Jerusalem 5800 English

The Metropolitan Jerusalem Master Plan

The compound will include open and

enclosed facilities at a built capacity of

some 20,000 meters, to be integrated with

the forest as “green” structures: some

of the built areas will be underground,

and they will have green roofs with layers

of flora. The biblical content offered

to visitors will include various challenge

attractions for the whole family with

biblical context and will be developed in

cooperation with experts on the topic.

The Edutainment Compound

An 115-acre compound will include

the Ein Yael Museum. This will include

some 25,000 meters of open and enclosed

structures to welcome visitors. The built

areas will be mostly underground with

green roofs. This compound will serve

as the central expanse for experiential

learning on biblical topics.

The Hotel Compound

Some 2,500 hotel rooms are to be built

in the open expanse adjacent to the park.

All of the proposed hotel compounds

will be developed and are planned to

be connected to the green agricultural

areas of the park and will have their own

agricultural motif gardens. The designated

areas are intended mainly for privately-

owned hotels, with only a few owned by

the Jewish National Fund.

The old railroad from Tel Aviv to

Jerusalem, which runs through the center

of the national park, is expected to be

useless by 2020 with the availability of the

new railroad which runs through Modiin.

In light of this, use of the rails and the

stations throughout the park for the

purposes of tourism and hotels should be

considered – for example, using old train

cars as bed & breakfasts.

Activity Areas for the General Public

This compound will include Ein Hanya

and all its surrounding structures and

archeological remains. It will stretch all

the way out to an artificial lake proposed

for the Nahal Refaim channel. This

compound, based on existing rural

buildings, will be developed as a recreation

center for the day, evening, or nighttime

activities and as the focal point of the

entire park. The main public promenade

along the Refaim riverbed would run

through the compound. In addition to

the central recreation center, there will

be two smaller entertainment centers –

one surrounding Ein Walaja and another

surrounding Ein Lavan.

The Biblical Zoo Compound –

The Animal Kingdom

The world class Biblical Zoo has been

the tourist site with the highest number

of visitors in Israel for several years now.

The compound sits on 60 acres and will

be incorporated into the plans for the

Emek Refaim Park as a central means of

attracting visitors. The zoo will serve as a

quality tourist attraction with large-scale

numbers of visitors, and will be active in

the fields of ecology and education.

The Nahal Refaim National Park

A sophisticated modern visitor’s center, reenactment of ancient agriculture,

one of the world’s largest zoos, an extreme park, a biblical experience

center, and unique luxurious hotels, and more will make the enormous

region of the Emek Refaim Park one of the biggest and most attractive

tourist sites in the world

We present the planned Nahal Refaim

National Park as an example of an

attraction to be created in Jerusalem

focused on realizing the city’s

unique tourism potential. The park,

as proposed in the Jerusalem 5800

Plan, is to be a project of enormous

magnitude. The project’s planning and

establishment stem from the desire to

create, within the city of Jerusalem, a

large agricultural expanse where the

cultural heritage of biblical times is

to be reenacted and preserved. The

agricultural reconstruction will serve

as the basis for a living, breathing, and

economically self-supporting expanse

for cultural tourism.

The Emek Refaim Park is part

of the continuum of Jerusalem’s

metropolitan urban parks. The park

will stretch out over the Refaim valley

between the where the river flows

out of the city’s built-up area into

the open expanse, though the park

will be surrounded by the residential

neighborhoods on the surrounding

hilltops. Nahal Refaim is a big

compound that connects the city

of Jerusalem, Gush Etzion, and the

Judean plain, and this new national

park will expand the tourist region

beyond the city lines, connecting it to

other parts of the metropolis.

The proposed tourism region

is planned in a manner that will

complement Jerusalem’s main tourist

center surrounding the Old City

and create a balance of the tourism

traffic around the city. The park

adds a variety of cultural tourism

experiences, born of the natural and

cultural landscapes, the varied choice

of activities therein, and the hotels to

be built surrounding it.

The tourist park will include the

following compounds:

Main Transportation Center

A full range of transportation

means will be available here, making

arrival to and departure from the

park, as well as travel within in the

park, easier: an underground train

station connected to the main railway

from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, light

rail stations, and cable car stops in

a circle line within the park, serving

the stations at each of the park’s 14

projects.

Main Visitor’s Center

The main visitor’s center will be

built adjacent to the transportation

center and will include stations where

park visitors can get information

about activities, purchase materials

such as maps, books, and pamphlets,

and tickets to all activities in the park.

There will also be designated areas of

commerce and food stands.

Biblical Family Theme Park

This compound will stretch mostly

throughout what is today the JNF

forest (an area of about 112 acres).

Hotels and Tourism