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Mitzpe Ramon

sergey — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 08:00:36 +0000

Near the Ramon Crater, a miracle of nature attracting tourists and Israelis all year round, “Mitzpe Ramon” (Ramon Lookout) is a town in Israel’s southern desert, the Negev. It is situated high up on a ridge 2,800 feet (850 meters) above sea level. Founded originally as a camp for workers building a road to Eilat in 1951, its first residents were Romanian and North African. It became the southernmost development town in the Negev.

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South

Negev

Galilee

sergey — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 07:28:20 +0000

Without the stroll on the water, the word Galilee would probably not have become a household word. Galilee is the name of a region and the name of a sea, also known as “Kinneret” in Hebrew, where this walking on water transpired. But this is not the beginning of Biblical and other postings about the area in the northern part of modern Israel.

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North

Beit She'an

sergey — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:16:46 +0000

If the archaeology is to be trusted, and it generally is, Beit She’an was first populated more than 6000 years during the Chalcolithic Period, making it one of the oldest cities in Israel. It was conquered, in chronological order, by the Egyptians, the Philistines – where it is said the Philistines fastened Saul’s body to the wall in the battle for Mt. Gilboa. Nonetheless, Beit She’an was part of the David and Solomon kingdoms during their reigns but was destroyed by a fire, purportedly started by the King of Assyria in 732 BCE.

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North

Beer Sheva

sergey — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:21:24 +0000

Beer Sheva is the town most highly identified with the Patriarchs, being the residence of Isaac and Jacob. Abraham, in fact, named the city by calling it “the Well of the Oath,” being the place where his covenant with Abimelech (the Philistine king of Gerar) was made. According to Genesis (Gen 21:27 and 31): "Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they both of them swore an oath."

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Beer Sheva

South

West Bank

sergey — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 08:00:07 +0000

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West Bank

Belvoir

sergey — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:45:55 +0000

Not to be confused with the elegant castle in England, the Belvoir Fortress, known in Hebrew as “Kohav HaYarden” (Star of the Jordan), is located on the Naphtali plateau, 500 meters above the Jordan Valley, approximately 20 km (about 12 miles) south of the Sea of Galilee. The Hebrew name refers to the Jewish village which existed there during the Roman and Byzantine periods. The Arabic name is similar to the Hebrew: “kaukabn al-Hawa” (Star of the Winds).

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North

Mount Zion

sergey — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:41:16 +0000

“Har Zion” (Mount Zion), is a draw to all three major religions that interface in Jerusalem. The location has shifted a number of times in history, not unusual for so ancient a site.

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Jerusalem

Ashdod

sergey — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:36:06 +0000

Israel’s major port city, Ashdod is perhaps most famous for “Givat Yonah” (Jonah’s Hill) which is the traditional site where the sea-faring prophet Jonah, swallowed by the whale, is memorialized with a tomb.

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South

Tiberias

sergey — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:44:36 +0000

Tiberias is located on Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) and has the distinction of being the lowest city in Israel – literally – some 200 meters below sea level. The modern Tiberias, “Tverya” in Hebrew, is a great vacation draw, including camping on the beaches, though there are over 30 hotels proper as well as bed and breakfast and youth hostel facilities.

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Kinneret

North

Hebron

sergey — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:39:35 +0000

One of the four holy cities of Judaism (the others being Jerusalem, Safed and Tiberias), Hebron is often in the news due to its complex and abnormal mix of populations. “Al Khalil” in Arabic, has 530 deeply religious Jews who have built a community in Hebron and who are surrounded by a Palestinian population that, naturally, feels it has a thorn in its side. In light of the city’s name, which in both languages, Hebrew and Arabic, means “the friend,” the scenario in today’s Hebron is rather incongruous.

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Jerusalem

West Bank