0.3 business
Address:
4 hanevi'im st, Damascus gate, Po box 51810, east jerusalem
, Jerusalem , Israel
Lonely Planet review
- Michael Kohn
- Lonely Planet author
Political tensions run high in this very Palestinian guesthouse - making it a popular meeting point for freelance journalists, political activists and wannabe anarchists. Hisham, the owner, provides free Internet, free tea and free dialogue. Although fairly dishevelled, no guesthouse in Israel offers character quite like place.
The no-holds-barred mural of the IDF firing on Palestinian refugee camps is your first indication of what this place is all about. Political debate in the scruffy, Arabic-style common lounge is not overt, but anyone willing to speak their mind is free to do so. It can be a fun place to hang out and get a feel for the Palestinian side of things, if you don't mind the clouds of cigarette smoke that constantly billow in the room. Other amenities include a spacious entrance area with a TV and a kitchen equipped with a fridge, stove and microwave. The bathrooms aren't too bad, but the dorms feel like refugee camps for impoverished backpackers, some of whom take up residence for months on end. If you don't end up becoming one of them, you may find yourself moving to the historic guesthouses in the Old City.
