"Hidden Beit Jamal (Jimal or even Gamal)" Beit Jimal by Martin_S.

Just south west of Beit Shemesh off highway 38 you will find the Beit Jamal Monastary (or Jimal or Gamal, depending on how you pronounce it). From the highway it is hidden and you will not see it until you enter the access road and drive for a few minutes. It is situated on a hilltop surrounded by small farming valleys.

Beit Jamal entrance sign

At the entrance sign you have primitive parking and then a long walk up the driveway to the enteacne arch. Here you can see Nathalie and Zohara thinking about walking up the road to the Monastary. After they thought about it they DID.

Beit Jamal bell tower, Israel

This bell tower greets you on your walk around the Monastary grounds, they told me that it no longer is operative. An interesting fact that I found out about the Monastary was that it operated the country’s first meteorological station, established by Salesian monks in 1919. What was amazing to me was that, even today, it is still maintained as an official meteorological station, by the monks who measure precipitation, wind, and temperature daily.....scientific monks no less.

• Pros:interesting spot of history
• Cons:Too crowded on weekends
• In a nutshell:Try to make your visit on weekdays