israeli Knesset (Parliament).

The inspirational message to "proclaim liberty throughout all the land" was taken from the Old Testament.The windmill is also a short walk to another favorite Jerusalem neighborhood in this city of neighborhoods — the German Colony, also known as Little Soho.

If you walk down Emek Rifaim Street you suddenly find yourself in the 'colony,' a leafy neighborhood filed with quaint boutiques, great restaurants and cozy cafes.

Two of the cafes we liked best of all were Cafete and Masarik, both located on Emek Refaim Street, Little Soho's main street. They were perfect for light fare — a nice bowl of soup, a sandwich, and a cup of coffee and a piece of cake. The portions were unusually plentiful and quite reasonable.

Another good place in the German Colony, though more for heftier meals, is Norman's Steak 'N Burger, which boasts the freshest burgers, steaks, ribs, chicken, fish, grilled to perfection.

And how about a desert of extravagant designer chocolate at a shop called Max Brenner? Yum!

The German Colony was founded by Christian Templars in the 19th century, and today you can still see the lovely stone houses they built, bordered by tall pine trees whose branches spread over the sidewalks.

Peeking through the tall gates, we could see the gothic-style Biblical quotes which the Templars engraved on the exterior walls.

For kids, one of the best stops in the German Colony is the Natural History Museum, built in a 19th-century home called "Villa Decan," which once was used as the residence of Jerusalem's governor when the city was ruled by the Turks and later as an officers' club under British rule.

With an emphasis on Israeli wildlife, the museum has displays of many birds and animals.

We stayed at the Laromme Hotel, now called the Inbal Hotel, a wonderful Jerusalem address across the street from the windmill. The lovely hotel, built of traditional Jerusalem stone, has a charming courtyard much in keeping with the 19th-century Jerusalem tradition of building houses with courtyards in which the owners placed water cisterns.

The only thing missing at the hotel was the water cistern, but other than that, you couldn't ask for a better place to stay. Amenities included spacious suites with incomparable Jerusalem views, TV and cable, rooms for disabled, a large swimming pool, and great dining in the Jordan Lounge with musical entertainment and a lavish breakfast buffet to fill you for the entire day.

One of the biggest surprises of a stay at the Inbal is the VIP Graffiti Wall in a side area of the hotel reserved for special guests to come and go — and leave their signature "on the wall."

For more information on Israel travel contact: 888-77-ISRAEL or www.goisrael.com. For Inbal Hotel information, visit the web site at www.hotels-of-Israel.com.