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Daushe
The hills of JerusalemOpen: Thursdays, from 8.45 p.m.
Laary H. Cemel
FOR A LAZY, LATE-night way of bringing in the weekend, visiting Daushe sure beats sitting in a restaurant or a bar. At first hearing, Daushe, "disorder" in Arabic, seems like a strange name. But this zula (slang for "hangout") was apparently started as an alternative to visiting the Sinai -- largely taboo since the onset of the intifada -- and so the name falls into place.
Too bad we didn�t have a 4x4, or a donkey. To reach Daushe, one drives along a stone-filled dirt road for about 3 miles in the hills around the village of Nataf, to the west of Jerusalem. Huge bushes of ripe sabras mark the route.
Every few hundred yards, a huge candle lets us know we�re on the right path; then a group of them burning in the distance confirms we�ve found the spot. We walk past wild herbs, a cave, fig trees... and end up on a plateau, huge boulders all around forming seating areas, replete with carpets, mattresses, cushions. On a clear night, you can see the Sharon plain stretching all the way to the Mediterranean.
A delicious aroma wafts from the makeshift kitchen. Huge pots hold soups and cooked cubed potatoes; labaneh (a creamy, sour goat cheese), salad and sandwiches are also on the menu. Drinks include herb teas or ice-cold beer. When the taped music thankfully gets turned off, about 15 djembes, huge mushroom-shaped wooden African drums, start up. A free lesson follows for anyone who can grab a drum and sit on it. A saxophonist joins in; the sound of a didgeridoo is sorely missing. As the drum lesson fades, a trio from the North gives a performance of folk songs from around the world.
The bill for two enormous toasted sandwiches (goat cheese, hard-boiled egg, fried eggplant and basil leaves), a huge plate of potatoes and fresh vegetable strips, a cup of disappointingly weak herb tea, and three big bottles of beer is 75 shekels ($18). And the entrance fee of 25 shekels is a small price to pay for the magic, full-moon, outdoor ambience.
As of now, Daushe operates on Thursday nights only, though the initiators have plans for organizing whatever their audience is yearning for.
(August 27, 2001)
Good Taste
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