Gazelle Valley (,
translit: ''Emek Hatzva'im''), previously known as the Pri Har Valley, is an open space of 260
dunam
A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; ; ; ), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area analogous in role (but not equal) to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amo ...
s (64.25 acres) in the heart of
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
,
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, on the edge of the
Givat Mordechai
Givat Mordechai (, trans: ''Mordechai's Hill'') is a Jewish neighborhood in southwest-central Jerusalem, midway between the neighborhoods of Nayot and Malcha. The neighborhood was named after an American philanthropist, Maxwell (Mordechai) Abb ...
neighborhood, opposite the busy Patt Intersection.
History
Gazelle Valley is named for a herd of about 55
gazelle
A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . There are also seven species included in two further genera; '' Eudorcas'' and '' Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third former subgenus, ' ...
s of the subspecies ''
Gazella gazella
The mountain gazelle (''Gazella gazella''), also called the true gazelle or the Palestine mountain gazelle, is a species of gazelle that is widely but unevenly distributed.
Approximately 6,000 are left in the wild as of 2024. The mountain gazell ...
gazella'' that live in this area, bounded by urban development. Real estate developers have sought building rights in the area, but the
Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) and local activists have fought to preserve the natural surroundings. After lengthy court battles, the Jerusalem Municipality has drawn up plans to turn the area into a public park and nature reserve.
The
Jerusalem Development Authority
The Jerusalem Development Authority (), or JDA, is a joint agency of the Israeli government and the Jerusalem Municipality that works to promote and develop the economy of the city of Jerusalem. The Authority was founded by Uziel Wexler and was es ...
pledged in funding toward the park.
In January 2013, work began on the park, which is described as Israel’s first urban nature reserve,
which opened in March 2015.
The Gazelle Valley has become one of the best and most accessible places to see a variety of wildlife in their natural behavior. Several endangered species other than Gazelles live in the Gazelle Valley, as a result of the opening of a small pond in the middle of the valley.
Gazelle Valley website
See also
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Wildlife in Israel
Wildlife refers to undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also ...
*
Tourism in Israel
Tourism in Israel is a major economic sector and a significant source of national income. Israel offers a plethora of historical and religious sites, beach resorts, natural sites, archaeological tourism, heritage tourism, adventure tourism, and ...
*
Wildlife corridor
A wildlife corridor, also known as a habitat corridor, or green corridor, is a designated area habitat (ecology), that connects wildlife populations that have been separated by human activities or structures, such as development, roads, or land ...
References
{{coord, 31, 45, 34, N, 35, 11, 42, E, region:IL_type:landmark, display=title
Geography of Jerusalem
Parks in Jerusalem
Urban wildlife