Home > Olives & Thorns > Archives > 2008 > June > 22 > Entry
Burying a Jerusalem grande dame.
The American Colony Hotel is one of Jerusalem’s oldest and finest. But it is best known for not taking sides in a city that, despite its reunification more than 40 years ago, is still very divided.
The hotel is a favorite of diplomats and foreign correspondents, and has been the site of secret meetings between Israelis and Palestinians over the years.
The longtime owner, who lived in an apartment at the hotel and was well known to guests for her sharp wit, died last week. Valentine Vester, who was 96, was laid to rest today on Mount Scopus next to the grave of her husband, Horatio Vester, who died in 1985.
The British couple moved to Jerusalem in 1963 after Horatio inherited the hotel, a former Ottoman pasha’s palace that was purchased by his grandparents in 1896 as a hostel for pilgrims.
The hotel is situated just a block from the seam between East and West, and Val Vester was famous for her neutrality.
The attendees at her burial were evidence of that: there were Jewish skullcaps beside Muslim head scarves.
Eulogies recalled her fondness for Yorkshire tea and a good laugh. She was also remembered as an “influential and talented gardener.”
She transformed the hotel grounds to a proper British garden. There is no better place in Jerusalem to enjoy a gin and tonic — her favorite — on a summer evening.
Comments