Our first destination was the city of Nazareth, still decorated for Xmas and a lot of tourists visiting multiple churches Annunciation. Well, different nominations have their own versions of where that event happened. Anyway, there is no doubts that Mary lived in this city 2,000 years ago.
We spent several days in a beautiful but very cold environment of the Galilee. The pearl of Northern District is the city Tzfat (or Safed) which is located at an elevation of 850 meters. It is the highest city in Israel. Tzfat is a birthplace of Kabbalah and a home of many artists. Here I bought a beautiful and great sounding shofar!
The land of Israel was always attractive to all kinds of conquerors. Many of them built numerus strongholds. On our traveling through Galilee, we stopped to visit the archeological site of Nimrod Castle on the southern slopes of Mount Hermon. What a stunning view over the Golan Heights! No wonder Arabs, Mongols, Mamluks, Crusaders fought for holding it.
Another northern city of Israel - Haifa. The city is famous with Baháʼí World Centre. The German Colony at the bottom of Bahai Gardens is a wonderful historical spot with many places to dine.
We've been very lucky to catch Claude Monet's 3D Virtual exhibition in Holon. If you have an opportunity to visit it - don't think twice!
Is it possible to come to Israel and not to visit Jerusalem? Certainly not!
Jaffa in Hebrew and Arab (with a slight difference in pronunciation) means beautiful. And this name precisely describes this city. Beautiful, vibrant, rich with unique art galleries. This time we visited exclusive Ilana Goor Museum and after that stepped into eastern bazar where we enjoyed tasty food.
On our way to the Dead Sea we stopped to see St George's monastery - a spectacular cliff-hanging complex in the northern Judean Desert. I could not help myself not to notice some of the inhabitants in the surrounding area.
Next stop - Qumran National Park. Multiple caves are the places where the famous scrolls were found. These caves were also used by Jewish rebels of Bar Kokhba during revolt against Rome.
It was the first time in my many trips to Israel when I decided to visit Ein Gedi. Well, we were not lucky. Because of upcoming rain and a danger of a flood the entrance to this beautiful nature reserve was closed just when we were about to enter. At least, thanks to our guide, we've been able to see the nearby archeological excavations and hear a story about this place from about 2000 years ago.
We spent about 2 days at the Dead Sea. Because of a gloomy and cold weather, we did not dare to get into the water. At least I've got some beautiful pictures. Didn't I?
Our last place to visit in Israel was Sarona - a neighborhood of Tel Aviv, which started as a Templer Colony in 1871. Today it got surrounded by modern buildings and became popular for its namesake covered market with gourmet food stores and restaurants with creative cuisine.
