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Ramat Beit Hakerem Promenade - Jerusalem Airport Mystery Cache

Hidden : 6/26/2009
Difficulty:
3 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size:   regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

Attention: the cache is not in the published coordinates. You have to solve the puzzle to find the cache coords. Write me, if you need more hints.
This cache is located in a park in Ramat Beit Hakerem neighborhood in Jerusalem. This area was reserved in the 50s for the planned airport of Jerusalem. The cache theme is derived from the original plans for this place.

Airports in Jerusalem
The first airport in Jerusalem was established in 1925, by the British after the conquest of Israel in WWI. This airport is named after the Jewish village Atarot, in north Jerusalem, which its lands were taken and use for the airport. After the independence and the invasion of Arab states to Israel in 1948, the Atarot airport was occupied by Jordan. Under the Jordanian occupation, Atarot airport was destroyed, but later rebuilt. Meanwhile, some attempts were done to establish a new airport which will help to deliver supplies for the besieged city. Initially, runway was prepared in Givat Shaul. This runway was abandoned, because it was pruned to fire barrages from the Arab village Nebi Samuel. Today, the runway became the main road of Givat Shaul, called "Kanfei Nesahrim" (vultures wings), as a tribute for its history. After Givat Shaul runway was abandoned, another one replaced it in the valley of the cross. This runway was also abandoned, after an accident when an airplane was crashed into the monastery wall.

Airport in Ramat Beit Hakerem?
After the independence war, a new place for a permanent airport for Jerusalem has been selected in the place where Ramat Beit Hakerem neighborhood is sitting today. These plans were never implemented. In 1967 six days war, Jerusalem was freed from the Jordanian occupation, including the Atarot airport. Atarot became again the international airport of the unified Jerusalem. It was operating till 2000, when repeated terror attacks from the nearby Arab settlements caused this airport to be closed.

Ramat Beit Hakerem
After the six days war, the plans for airport in Ramat Beit Hakerem were canceled and the area was assigned for residential use. The area was partitioned between many owners, what caused many delays, until the 90s, when it was started to build the new neighborhood. Today, most of the residential assigned areas are already built and populated. On the south there is the Academic engineering college, previously a telecommunication school and today it qualifies electronics, computer, industry & management, materials and pharmacology engineers. On the north, between the old Beit Hakerem and the new Ramat Beit Hakerem, there is a new commercial center with various shops and restaurants.

The park and promenade
In the heart of Ramat Beit Hakerem there is a new park, about 800m length. The park itself is relatively flat, what can show us why it was chosen for the airport. The park is well lightened and pleasant for walking day and night. In the park are walking paths, benches, grass areas, playgrounds, chess tables, ping-pong tables and picnic tables. You can find drinking water near the children playgrounds. In the south, there is a natural preserved area which demonstrates how the whole area looked like at the past. In the center there is undeveloped area which is full of wild flowers in the spring. People of all ages use the park 24/7, you can see playing children, jogging, bikes, skates and also dogs, cats and nice birds.

Accessibility
Ramat Beit Hakerem is near Givat Mordechai exit of the Begin highway. The main road, Moshe Kol is going around the park. Every 3-4 buildings you will find stairs to the park. You can park your car in Moshe Kol or the adjacent streets. There is free parking under the commercial center. From the commercial center there is a bridge to the park. Bus lines 5 and 50 pass on Moshe Kol, line 39 stops at the nearby Bait Street. Many buses go through Sderot Herzl in a walking distance. The paths inside the park are suitable for wheelchairs, bikes, baby carts, etc. It is possible to enter the park, without stairs, from Avizohar st. (near the commercial center), Yohai Ben Nun or Moshe Aharon Tov. Wheelchairs can arrive a few meters from the cache, but not the cache itself.

OK, so where is the cache?

Things have been changed during the years. The puzzle was updated in 14/2/2024. Sum of all digits in the final coordinates should be 43. If something will change, please tell me. Meanwhile, you can try looking for a time machine and fly back to that date.

Sorry, there are no direct flights to the airport of Ramat Beit Hakerem. You should fly North to Budapest. Try to get a degree in solving the Rubik's cube and then take a flight to Honolulu. If you lost your direction, try asking the Golem in Prague. He may send you to your next point at Concord airport. Cross the border to Toronto (ignore the zero), to watch the Toronto Raptors wins with a last minute basket. Take East with Air France plane which will be hijacked and land in Entebbe, Uganda. The IDF will rescue you from the high Degrees temperature of Uganda. On the way home you will get the news about peace agreement and jump to a short visit in Tehran. The next Point in our journey is Buffalo, where you can see the spectacular Niagara Falls. Well, it's a long path, but all paths lead to Rome. If you made all this way, in a few Minutes you will get to the cache.

Cache theme & rules
The cache and its content are dedicated for aviation. Cache trading items should be aviation related - plane models, toy planes, airlines logo items (please no food or perfumed items which might attract animals), coins from around the globe, etc. You can also land here travel bug or geocoins which just arrived Israel or on the way abroad.

CITO (Cache In Trash Out) awards
Cachers are environmental friendly. As an optional activity, it is suggested to follow the CITO procedure - Search the cache on your way in, and collect some trash on your way out, making our globe cleaner and nicer. I put some trash bags in the cache to help those who want to CITO. In order to promote CITO, everyone who actively collected some trash from the cache area, may take one trade item from the cache without leaving a trade.

Original cache
An FTF award for the first cacher (+free prize), F18 laser pointer keyholder, 2 spring planes, Lego helicopter, sling plane, baloon-copter, origami plane, Origami airplanes instructions, airplanes stickers.

Congratulations for Silverwater, the First finder!


This cache is part of Master of Mystery # 12 - Varel

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

[Hint for puzzle:] Fngryyvgr vzntrf [Hint for cache:] Oruvaq gur gerr, haqre n syng ebpx

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)