ABU GHOSH

Some 3,800 Arabs, predominantly Moslems, live in this quiet village on the slopes of hills. Until Highway No. 1 was completed, it lay on the main route to Jerusalem. It gets its name from a 17th-century sheikh who imposed toll taxes on all travellers passing through to Jerusalem. The villagers cooperated with Jewish defence forces before and during the War of Independence. On Saturdays, many Israelis may be seen frequenting the restaurants of Abu Ghosh.

Abu Ghosh is on the site of biblical Qiryat Yearim, where the Ark rested before being taken to Jerusalem. The Monastery of the Ark, built on top of the mountain above the village in 1924, stands over the traditional site of the house of Abinadab, where the Ark of the Covenant was kept (2 Samuel 6:3). Its colossal statue of St. Mary holding the infant Jesus may be seen from far off.

The Crusaders slept in Abu Ghosh the night before they marched on Jerusalem in 1099. Four decades later they built one of the most beautiful Romanesque churches in the holy land, confusing Abu Ghosh with the site of biblical Emmaus.

The Crusader church of today's Benedictine Monastery rises above the ruins of a 1st-century CE Roman fort. A stone embedded in a wall is inscribed with the name of the Roman Tenth Legion. The Moslems used the church as a mosque and then as a stable before the French restored it and reconsecrated it in 1907. It is located on the lower part of the hill.

If you continue through the village you will come to three interesting settlements. The first is Qiryat Yearim, a children's village financed by Jews from Switzerland.

Nearby is Ma'ale Hahamisha (Ascent of the Five). This kibbutz has a popular guest house with tennis courts and a swimming pool. The kibbutz is named in honour of five men slain by Arabs while planting trees in 1938.

Qiryat Anavim is another kibbutz with a guest house and swimming pool. It is 700 m. above sea level and has a striking memorial to the men of the Harel Brigade who fell in the mountains of Jerusalem during the War of Independence.

Whether you drove through Abu Ghosh or by way of the shortcut, you turn off (right) to the picnic and camping site of Aqua Bella (En Hemed). The remains of an ancient oak forest, as well as fig and olive trees, are spread around the landscaped gardens near the running brook. Dominating everything are the double storey ruins of a 12th-century Crusader structure that experts believe was a manor house. Others claim it was a nunnery, but there are no traces of a chapel.

Of particular interest are two of the three ground-floor rooms around the courtyard. They are dug into the ground because of the slope. All the rooms at this level are barrel- vaulted. The outer walls are two metres thick while the whole structure is 40 m. by 30 m.

An entrance fee is paid at this picnic site. There is also a popular camping site next to the park, at Bet Nekofa.

Return to Highway No. 1, where a hill soon looms on the right. This is Castel, with the ruins of a Roman fortress clamped to it. Bitter fighting raged here during 1948. Now it is a national memorial site.

The road dips sharply. Take care to change into low gear and drive slowly as Motza Bend, at the base of the decline, is treacherous, even in the dry summer months.

After climbing and curving for several minutes you round a corner with Jerusalem facing you.