The Oriental-Arabic restaurant ‘Caravan Inn’ was established in
1950 by Haj Mussa, the mayor of Abu-Gosh, in a place that
served as a traffic station during the Ottoman rule, hence its
name.
Its location, which used to be on the main road to Jerusalem
till the construction of the highway but is now the main street
of the pastoral Abu-Gosh village, overlooking it's ancient part
, as well as the renown quality
of the traditional Arab cuisine, has attracted many of the state
dignitaries on their way to Jerusalem and back. Nowadays hundreds
of Israelis and tourists come every day from Jerusalem (ten minutes away)
and from the Tel-Aviv area (some forty minutes) to enjoy the food and the view.
In the 1994 Independence Day ceremony on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, Haj Mussa was honoured with the lighting of a torch symbolizing the solidarity of nationalities in Israel. He died in 1997, eighty-one years old, and the restaurant is now managed by his son, Mr. Yaakob Ibrahim Abu-Gosh.
