View looking East from Tantur. To the left and centre is the Jerusalem Suburb (settlement) of Har Homa. To the right is the edge of the Town of Bethlehem.

Almond trees in bloom.

The entrance to Tantur -- at the top of the hill.

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Tantur Ecumenical Institute
Jerusalem - on the way to Bethlehem
P.O. Box 11381, 91113 Jerusalem, Israel; Tel: 972 2 6760911; Fax: 972 2 6760914; www.tantur.org

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Pilgrimage 2019:   Tantur will be our home base for about half of our Pilgrimage.  From here we will set out every day for our adventures, returning for dinner and the night and breakfast at Tantur.

Tantur Institute

Set on a hilltop in the south of Jerusalem, overlooking Bethlehem is Tantur Ecumenical Institute.  The property belongs to the Vatican -- and the educational component is run by Notre Dame University (Indiana).

The property is beautiful:  once a monastery - now renovated to accommodate students and pilgrims.  The buildings ramble over 100,000 square feet -- covering the top of the hill called Tantur.  The outer wall surrounds the a hillside covered with Olive and Almond trees -- and the inner courtyard is a beautiful garden.

The guest rooms are somewhat spartan --  Upscale dormitory rooms.  Most rooms are configured as a twin room connected to a single room -- with a bathroom between the two rooms.  The facility has WiFi and free washing machines and dryers.  The food is very good -- featuring local cuisine.

Tantur's staff are all about hospitality.  I spent two months here while on Sabbatical in the spring of 2017 -- and the time here was deeply refreshing.  Tantur is truly a spiritual oasis.  Tantur began as a response to Vatican II's call for the Catholic Church to seriously engage ecumenically with other Churches.  Tantur gathers christians from all over the globe -- to study, pray, and work together.  Beyond the ecumenical work, Tantur has developed a reputation as a place of justice and truth and has the respect of Jewish and Islamic scholars alike.