Emek Refaim

• Emek Refaim Street, with the neighborhoods around it, is a Jerusalem gem. Plans are to ruin it.
• The area includes HaMoshava HaGermani, also known as the German Colony or HaMoshava ( http://jerusalemblog.blogspot.com/2006/09/bus-4-names.html ), which German Protestant pilgrims built in the late 1800s. The cafes and restaurants are so lively that foot traffic keeps the local bookstore open far into the evening. (See also http://jerusalemblog.blogspot.com/2006/06/performing-arts-in-jerusalem.html )
• The city plans to allow a giant hotel to go up around a Templar building protected as historic. If you book a room, don’t expect to walk out of the lobby onto the colorful street of today. Progress will have faded it.

Copyright 2006 Jane S. Fox