Purple grapes hang heavy among green leaves above the heads of relaxed guests while they relish its shelter from the warm August sun. A gracious limestone stairway leads upward to the guest rooms and a paneled lecture room for discussions and times of worship. This walled patio stands at the heart of activities at the Jerusalem Center. Here visitors enjoy outdoor meals on its stone floor, enjoy the blooming plants, and savor the powerful evening aroma of a climbing jasmine. Here is Middle Eastern hospitality in a format that will never be forgotten.
Stone walls help make a cool place in warm weather.
Spacious hallways lead from one to another of the sleeping rooms at the Center. The tile pattern in this floor actually is a design in Arabic, a reminder of the time when this building served as an orphanage and for a short time later as a restaurant. This arched doorway invites you to step from the busy outside world into the enclosed patio at the Center. Shaded by a towering palm and spreading grapevine, it provides a friendly place to rest and enjoy good meals from the kitchen nearby. An ancient olive tree stands sentinel by the Center's door.