Good Eats: Arcadia, Jerusalem, Israel

Arcadia 10 Agrippas St., +972 2 624 9138. Dinner daily. Located down a tight pedestrian lane and behind attractive blue iron gates, this restaurant is entered through a courtyard. The building interior features arches and vintage rough-hewn Jerusalem stone walls that are evocative of a castle cellar. Though it is a sophisticated upscale venue, the night I visited tables were decorated simply with freshly-pulled beets and lavender sprigs. Chef Ezra Kedem founded his restaurant in 1995 and uses locally-sourced ingredients in his menu creations. All veggies are organic and grown in the restaurant’s private garden. Entrees the night I visited included lightly herbed, long-braised lamb with root vegetables—perfect with a delicious Israeli Zinfandel—and also a tasty filet of gray grouper grilled with hyssop butter, cured lemons, and capers, but I especially enjoyed the lentil soup with hot focaccia and eggplant spread.

image c2012 Carole Terwilliger Meyers  

Sights to See: Monster Park, Jerusalem, Israel

Monster Park/"Mifletzet” Park Rabinovich Garden, Kiryat HaYovel neighborhood.  Decorating a children’s playground, this unusual concrete slide was made in the 1970s by sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle.  It is said that the tongues of the Monster of Jerusalem protect the children.  

image c2012 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

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Sights to See: Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel

Israel Museum 11 Derekh Ruppin St., S of the Knesset, 972/2-670-8811. M-Sat. $8. Reopened in 2010 after a multi-million dollar restoration, this is the largest cultural institution in Israel. It is the Israeli answer to the Metropolitan in NYC and is home to one of the world's most extraordinary collections of Old Masters, Israeli art, Judaica, and archaeology. Most of the rich collection is willed to the museum by Jewish art collectors. Exhibits include an outdoor scale model of Jerusalem as it was in the time of Jesus, just before its destruction by the Romans. Looking like a smashed ice cream cone from the outside, The Shrine of the Book holds one of the most important discoveries of modern times--the 2,000-year-old Dead Sea Scrolls, which were found by a shepard who lost his goat. The scrolls are mostly in Hebrew and so can be understood today. An original segment of the scrolls is on exhibit, but the rest are photocopies. A tunnel leads into the round room holding the display, which resembles the inside of a clay vessel. Reconstructed synagogues brought from Germany, Italy, and India are displayed in the Jewish Art and Life wing, and and a beautiful outdoor sculpture garden is also part of the complex.

image c2012 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

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Sights to See: Garden Tomb, Jerusalem, Israel

Garden Tomb On Conrad Schick St., a narrow lane 400 meters up Nablus Road, 1 blk from the Damascus Gate, 972-2-627-2745; . M-Sat 8:30-12 & 2-5:30. Free. A guided tour here explains why many Protestants believe this is the authentic site of the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Among the reasons are that it looks right and matches the Bible’s description. Pointing up the heavens, Director Richard Meryon says, “Here we worship the who, not the where.” Everyone gets about 12 seconds in the tomb, but that is adequate. Skull Hill, which has an indentation resembling a skull, is thought to be the site of the crucifixion and resurrection. It is a beautiful and quiet spot. A huge water reservoir has been found on the site, and you can view an ancient wine press that once was filled with straw before grapes were stomped. A Protestant site since 1894, it has been run by a British charity since 1969.

image c2012 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

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Sights to See: Jerusalem Park/9/11 Monument, Jerusalem, Israel

Jerusalem Park/9/11 Monument On the outskirts of town, NW of Jerusalem just off Hwy. 1. Jerusalem is the only other place in the world with a memorial for 9/11. The sculpture here resembles a burning flag, and a piece of the beam from the World Trade Center rests inside the monument’s base. All of the names of the people who died are engraved in stones around the perimeter (this is the first place after NYC to display the names). My guide, Ron Sinai, is part of the Israel Rescue Team that travels to disaster sites around the world. After the 9/11 attack, it took 15 minutes to organize their 65-person unit, and they were at the airport within an hour to go to NYC—only to be stopped by a call from President Bush saying it was an American issue and needed to be taken care of by Americans. New in 2009, the monument is in a forested area where people can also bike and hike. It is paid for by the Jewish National Fund.

image c2012 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

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Sights to See: City of David, Jerusalem Walls National Park, Jerusalem, Israel

City of David, Jerusalem Walls National Park  This is the original city of Jerusalem created by King David 3,000 years ago. Located just outside the wall of the Old City, south of the Temple Mount, and long an Arab area, it is nowadays being slowly changed by the Jewish groups buying up homes. As I stood on a platform overlooking the Gihon Spring, I heard roosters crowing and saw goats grazing this surprising urban, yet rural, area.

image c2012 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

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Good Eats: Nicholas Restaurant , Portland, Oregon

Nicholas Restaurant 318 SE Grand Ave., 503-235-5123. L-D daily; $. The first thing I noticed in this Lebanese-Middle Eastern venue is the gigantic round flatbreads hanging over the sides of a raised serving plate on each table. This bread is so good that just it plus several appetizers is the way to go--perhaps hummus, eggplant baba ghanoug, or yogurt-cucumber tahziki spreads as well as some falafels and stuffed grape leaves. The gyros sandwich is also very good and comes wrapped in this same bread. Entrée items, Lebanese pizza, and mezza platters are also options. Portions are generous, and vegan choices are available.

image c2012 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Sights to See: Church of Mary Magdalene, Jerusalem, Israel

Church of Mary Magdalene Featuring seven golden onion domes, this Russian Orthodox church was built in honor of the czar's mother in 1886. A mosaic inside depicts the legend of Mary Magdalene presenting an egg to the Emperor Tiberias. When she handed it to him, the egg is said to have turned red, symbolic of Jesus' blood. Nuns from all over the world now live here in the convent.

image c2012 Carole Terwilliger Meyers  

Sights to See: Church of All Nations, Jerusalem, Israel

Church of All Nations Adjacent to the Gethsemane, this church was built in 1944 with Catholic donations and is believed to be the spot where Jesus prayed his last prayer before his crucifixion. Known also as the “church of grief,” the dark and gloomy interior is by design. The exterior features a lovely mosaic façade and gable roof.

image c2012 Carole Terwilliger Meyers 

Sights to See: Gethsemane, Jerusalem, Israel

Gethsemane  This garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives is where Jesus and his disciples are believed to have prayed the night before his crucifixion. The olive trees in the garden are very, very old--some are claimed to be 1,500 years old--and still bear fruit.

image c2012 Carole Terwilliger Meyers