Israel: Highlights You Don’t Want To Miss!
JERUSALEM:
The Old City: Jerusalem within the walls
Just one square kilometer in size, steeped in history and bursting with spirituality, the Old City of Jerusalem is the most exciting place in the world. Within its walls are the two holiest sites in Judaism: the Temple Mount and the Western Wall. Of religious importance for Christians is the unique Church of the Holy Sepulchre; Muslims the Mosque of El Aksa. And of course the Old City is also home to the glorious Dome of the Rock.
The City of David – Ancient Jerusalem
Jerusalem did not originate within the walls that surround the Old City today. In fact, the first Jerusalem was built on a narrow piece of land below the current Old City, surrounded on three sides by deep valleys. When King David decided to make the Israelite tribes into one nation, he chose this piece of land as his capital. It has been extensively excavated and the finds, including a nearly 3,000-year-old tunnel, are among the most fascinating in the world.
Israel Museum: Renovations expected to be completed in 2010
Israel’s largest museum, whose main wings are currently closed for renovations, still has a lot to offer. The world famous Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest copies of the Old Testament in the world, are housed here at the Shrine of the Book. A main attraction also on view is a meticulously accurate model of Jerusalem during the Second Temple Period. Once the renovation is complete you can enjoy a fabulous archaeological collection, an extensive art collection and take your kids to the fantastic Youth Wing for some educational fun.
OUTSIDE JERUSALEM:
Beit She’an National Park
No one can afford to miss out on a visit to this partially restored biblical/historical/archaeological gem of a site! Conquered by Egypt in the fifteenth century BC. C., Beit She’an became a Canaanite city several centuries later and was eventually taken over by the Philistines. It was on the walls of this Philistine city, located in a tal above the main excavations, that the bodies of King Saul and his son Jonathan were hung.
Although there are interesting finds in the ancient tel, the most fascinating are from the Roman-era pagan city of Scythopolis, located at its foot. This city was magnificent, combining Roman glory and Greek culture. A typical trade road, called a cardo, can still be seen along with the forum, market, Roman baths and theatre. Still in use, the Roman theater and its adjacent amphitheater are among the most impressive yet discovered in Israel.
TEl-Aviv – United Nations World Heritage Site
Founded on sand in 1909 by stalwart pioneers, Tel Aviv has become a typical bustling metropolis with a multitude of shops, restaurants, sprawling suburbs, nightlife hotspots and congested streets. However, a part of Tel Aviv, dubbed the White City by the United Nations, has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. That’s because Tel Aviv boasts more houses designed in the (international) Bauhaus style than any other city in the world!
Masada – United Nations World Heritage Site – and the Dead Sea
When you look at it from the road, Masada looks a lot like any other mountain in the Judean desert. Yet it was on these heights, and amidst this gloomy landscape, that King Herod the Great erected a lavish desert fortress. And it was here, too, that a beleaguered and desperate group of Jews fought the Romans with inhuman valor, then piled their belongings into a corner, set fire to each pile, and committed a well-documented mass suicide…
Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001, Masada is one of the most exciting national parks in Israel. As well as the poignant site itself, with its palaces, synagogue and Byzantine church, it boasts an impressive hillside-hugging, sand-colored Visitor Center, opened earlier this millennium. In addition, visitors enjoy an interactive museum that transports you back to the time of the Roman conquest, an exciting audiovisual production, and special wheelchair cable cars that take you to the top of the mountain.
Gamla – the Masada of the North
Named for its characteristic hump (“gammal” meaning “camel” in Hebrew), Gamla is often called the Massada of the North. This is because, like their compatriots in the famous desert fortress, the residents of Gamla heroically tried to resist Roman conquest during the Great Northern Revolt. 67 CE and, like the men, women and children on Massada, the defenders of Gamla fought valiantly, but lost.Half of Gamla’s population of 10,000 souls died in battle: the other half jumped off the mountain rather than be taken prisoner.Today Gamla is part of a great and exciting nature.Reserve.
Excavations at Gamla have revealed some fascinating remains, including the world’s oldest synagogue, as well as strong evidence that the city’s residents were Orthodox Jews. Also recovered were six special coins minted and found only in Gamla with the inscription “for redemption” on one side and “of holy Jerusalem” on the other.
Acre-Acco – Underground City of the Crusaders and UNESCO World Heritage Site
For much of its long history, the coastal city of Acco served as one of the key ports in the land of Israel. For thousands of years, Acco was besieged and conquered by a series of invaders, but its strong fortifications sometimes prevented it from being defeated. Even Napoleon Bonaparte could not conquer the city.
However, after trying for decades, the Crusaders finally took Acco in 1104 and it became a prosperous city of great importance. In fact, it was declared the capital of the Crusader kingdom in the Holy Land. Much of the Crusader city has been discovered under present-day Acco, and the remains are mostly intact! Do not miss this unique image of the capital of the Crusades.
Banias Nature Reserve – Unique and fantastic combination of natural sites, ancient cult, 2000 year old palace.
With its flowing waters, mysterious cave, and glorious setting below the majestic Hermon Mountain, Banias is so impressive that it has long been considered a sacred place. In fact, under a prayer niche at the side of the cave, archaeologists discovered an entire stone altar dating back 2,200 years.
This fabulous nature reserve boasts a splendid waterfall bisected by a huge eastern plane tree and a mighty river that flows into the legendary Jordan. And as if that were not enough, the excavations have brought to light the remains of the splendid palace built by Agrippa II, the last of the Herodian kings. One of the largest and grandest buildings ever built in the Land of Israel, it stretched over 2,000 square meters!
THREE MAIN ASPECTS OF SPECIAL INTEREST TO CHRISTIAN VISITORS TO ISRAEL:
The Church of the Holy Sepulcher
In the year 326, the Byzantine queen Helena traveled to the Land of Israel to identify the Christian holy places. After finding the Chivalry, the True Cross, and the Holy Sepulcher under a pagan temple built by the Romans, she immediately razed the pagan shrines, leveled the surrounding rocks, and began construction of a magnificent Christian monument. Around the year 335, a wonderful basilica, much larger and more grandiose than the contemporary church, encompassed the Holy Sepulchre, Calvary and the cistern in which the pious queen had discovered a piece of the True Cross.
Few remains remain of the original basilica, destroyed by the Persian invaders in 614. Thus, on July 15, 1099, when the Crusaders first entered Jerusalem and rushed to the church, they found only the partial reconstruction carried out 50 years earlier by the Byzantine Emperor Monochamus. The Crusaders decided to unite all the holy places under one roof and erected the Romanesque church that stands here today. Hundreds – and sometimes thousands – of visitors throughout each day to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Arguably the most dynamic church in the country, it comes alive with a profusion of languages, a diverse array of dress, and solemnly decorous religious ceremonies and processions.
Nazareth
When Joseph and Mary made their home in Nazareth, in Lower Galilee, it was just a small Jewish village. Today it is the largest Arab city in the Galilee and is home to both Christians and Muslims. Nazareth is sacred to Christians because, according to the New Testament, it was the birthplace of Jesus.
There are several famous churches in Nazareth, with the Catholic Church (or Basilica) of the Annunciation being one of the holiest in the Land of Israel. Early Christian tradition holds that the church was built on the spot where Mary was told that she would give birth to the baby Jesus. A Greek Orthodox church stands at a local spring, where the angel Gabriel, according to tradition, first appeared to Mary.
the sea of galilee
CHRISTIAN SITES AROUND THE SEA OF GALILEE:
Jesus of Nazareth’s three-year public ministry began when he came to Tab’ha on the shores of Lake Kinneret and attracted his first four disciples. Most of his sermons were delivered and his miracles performed near the sparkling lake known in the New Testament as the Sea of Galilee.
Capernaum – Capernaum, dating back to the 2nd century BC. C., was a small Jewish town of fishermen and quite prosperous. Peter joined his wife’s family in Capernaum after they got married. Jesus met with them there often, and the town became the center of his Galilean ministry. Around the year 300 a chapel was built on top, without destroying the house. And in 450 the Byzantines built an octagonal church on top of the previous house of prayer, following the original design of the dwelling. Right next to this church, remains of the ancient city remain, including an elaborate synagogue built of gleaming white stone that contrasts strikingly with the black basalt rock of the region.
Church of the Primacy of Saint Peter – The Church of the Primacy of St. Peter is located on the beach where Jesus is believed to have had breakfast with some disciples after his resurrection (John 21:1-23). It commemorates Peter’s commission to take charge of his mission. Inside the church is a rock on which the men are believed to have dined.
The Church of the Loaves and Fishes – The New Testament relates that Jesus preached all day to 5,000 men (and, in some interpretations, additional women and children) at this very spot. When the people were hungry, Jesus told his students to gather up all the food they could find, which turned out to be five loaves of bread and two fish, and divide it among the crowd. Sitting on the grass in groups of one hundred and fifty, the people ate to their fill and not only was everyone satisfied, but there were twelve large baskets full of fish and breadcrumbs left over.
In 350 the locals led by José de Tiberías built a simple church here to commemorate the miracle; a much more elaborate house of prayer was built a hundred years later by the Byzantines, directly above the first chapel.