The Hotel 7 Arches Jerusalem is a hotel in

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 ...

in the Arab neighborhood of

at-Tur At-Tur ( ar, الطور, ; The Mount) is the 52nd chapter (''sūrah'') of the Quran with 49 verses ('' ayat''). The surah opens with the oath of the Allah swearing by the Mount, which some believe is Mount Sinai, where the Tawrat was reveale ...

on the

Mount of Olives The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet ( he, הַר הַזֵּיתִים, Har ha-Zeitim; ar, جبل الزيتون, Jabal az-Zaytūn; both lit. 'Mount of Olives'; in Arabic also , , 'the Mountain') is a mountain ridge east of and adjacent to Jeru ...

. The hotel overlooks the old city of Jerusalem.

History

The hotel was built by the Jordanian government on land that belongs to the Islamic Waqf in Jerusalem. The hotel opened on March 20, 1964, as the Hotel Jerusalem Intercontinental, managed by the US

Intercontinental Hotels Intercontinental is an adjective to describe something which relates to more than one continent. Intercontinental may also refer to: * Intercontinental ballistic missile, a long-range guided ballistic missile * InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG ...

chain. The

Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establ ...

held its first

Palestinian National Council The Palestinian National Council (PNC) ( ar, المجلس الوطني الفلسطيني, "'Almajlis Alwataniu Alfilastiniu"') is the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and elects the PLO Executive Committee, which ...

conference at the hotel in May 1964. The hotel was slightly renamed in 1966, becoming the Hotel Inter-Continental Jerusalem, when the chain altered their branding. After the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...

, and the loss of Jordanian sovereignty over Jerusalem, the property was entrusted to the Custodian of Absentee Property. In 1989, as a result of the

First Intifada The First Intifada, or First Palestinian Intifada (also known simply as the intifada or intifadah),The word ''intifada'' () is an Arabic word meaning "uprising". Its strict Arabic transliteration is '. was a sustained series of Palestinian ...

, Inter-Continental Hotels chose not to renew their management agreement with the hotel, an agreement which was first signed with the Jordanians, and later with the Custodian. The hotel changed its name to the 7 Arches Hotel, and the Custodian entrusted the management of the hotel to a local management team. The hotel has fifty employees. All, including the management team, are East Jerusalemites.

Today

The 7 Arches is a 4-star hotel with 196 rooms notable for its views of Jerusalem.Hotel 7 Arches Jerusalem, Jerusalem Hotels : Reviews of Hotel 7 Arches Jerusalem - Yahoo! Travel
/ref> Despite reports in 2010 that plans had been submitted for expansion of the hotel, the general manager of the 7 Arches, Awni Inshewat, denied this. He said there had been some confusion over an application for a building permit for a large Christian prayer tent located at the site: "The tent has been there for about five years, but the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

said it needs a building permit, so we applied for that."Israel to expand landmark E.Jerusalem hotel: Report
/ref>

References

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External links

Hotel 7 Arches Jerusalem official website
Hotels in Jerusalem Mount of Olives Hotels established in 1964 Jordanian construction in eastern Jerusalem Hotel buildings completed in 1964 1960s in Jerusalem