Let There Be Light Rail

 Jerusalem’s ultra-modern crosstown train offers passengers a smooth ride and a rich tour of the Holy City. Next stop: thousands of years of history

Two years ago, soon after the Light Rail began operating in Jerusalem, I found myself sitting next to a tourist from Jamaica. After asking me all kinds of questions about the sites visible from the windows, she told me that she was taking the train from one end to the other to get a feel for the Holy City.

She certainly had the right idea. For while the Light Rail in other cities is mainly a vehicle for transportation, the Jerusalem version provides riders with a window into thousands of years of the city’s rich and turbulent history.

The train begins in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Zeev. But the main historical sites are along a route from the Ammunition Hill Station to its final stop at Mount Herzl.

One of the fiercest battles of the 1967 Six Day War was fought at Ammunition Hill, where the British established a school for policemen during their mandate in Palestine.Natural and man-made burial caves on the adjacent height were utilized for storing great stocks of ammunition, which is how it became known as Ammunition Hill.

Read the full article over at The Times of Israel