Hutzot HaYotzer, known in English as the Artists' Colony, is an arts and crafts lane in

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

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, located west of 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 ...

walls.

Etymology

Hutzot Hayotzer can be translated as "The Creator Steps Out", or alternatively from Hebrew and Aramaic as "the potter's section" (compound) or "the potter's hedge".

Location

It is placed in the

Valley of Hinnom The Valley of Hinnom ( he, , lit=Valley of the son of Hinnom, translit=Gēʾ ḇen-Hīnnōm) is a historic valley surrounding Ancient Jerusalem from the west and southwest. The valley is also known by the name Gehinnom ( ''Gēʾ-Hīnnōm'', ...

between

Yemin Moshe , settlement_type = Neighborhood of Jerusalem , image_skyline = משכנות שאננים בירושלים ביחד עם כנסיית דורמיציון ברקע.JPG , imagesize = 300px , image_caption = Ha-Brekha street , su ...

to the south, and David's Village (Kfar David in Hebrew) and the

Mamilla Mall Mamilla Mall, also called Alrov Mamilla Avenue, is an upscale shopping street and the only open-air mall in West Jerusalem. Located northwest of Jaffa Gate, the mall consists of a pedestrian promenade called Alrov Mamilla Avenue lined by 140 s ...

to the north. Other nearby landmarks are the

Teddy Park Teddy Park (born Park Hong-jun on September 14, 1978), is a Korean–American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Park moved to the United States with his family as a young child. When he was 17 years old, P ...

(named after Mayor

Teddy Kollek Theodor "Teddy" Kollek ( he, טדי קולק; 27 May 1911 – 2 January 2007) was an Israeli politician who served as the mayor of Jerusalem from 1965 to 1993, and founder of the Jerusalem Foundation. Kollek was re-elected five times, in 1969, 197 ...

) and

Sultan's Pool The Sultan's Pool ( he, בריכת הסולטן, translit=Brechat ha-Sultan; ar, بركة السلطان, translit=Birket es-Sultan) is an ancient water basin to the west side of Mount Zion, Jerusalem. The Sultan's Pool was part of the water supp ...

to the south.

History

In biblical times, the land where Hutzot Hayotzer is located was part of the valley referred to in

Biblical Hebrew Biblical Hebrew (, or , ), also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language, a language in the Canaanite branch of Semitic languages spoken by the Israelites in the area known as the Land of Israel, roughly west of ...

as ''Gei ben-Hinnom'' or ''Gei ben-Hinnom'', which later evolved into "

Gehenna The Valley of Hinnom ( he, , lit=Valley of the son of Hinnom, translit=Gēʾ ḇen-Hīnnōm) is a historic valley surrounding Ancient Jerusalem, Ancient Jerusalem from the west and southwest. The valley is also known by the name Gehinnom ( ...

", an area used for worship rituals. In today's terms, it is placed within the north-south stretch of the Valley of Hinnom. Between

1948 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 ...

and

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

, the area was a

no-man's land No man's land is waste or unowned land or an uninhabited or desolate area that may be under dispute between parties who leave it unoccupied out of fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dump ...

between the

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

ian-held Old City and the Israeli-held

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 ...

. Construction on the artists' colony began in 1969. In 2011, the artists' collective was threatened with eviction by the

East Jerusalem Development Corporation East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

, which owns the buildings. The eviction order was rescinded, but rents were raised. Chef

Moshe Basson Moshe Basson (( he, משה בסון; born 1950) is an Israeli chef, restaurateur, and food folklorist. An early proponent of the Slow Food movement in Israel, he is the owner and head chef of The Eucalyptus restaurant in Jerusalem. He specializes i ...

's restaurant

The Eucalyptus The Eucalyptus ( he, האקליפטוס) is a Jerusalem fine dining restaurant. It is noted for its use of biblical ingredients and the use of wild plants and roots foraged from the nearby hillsides, and for preparing traditional and innovative Lev ...

is located there.

International Arts and Crafts Fair

Since 1976, Hutzot Hayotzer and the Sultan's Pool area have been the site of the annual International Arts and Crafts Fair or Festival, a 12-day event in August featuring the work of local and international artists. There are also open-air concerts, workshops for children and food booths. Many of Israel's leading pop and rock stars have performed at Hutzot Hayotzer During the festival, the artist studios along the lane stay open late and the artists offer public demonstrations of their work.

References

External links