The Greek Colony (, ''HaMoshava HaYevanit'') is a neighborhood in

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

, bordering the German Colony and

Katamon , settlement_type = Neighborhood of Jerusalem , image_skyline = בית רה"מ לוי אשכול ברחוב בוסתנאי 3 בשכנות קטמון בירושלים.jpg , imagesize = 300px , image_caption = House ...

History

The lands of the Greek Colony were purchased by wealthy members of the

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek language, Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the Eastern Orthodox Church, entire body of Orthodox (Chalced ...

community in the early 20th century.

Archimandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") who ...

Euthymios ( el, Ευθύμιος) of the

Church of the Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, hy, Սուրբ Հարության տաճար, la, Ecclesia Sancti Sepulchri, am, የቅዱስ መቃብር ቤተክርስቲያን, he, כנסיית הקבר, ar, كنيسة القيامة is a church i ...

encouraged them to establish a neighborhood outside the

Old City Old City often refers to old town, the historic or original core of a city or town. Old City may refer to several places: Historical cities or regions of cities ''(by country)'' *Old City (Baku), Azerbaijan * Old City (Dhaka), Bangladesh, also ca ...

's overcrowded

Christian Quarter The Christian Quarter ( ar, حارة النصارى, ''Ḥārat al-Naṣārā''; he, הרובע הנוצרי, ''Ha-Rova ha-Notsri'') is one of the four quarters of the walled Old City of Jerusalem, the other three being the Jewish Quarter, ...

. Architect Spyro Houris ( el, Σπύρος Χουρί) designed the first twenty homes and a community center before World War I. Most of the Greek Orthodox residents fled before the

1947–1949 Palestine war The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. It is known in Israel as the War of Independence ( he, מלחמת העצמאות, ''Milkhemet Ha'Atzma'ut'') and ...

in 1948. After the war, apartment blocks were hastily built to accommodate large numbers of Jewish immigrants from Yemen and Morocco.The lost tribes: How gentrification decimated Israel's original ethnic communities and neighborhoods

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

In the 21st century, the neighborhood underwent gentrification and is now one of the most expensive in Jerusalem. The Greek Colony community center, consisting of five buildings, organizes regular cultural activities that include traditional Greek dancing and Greek language classes. Th
Greek Consulate in Jerusalem
is located in the Greek Colony, at the junction of Rachel Imeinu and Tel Chai. A popular attraction in the neighborhood is the Greek Community Center, built in the year 1902 at Joshua Bin Nun Street. The community center, Beit Elisheva, at the corner of Hizkiyahu and Elazar Hamodai, was built in 1962. The birthing hospital, Misgav Ledach, which was originally established in 1854 in the

Old City of Jerusalem The Old City of Jerusalem ( he, הָעִיר הָעַתִּיקָה, translit=ha-ir ha-atiqah; ar, البلدة القديمة, translit=al-Balda al-Qadimah; ) is a walled area in East Jerusalem. The Old City is traditionally divided into ...

, funded by the

Rothschild family The Rothschild family ( , ) is a wealthy Ashkenazi Jewish family originally from Frankfurt that rose to prominence with Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744–1812), a court factor to the German Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel in the Free City of F ...

, was later moved to the Greek Colony, and has been there since then.

Archaeology

In July 2007, archaeological excavations in the Greek Colony prior to the construction of a residential building carried out by the

Israel Antiquities Authority The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA, he, רשות העתיקות ; ar, داﺌرة الآثار, before 1990, the Israel Department of Antiquities) is an independent Israeli governmental authority responsible for enforcing the 1978 Law of ...

found remains of a northeast-southwest oriented wall. Based on the findings, it was probably the retaining wall of a farming terrace. Some ceramic finds dating to the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

and

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

periods were unearthed, as well as a large stone quarter dating to the Byzantine period.Jerusalem, the Greek Colony: Final Report
Hadashot Arkheologiyot, vol 121, 8 January 2009

References

{{Coord, 31, 45, 40.63, N, 35, 12, 48.75, E, display=title Greek diaspora in Israel Neighbourhoods of Jerusalem European culture in Jerusalem