From the World Heritage inscription for Masada: Masada is a dramatically located site of great natural beauty overlooking the Dead Sea, a rugged natural fortress on which the Judaean king Herod the Great constructed a sumptuous palace complex in classical Roman style. After Judaea became a province of the Roman Empire, it was the refuge …
From the World Heritage inscription of the Bahá’i Holy Places in Haifa and the Western Galilee: The Bahá’i Holy Places in Haifa and Western Galilee are inscribed for their profound spiritual meaning and the testimony they bear to the strong tradition of pilgrimage in the Bahá’i faith. The property includes the two most holy places …
From the World Heritage inscription: The presence in the Judean Lowlands of thick and homogeneous chalk sub-strata enabled numerous caves to be excavated and managed by Man. The property includes a complete selection of chambers and man-made subterranean networks, of different forms and for different activities. They are situated underneath the ancient twin cities of …
I’ve been in Tel Aviv for two days now. It is a very different city than Jerusalem. For starters, I haven’t seen a single Orthodox Jew here. Zero. Everything here is much more laid back and secular than Jerusalem. In addition to a very large beach area, it also seems very artsy. Some of the …
There really is something called Jerusalem Syndrome. Wikipedia describes it as a: …mental phenomena involving the presence of either religiously themed obsessive ideas, delusions or other psychosis-like experiences that are triggered by, or lead to, a visit to the city of Jerusalem. It is not endemic to one single religion or denomination but has affected …
From the World Heritage inscription: The Incense Route was a network of trade routes extending over two thousand kilometers to facilitate the transport of frankincense and myrrh from the Yemen and Oman in the Arabian Peninsula to the Mediterranean. The four Nabatean towns of Haluza, Mamshit, Avdat, and Shivta, with their associated fortresses and agricultural …
From the World Heritage inscription or the Sites of Human Evolution at Mount Carmel: The four Mount Carmel caves (Tabun, Jamal, el-Wad, and Skhul) and their terraces are clustered adjacent to each other along the south side of the Nahal Me’arot/Wadi el-Mughara valley. The steep-sided valley opening to the coastal plain on the west side …
What a day. I’m still exhausted even after a night’s sleep. Yesterday was probably the second most grueling day of my travels (the first being the 30 hours I went from the Solomon Islands, to Nauru, to Kiribati, to Fiji, to Hawaii). I got up at 3am in Tel Aviv and left for the airport …
The fascinating catacombs that make up the Necropolis of Beit Shearim in the Jezreel Valley are a worthy addition to any trip around Israel, particularly for those interested in places of deep significance and a long history. This UNESCO site is a series of catacombs estimated to have been developed in the second century AD, …