Israel Travel Blogs

Jerusalem - surroundings
Jul 29, 1975 (25 photos)

... here revolve around Jewish holidays. Commercialism? Advertising? Luxury? Religion comes first. Also survival. For every Jew in Israel, there are 10 Arabs in surrounding countries that want to destroy their country. Military service is mandatory for ...

A GOOD ENDING
Dec 4, 2008 (5 photos)

... Dor and some friends.  Now, I had a warm feeling for their land, too.  And I was happy I was a traveler. peace, Israel and friends Modern Oddyseus Thanks to Shimrit; Braha; Ido; Isan; Yahud & Huvan; Zviya; Teodor; Noah & Ftah; ...

RELIGIOUS, MOUNTAIN TOWN
Sep 7, 2008 (7 photos)

... and make creative, echoing noises.  Asaf, who works as an outdoor youth leader, named this castle as his favorite place in Israel. The conversation turned to Daniel.  Asaf, a disciplined army veteran who'd go out of his way to help someone or ...

Masada
Nov 16, 1975 (20 photos)

To the east and west of the Dead Sea are several mountains and rock formations. The most prominent of all is a Roman fortress built by Herod - Masada! In 67 AD, the Jews rebelled against the Romans. It was their last stand, as it was quickly and ...

WUSS OUT
Dec 29, 2008 (2 photos)

... still months away, potentially enjoyable. "The world will accept me." - J.Breen philosophy First, I had to escape Israel - a country obsessed with security, both personal and national. I thought about going through the southern desert.  A ...

Afterward Part 1: Changes to Make Back at Home
Jun 21, 2008

... answered now that we are home.  ·        Research and identify additional ways we can support Israel.   On our return flight there was an ad in on-board magazine that stated "the best gift to bring back ...

Day 27: Private walking tour of Jerusalem
Jun 11, 2008 (7 photos)

... walking into a large private mansion.  One of the highlights was the Beliefs and Believers exhibit which contained items from the Israel Museum. There is a human figure made out of pottery that is 10,000 years old and it looks like it could have been ...

Day 26: Yad Vashem
Jun 10, 2008 (4 photos)

... clients for the day who are also staying at the Mount Zion Hotel; they are taking a short break and are off to the Israel Museum which is open late tonight. We have dinner at the Lavan Café Restaurant at 11 Hebron Road, in the Cinematheque.  It is ...

Photography Tips for Israel
Jun 24, 2008

... .  There was one day that we took 1,085! Extra camera batteries Battery charger and converter/plug for Israel Camera manuals Laptop.  I brought a Macbook Pro to upload our photos daily.  Backup portable hard drive.  When ...

Day 13: Korazim,Nof Ginossar,Hammat Gader,Hula
May 28, 2008 (5 photos)

... little shade, and see the mosaics which are beautiful.  Fodor's describes these mosaics as among the finest ever found in Israel.  We comment that although they are so well preserved, if someone is not a mosaic aficionado, if someone had gone to ...

Day 5: Zichron Yaacov, Ramat Hanadiv
May 20, 2008 (6 photos)

... more about the history of our forefather's families than we had from our own families; our families, instead of going to Israel, came to the U.S., but the initial reasons for leaving Russia,  Austria and Poland were probably the same. It is time ...

Day 8: Rosh Hanikrah, Montfort Castle
May 23, 2008 (6 photos)

... (also spelled Rosh Haniqra) this morning.  These are the grottoes that both Harvey and I remember from our first visit to Israel.   Rosh Hanikrah is on the border with Lebanon so you see signs about the border crossing.   We park ...

Day 16: Wadi David
May 31, 2008 (6 photos)

... Dead Sea. Steep canyon with high walls set against the flatness of the Dead Sea plain.  This wadi is a microcosm of Israel, full of contrasts. Before returning back to the bus, Zabu reviews the map of the area and makes some additional hiking ...

YOU SAY YOU SELL STORIES??
Nov 12, 2008 (4 photos)

... Maybe there are other reasons?  Here are the reasons given to me by the people I'd call ... The Top 5 Assholes of Israel! # 5. In Eilat, a vacationing Hassidic man told me he wasn't interested in what I had almost before I began talking.  The ...

Sebastia
May 16, 1976 (10 photos)

... an interesting and worthwhile experience watching a site get excavated. Ashkelon was the major port along the coast of central Israel for many centuries. And one of the major cities in the Philistine kingdom. It’s the traditional home of Samson ...

ENCOUNTERS WITH RELIGIOUS PEOPLE
Oct 11, 2008 (4 photos)

...   Of course, there are Israeli's, on kibbutzes and in Tel Aviv, for example, who have independent views on "God."  Israel is a complex place.  But, we're talking about Tzfat now. One of my favorite things about Tzfat is that it's ...

Tel Aviv: Arrival Day!
May 15, 2008 (4 photos)

... the square below, we enjoy the night air and the complimentary desserts, tea and dried figs, dates, and apricots.  I ask Harvey to pinch me again to remind me that this is real and we are truly in Israel.  Click here to see more images.

Day 3: Ayalon Institute, Weizmann Institute
May 19, 2008 (6 photos)

... 's term) and is beautiful architecture.  It was a worthwhile tour, giving us insight into the beginning period of Israel and personalizing it around one individual.  History came alive.  It was interesting that of all the gifts Weizmann ...

Tiberias and the North (Golan Heights)
Jan 16, 2008 (11 photos)

Finally, some good exercise!  We wake up bright and early for a morning hike in the Golan Heights, a disputed territory that Israel captured from Syria in the Yom Kippur war.  Yael, our guide, has us play a fun game as we trek down the mountain. ...

Day 10: Eastern Galilee and Golan
May 25, 2008 (7 photos)

... map of eastern Golan.   We find the cherry trees, we find the UN monitoring vehicles that patrol the border between Syria and Israel, we find the kibbutz, but we don't find people to ask where the you-pick fields are.  The hours of the day ...

Day 30: Rest day!
Jun 14, 2008 (3 photos)

... :  1) the Old City wall and 2) the West Bank barrier wall.   It is another one of those only in Israel moments as I absorb this time in history. Tonight when we arrive at Lavan for dinner, we say we have reservations and we are escorted ...

Gettin' Ready...
Jan 9, 2005

My room looks like a backpacker war zone. All equipment for my upcoming trip is sprawled out on the floor and examined daily. Trying on my rain jacket and hiking shoes have become part of my regular morning routine along with coffee and a shower (Not at ...

Caesarea
Apr 16, 1976 (26 photos)

... the palaces belonging to Pontius Pilate. I was surprised to see tablets bearing his name. The northern coast of Israel has always been strategically important. Caesarea has also been inhabited by Phoenicians, Crusaders and Muslims. Nearby Acre has ...

Day 23: Eilat
Jun 7, 2008 (4 photos)

... other couple in the hotel and they are our next door neighbors.  Keith is from the U.K. and Atmit is from Israel.  Harvey determines that Keith has commitment issues and Atmit absolutely agrees. We talk and laugh. Then comes the live jazz ...

Day 29: Ticho House, Mahaneh Yehuda Market
Jun 13, 2008 (6 photos)

... street musicians in Tel Aviv from Russia, this seems a perfect way to combine our music interest and see another side of modern Israel.    The Ticho House is a renovated 19th century house and the concert is in an intimate venue.  Today ...

Bedouin Tents
Jan 21, 2008 (12 photos)

My alarm has now been changed to Bob Marley's 'Three Little Birds' which opens with the line, "Don't worry about a thing, cause every little thing is gonna be alright!"  This minor adjustment feels like the best thing I've ever done when the alarm ...

Day 33: German Colony, Generations Center, Concert
Jun 17, 2008 (6 photos)

... Israel has revealed a little more of itself each day.   We are so thankful to have had these experiences and this time in Israel!  It has truly gotten under our skin and our hearts are full.  We are so thankful to all the people we met ...

Day 22: Camel ride and the Eilat Mountains
Jun 6, 2008 (6 photos)

... place, growing organic produce, fruit, olives, grapes, cheese.  I'm putting it on our list for our next visit to Israel. Before getting on Farouk again, Eli tells us some interesting information about camels.  I don't remember any of it now, but ...

Eilat
Jun 16, 1976 (15 photos)

Fishes and more fishes. Eilat is located on the northern tip of the Red Sea. Home of world class deep sea diving. For a close look at the marine life, my tour went to an underwater observatory. Some of the tour went snorkeling afterwards. Pretty ...

WAR IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Nov 14, 2008 (1 photos)

... talking about Iraqis.  The most derogatory thing he said was that Hezbollah would sometimes bring cilivians into a building Israel was targeting because they hoped to be able to announce Israel was killing civilians. Exactly nine days after I rode ...