The ruined village of Lifta is located several hundred meters from Jerusalem's Central Bus Station and is reachable via a steep stony path. The site is generally identified as the ancient settlement of Nephtoah (Hebrew: נפתח) ", which was the northernmost demarcation point of the territory of the Tribe of Judah. Subsequently, during the Romans and Byzantine periods, it was known as Nephtho (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifta). There is an ancient spring at Lifta, and often visitors will chance upon numerous Orthodox Jewish youngsters and their parents bathing and washing themselves in the ancient waters, uncharacteristically stripped of their long dark somber clothing.
Today, many of the homes retain traces of beautiful stonework, including Roseate motifs on stone lintels and vestiges of decorative paint. To enter some of these derelict buildings is to step back in time prior to the village's abandonment in 1947. Some dwellings contain old cooking pots, lost shoes, and other tangibles of a vanished life.
For many, Lifta serves as a microcosm of all the complexities of our history as Jews and Israelis in this land, and as a mirror for the competing narratives of two Peoples. Despite all this or perhaps because of it, Lifta instills a strong sense of beauty and history but it is a melancholy and thoughtful place.
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