 In 1863 Victor Guérin described Lifta as being surrounded by gardens of lemon-trees, oranges, figs, pomegranates, alms and apricots.An Ottoman village list of about 1870 indicated 117 houses and a population of 395, though the population count included men, only.The PEF's "Survey of Western Palestine" in 1883 described it as a village on the side of a steep hill, with a spring and rock-cut tombs to the south.