This cache is a tupperware-like box, hidden just outside of Ein
Kerem, a village turned suburb at the western edge of Jerusalem.
Take the Ein Kerem - Beit Zayit footpath, which begins near the
bottom of Emek Hatemanim street (valley of the Yemenites, named
after the Yemenite immigrants who settled here soon after the
establishment of the State of Israel). The cache is located a short
walk off the footpath. Watch out for the thorn bushes. Stop in some
shade and enjoy the view of the Beit Zayit Reservoir.
Archeological excavations in Ein Kerem uncovered remains of a
settlement from the Middle Bronze Period (third millennium BCE),
pottery from the first century BCE, and pagan cult statues from
Roman times. Ancient tradition, dating back from Theodosius (530
CE), identifies Ein Kerem as the birthplace of John the Baptist.
The crusaders occupied the village and built a large church, soon
destroyed in the eleventh century. The Franciscans established
their first church in 1621, and establishing a more permanent
settlement in 1674. Throughout this period pilgrims would often
pass through Ein Kerem, following the Jerusalem-Ein Kerem-Bethlehem
triangle. Mark Twain is said to have stayed in Ein Kerem during his
1867 trip to the Holy land, but was apparently not very
impressed.
The Franciscans remained the only foreigners in Ein Kerem until the
middle of the nineteenth century. In 1860, the sisters of Our Lady
of Zion settled in the village, to be followed by the nuns of the
Russian Orthodox Church in 1871, the White Father in 1882, the
Greek Orthodox Church in 1894, and the Rosary Sisters in 1911.
During the Israeli War of Independence in 1948 the inhabitants of
the village, mostly Arab, fled and were replaced by immigrants from
Asian countries. In 1949, Rahel Yannait Ben Tzvi established the
Ein Kerem Agricultural School, moving it from its previous location
in Jerusalem. From the mid 1960’s on, many artists and academics
chose to settled in the village, attracted to its beautiful views
of the foothills of Jerusalem, and its location just outside the
reach of the Jerusalem metropolitan clamor.
(Source- The Jewish Virtual Library)
Important: To prevent water from getting into the container,
when you close it, please make sure the lid is completely sealed on
al sides, and replace as deep as you can under the rock.