Mount HaTayasim

A point equal to a cup of coffee in the nature reserve spreads around the summit of Mount HaTayasim, one of the highest peaks in the Jerusalem Hills (elevation point: 796 m). From the mountain's summit, there is an impressive view. It's really a great spot to open a coffee kit, enjoy the stunning scenery, and also whatever comes out of your percolator. The reserve area includes Mediterranean woodland areas of the common oak (Quercus calliprinos) and the Israeli aleppo pine (Pistacia?), and understory on chalky (chavari) soil, containing one of the richest concentrations of orchid species in the Jerusalem Hills, with 14 orchid species. Among the animals found in the reserve are foxes, jackals, and porcupines. At the summit of Mount HaTayasim is the memorial site for the Air Force fallen. Memorial to Air Force fallen (from Wikipedia). On the mountain there is a memorial for Israeli Air Force fallen, and the site is the central memorial site of the Air Force. The memorial was built a number of years after the War of Independence. It is made of Jerusalem stone, and partly at its upper section is the engine of a crashed aircraft, with a twisted propeller. These remains are of a single-engine, light transport aircraft of the "Norsman" type that exploded and crashed on the summit of Deir Amr, today Mount Itanim nearby, on 10 May 1948. The aircraft was sent on an air bombing mission as aerial support in the conquest of the village of Beit Mechasir (today Beit Meir) by the Harel Brigade of the Palmach. The fighting was part of Operation Maccabi to capture the Jerusalem corridor. The Norsman carried a new experimental bomb—a 200-kilogram explosive barrel. The aircraft crew included the two pilots Yiriv Shainboim and Daniel Bokshtein; the wireless operator/aerial photographer Shlomo Cohen; and three ordnance experts—Shlomo Rotshtein, Yitzhak Shaklevitz, and Tzvi Shusterman—all of whom were killed. The circumstances of the aircraft's fall remain unclear to this day; wreckage from the aircraft was found in the nearby Ksalon Stream only after the area was captured and the road to Jerusalem was opened in September 1948. The bodies of the fallen, buried by the Arabs in a well in the nearby village, were collected and taken for burial in a mass grave in Kiryat Anavim. A number of years after the War of Independence, the aircraft's engine and its propeller were moved to the top of the mountain and set as the memorial. Another monument for this aircraft's crew, with part of the aircraft engine on it, is located in the nearby moshav of Giv'at Ye'arim. Beginning in the 1950s, the memorial became a gathering place for Air Force personnel and bereaved families to mark Memorial Day for Israel's fallen. In 1999, memorial pillars were erected in the grove near the memorial, in which the names of Air Force fallen are commemorated from its establishment until today. Every year during Memorial Day for Israel's fallen, representatives of the Air Force command, attaches of foreign air forces, and bereaved families gather at Mount HaTayasim for the Air Force's central memorial ceremony. At this ceremony, there is a unique custom: at the exact moment the siren sounds at 11:00 a.m., an aircraft or helicopter formation passes over the mountain, when one of the quartet breaks away from its comrades and the three continue in a "missing formation" to commemorate the fallen. In addition, at the end of the "preparatory" phase in the Pilots Course, the new trainee pilots ascend to the summit of the mountain, where a ceremony is held to mark the end of the stage. Ein HaTayasim is a beautiful, orderly spring located in the reserve as well. This is an artificial pool; when it is full, the water is clear and cool. It's recommended to check before you set out whether there is water in it, even though it's beautiful to walk around the area also without the spring. For more information about Ein HaTayasim "