Towering like a Highland castle, St Andrew's Church has been a small corner of Scotland ever since its first stone was laid in 1927. The so-called 'Scottish Church' was built in memory of the Scottish soldiers killed in action in the Holy Land during WWI. Scots continued to make use of the church during WWII, but these days a multitude of nationalities passes through, in particular to stop over at the excellent guesthouse.
The building fuses Eastern and Western styles: note the Crusader-style church windows, with blue Hebron glass, the Armenian tiles and the broad Byzantine-style dome. The church floor features an inscription to the memory of Robert the Bruce, who requested that his heart be buried in Jerusalem when he died. Sir James Douglas attempted to fulfil Bruce’s wish but en route was killed in Spain, fighting the Moors; the heart was recovered and buried in Scotland.
