En Prat Nature Reserve

En Prat is a spring of water, which rises in a spectacularly beautiful desert canyon. The spring flows into a natural rock pool, and its output (around 1500 m³ a day) creates a brook that flows all year round. In ancient times, the spring was an important source of water for Jericho. In Hasmonean times, an aqueduct, which was built in the Early Moslem period, carried water from the spring. Remain of the aqueducts from the Byzantine period as well as ruins of a flour mill, have been found east of the spring. In 1927, the British began to pump water from the spring to supply the residents of East Jerusalem with water. By 1970, all of Jerusalem connected to the national water system, and pumping stopped. The remains of the Mandate-era pumping station and pipes can still be seen within the nature reserve. In the past, the pool was used for irrigation, and today it is a bathing pool for the enjoyment of visitors to the site. – Israel Nature and Parks Authority Photo attribution: Bukvoed, CC BY 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons