Jerusalem Day contest offers a night at the Tower of David museum
Winners who post a photo, video or letter describing their unique connection to Jerusalem get treated to gourmet meals, rooftop yoga and private tours
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
Have you ever looked around at the emerald green courtyards in the Tower of David Museum and thought, hey, this would be a great place to go camping?
Well, now’s your chance.
The Tower of David Museum is inviting one family to spend the night of May 20 on their grounds “glamping” — that’s glamorous camping — in a luxury tent, sleeping on high thread-count sheets, dining on a gourmet dinner and breakfast, with rooftop yoga and private tours of the museum.
To win, contestants have to write or send a photo of a magical memory in Jerusalem. The memory can be ancestral, telling of family history; romantic, relaying a first date in the holy city; or a Jerusalem moment of kindness or unusual circumstances. Anything goes, but it will be judged by writer Galit Dahan Carlebach, a Jerusalemite who spent her national service as a guide at the Tower of David Museum.
All photos, films and letters should be sent to the museum through their Facebook page, and must be received by 9 a.m. on Sunday, May 17.
On Jerusalem Day, May 21, the museum will be open, free of charge, to the general public.
“Museums have to think not just about what they want to do, but what the public is ready to do, and the two aren’t the same thing,” said Eilat Lieber, the museum director. “We have to be creative and figure out how to reopen under fraught and tight restrictions, without tourists, and making sure people are as safe as can be.”
“It’s about helping people imagine going to museums again,” added Lieber. “We have started small, with one family, for one night, at the tower.”
That one family unit will dine on dinner cooked by Chef Moshe Basson of Jerusalem restaurant Eucalyptus, with wines from boutique winery Bat Shlomo. Breakfast will be served by organic farm cafe Ofaimme, followed by yoga on the top of a tower overlooking the views of Jerusalem’s Old City.
The glamping experience will be created by glamping expert Itai Kadish Katz, who brings luxurious tents, lanterns, comfortable mattresses and sheets and every possible comfort to the camping adventure.
The overnight at the museum will also include a private viewing of the museum’s “King David” sound and light show, a lantern-lit excursion of the Kishle excavations and King Herod’s palace and other goodies.
Contestants must post their photo, video or note in the Tower of David Facebook page.
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