Ein Karem

Ein Karem — 'Spring of the Vineyard' in both Hebrew and Arabic — is a hillside village 7.5 kilometres south-west of Jerusalem's city centre. Christian tradition identifies it as the hometown of Zechariah and Elizabeth, parents of John the Baptist, and as the place where Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth (Luke 1:39–56). The village developed as a pilgrimage destination during the Byzantine period; the Crusaders erected two churches here in the 12th century whose foundations underlie today's Church of Saint John the Baptist and Church of the Visitation. The Franciscan church of Saint John was rebuilt in the 17th century over those Crusader remains.

The Church of the Visitation, completed in 1955 to a design by Antonio Barluzzi, stands on a terraced hillside where tradition places Elizabeth's summer house. Ceramic plaques on its exterior wall display Mary's Magnificat in over 50 languages. Below in the village lanes, the ancient spring still flows beside bougainvillea-draped stone houses and a cluster of art galleries. The Russian Orthodox Gorny Convent, founded in 1871, adds distinctive white towers to the skyline.

Ein Karem is roughly 20 minutes from central Jerusalem by car or bus. It combines naturally with Yad Vashem and the Israel Museum, both within a few kilometres. The village suits a half-day visit and is most agreeable in spring, when the hillside gardens are in bloom.