In Jesus's Footsteps 
跟随基督的脚步

Abu Gosh, Jerusalem

 

 

 

Abu Ghosh (Hebrew: אבו גוש‎) is an Arab town in Israel, located 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) west of Jerusalem on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway.

It is situated 610–720 meters above sea level. In 2010, it set the Guinness World Record for largest dish of hummus. Abu Ghosh is known for its good relations with the State of Israel and hospitality toward Israeli Jews.

 

Abu Ghosh is one of the earliest areas of human habitation in Israel. Archaeological excavations have revealed three Neolithic settlement phases, the middle phase is dated to the 7th millennium BCE. Its old Arabic name of Qaryat al'Inab ("Grape Village") has led Abu Ghosh to be identified with the biblical site of Kiryat Ye'arim.

Legio X Fretensis of the Roman army had a station house in Abu Ghosh until the end of the 3rd century.

The village has also been associated with Anathoth, the birthplace of the prophet Jeremiah.

 

The Crusader Church at the entrance to the village (now the Benedictine Monastery) is one of the best preserved Crusader remains in the country. The Hospitallers had built this Gothic church in 1140 and it was destroyed in 1187.

 

It was acquired by the French government in 1899 and placed under guardianship of the French Benedictine Fathers. Since 1956, it has been run by the Lazarist Fathers.

 

Today a double community of nuns and priests continue the worship in the church and offer hospitality, reflecting the ancient story of the couple on the Jerusalem–Emmaus road. Edward Robinson (1838) described it as “obviously from the time of the crusades, and [...] more perfectly preserved than any other ancient church in Palestine.” Excavations carried out in 1944 confirm that the Crusaders identified the site as the biblical Emmaus.

 

The Church of Notre Dame de l'Arche d'Alliance (Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant), built in 1924, is said to occupy the site of the house of Abinadab, where the Ark of the Covenant rested for twenty years until King David took it to Jerusalem.

 

It is built on the site of a fifth-century Byzantine church. It is recognizable by the roof-top statue of Mary carrying the infant Jesus in her arms.