scott kirkpatrick
Member
Liftah (also Neftoah -- the two names are close in Arabic) was abandoned in 1948 or 1949, and has remained empty. It lies hidden on two steep hillsides in a narrow corner of the last valley on the climb to Jerusalem, and only fleeting glimpses are seen when you drive into the city. Although I have lived within a few kilometers of Liftah for the past six years, yesterday was the first time I have explored the site. I put some quick sketches in a Pbase gallery, which you can see at http://www.pbase.com/skirkp/liftah . The village appears to have been rather wealthy, and was probably Christian, based on the cross motifs seen in some of the stoneware, and the absence of a mosque among the ruins. It had a good water supply; a spring in which you can swim is still kept up.
I expect to return and work harder on several scenes in different light, and also to see if there are vantage points which permit getting a better sense of what the whole village might have been like.
scott