We always wanted to go to Israel, the Holy Land, and now finally we went ! It was a fantastic experience and to quote my wife: ” Israel is the land of contrasts “. My wife is of course always right so also here I could not agree more. We started in Jerusalem and visited there the religious highlights, except the Al Aqsa mosque and square around as we were not welcome as non-Muslims (for the outside square you are only allowed a couple of hours per day)…
Jerusalem: wailing wall and Al Aqsa mosque.
We visited the Western Wall and synagogue, for Jews the most holy place, and we were welcome there. Of course we visited also the church of the Holy Sepulchre, for Christians one of the most holiest places: it was here where it is believed that Jesus from Nazareth was crucified, the place is also known as Golgotha.
After a couple of days in Jerusalem it was time to go literally down to the Dead Sea in less than an hour drive: from + 700 meters in Jerusalem to -423 meters at Dead Sea level, the lowest place in earth.
The Dead Sea is very impressive, hot and it is an unique experience to float in it. We visited also Masada, which is an UNESCO world heritage site in the Judean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea. If you need a nice relaxing place to stay outside the Dead Sea resorts, than go to Aloni Neve Zohar: the manager of the apartment we booked (link), Eyal ,is great! Oh and watch out for the cats there ;-).
After two days spending around on the lowest place on earth it was time to head towards the Mediterranean coast : Tel Aviv ! It is Israels most dynamic and vibrant city with a lot of beaches which are visited by millions of people every year.
This trip through Israel was amazing and Israel is indeed a country full of contrasts: we loved it and we hope to come back soon ! Mazzeltof !
To see more pictures of our trip through Israel, click on the photo below to go to my Google Photo album.
