Baka ( ar, بقعه, lit. "Valley"; he, בַּקְעָה) is a neighborhood in southern

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. The official name is Geulim, which is mainly used on road signs.

Geography

The neighborhood is somewhat trapezoidal, sandwiched between Derech Hevron on the east at 760 meters above sea level and sloping downward toward Derech HaRakevet and General Pierre Koenig Street on the western side at 740 meters. The old Jerusalem Railway Station occupies the north-eastern point with Rivka Street forming the southern base. Baka is bounded by

Abu Tor Abu Tor, also Abu Thor or ath-Thori, ( ar, أبو طور or الثوري, he, אבו תור; lit. Arabic meaning "Father of the Bull"; In Hebrew also called גבעת חנניה (Giv'at Hanania), lit. " Hananiah's hill") is a mixed Jewish and Ara ...

to the northeast,

Talpiot Talpiot ( he, תלפיות, literally 'turrets' or 'magnificently built') is an Israeli neighborhood in southeastern Jerusalem, established in 1922 by Zionist pioneers. It was built as a garden suburb on land purchased by the Tel Aviv-based Pa ...

to the east, Talpiot Industrial Zone to the south, Mekor Chaim to the west, and the

Greek Colony Greek colonization was an organised colonial expansion by the Archaic Greeks into the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea in the period of the 8th–6th centuries BC. This colonization differed from the migrations of the Greek Dark Ages in that i ...

and German Colony to the northwest. The north-south Derech Beit Lehem serves as the major commercial artery within the neighborhood.

History

Baka was established in the late 19th century after the completion of the Jerusalem Railway Station. The station created the nucleus of a commercial center that eventually attracted mostly wealthy Muslim, Christian, and Armenian families from the Old City, who built mansions there in the 1920s. The neighborhood had an

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

character until the 1950s. Baka 1948

During the

1948 Arab-Israeli War Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

, the neighborhood was left on the Israeli (western) side of the dividing line between

West Jerusalem West Jerusalem or Western Jerusalem (, ; , ) refers to the section of Jerusalem that was controlled by Israel at the end of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. As the city was divided by the Green Line (Israel's erstwhile border, established by t ...

and

East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the sector of Jerusalem that was held by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to the western sector of the city, West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Jerusalem was envisaged as a separat ...

. Its population changed, as was the case with many neighborhoods on both sides of the dividing line. After 1948, many streets in Baka were renamed for the

Twelve Tribes of Israel The Twelve Tribes of Israel ( he, שִׁבְטֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל, translit=Šīḇṭēy Yīsrāʾēl, lit=Tribes of Israel) are, according to Hebrew scriptures, the descendants of the biblical patriarch Jacob, also known as Israel, thro ...

: Judah, Issachar, Levi, Zevulun, Reuven, Shimon, Gad, Ephraim, Menashe, Benjamin, Dan, Asher and Naphtali.

Baka today

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Baka experienced a significant change as middle class professionals began to move in. Many of the palatial homes were renovated, while some of the larger mansions from the Mandate period were subdivided into luxury apartments. Demographically, the neighborhood contains a mix of religious and secular Jews and is popular among English and French-speaking immigrants. The main commercial street, Derech Beit Lehem, is lined with shops, designer stores, coffee houses, restaurants and more.

Schools and public institutions

Schools in Baka include Oranim, Efrata, Geulim A, and Pelech, a religious high school for girls. Ulpan Etzion, Israel's first Hebrew-language school, was established in Baka in 1949. The

ulpan An ulpan ( he, אולפן), plural ''ulpanim'', is an institute or school for the intensive study of Hebrew. Ulpan is a Hebrew word meaning "studio", "teaching", or "instruction". The ulpan is designed to teach adult immigrants to Israel the b ...

, directed by Mordechai Kamerat, was used as a model for Hebrew language teaching all over Israel. In 2008, the school vacated its college-style dormitories, communal rooms and gardens after the lease expired with the Carmelite Church that owned the property.

Recreation and parks

The Train Track Park (''Park HaMesila''), the longest bike path in Jerusalem and one of the major recreation areas in the city, runs along Derech HaRekevet on the western edge of Baka.All Out Adventure: Romantic railway route
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References

{{coord, 31, 45, 33.01, N, 35, 13, 14.94, E, display=title Neighbourhoods of Jerusalem