Ethiopian Christians dressed in ceremonious white walk along HaNeviim Street, or the Street of the Prophets, which begins outside the Damascus Gate and ends at Davidka Square, meeting Ethiopia Street, residence of the Ethiopian Church. At its peak of popularity in the late 19th and early 20th century, HaNeviim Street was a favorite address for hospitals, churches, monasteries, hospices, government offices, foreign consulates and wealthy Christian, Jewish and Arab residents. Ornamented with its elegant 19th century architecture the street still boasts the same heterogeneous mix of residents as well as schools, hospitals, churches and government offices.
Inaugurated as the Sergeivsky Hospice for Russian Orthodox pilgrims through the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society in 1889, then used by Israel for administrative purposes from 1967, followed by intense negotiations between Israel and Putin's Russia, in 2008 the property was finally turned over to Russia which opened the Sergei Palace Hotel. Situated in the center of Jerusalem near the Russian Spiritual Mission and the Holy Trinity Cathedral, the Sergei Palace Hotel is considered by some as one of the outstanding architectural structures in the city.
