Israel

Overview
Known by millions around the world as ‘the Holy Land', Israel is an exceptional country. The story of this land and its people is truly like nowhere else on earth.

The first five books of the Bible itself are about the origins and cosmology of the ‘people of Israel', the Jews, from around 2000BC.

Fleeing slavery to conquer and settle in Canaan (broadly the same land as modern Israel), Jewish culture evolved around worship at their Temple in Jerusalem, built around 1000BC. Several attempts by foreign powers to eradicate Israel ended in failure, until in AD135, after some 70 years of war with Jewish rebels, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem, expelled the Jews, and renamed Israel as ‘Palestine'.

The subsequent Jewish diaspora continues to the present day. Nineteenth-century pogroms in Eastern Europe sparked the Zionist movement that aimed to re-establish the Jewish nation in Palestine, which had become part of the Ottoman Empire. From 1882 onwards, waves of Jewish immigration began. After WW1, the Ottoman Empire was broken up and the British Mandate took control. In 1947 the League of Nations voted to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab areas, a plan accepted by the Zionists but rejected by the Arab League.

The Jewish leaders inaugurated the State of Israel in May 1948, bringing an immediate full-scale war by the Arab states. Much of the history of the region since that time has been one of this continuing conflict. Following the ‘Six Day War' of 1967, Jerusalem came under Jewish rule for the first time since the Roman expulsion. The West Bank was occupied, and its Arab residents, adopting the name Palestinians and represented by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) became the forefront of the struggle against Israel.

Israel has since made peace with former foes including Egypt and Jordan. A peace process began with the Palestinians in the early 1990s after years of uprising or intifada. The Palestinian National Authority was set up in 1993 to take over the Palestinian areas. However, the election in January 2006 of militant Islamist organisation Hamas, which claimed responsibility for numerous suicide bombings in Israel, made peace less likely. Lebanon's militant Islamist group Hezbollah launched a war on Israel in August 2006.

Despite these problems, Israel remains buoyant and positive, with a ‘can-do' attitude. It is a world-class destination with outstanding cultural, archaeological and religious attractions, spas and beach resorts, as well as a unique ancient-and-modern atmosphere.

Top Things To Do

• Coat yourself in health-giving mud at Dead Sea spa resorts. It is also impossible to sink in this ‘sea', which is in fact an inland lake with intensely salty, mineral-rich water, lying at the lowest point on earth.
• Visit pre-War Europe on a stroll, or at least a bus ride, through Jerusalem's Mea She'arim district, home to Israel's largest community of strictly observant Orthodox Jews who keep all their East European dress and traditions alive.
• Tuck in to freshly caught fish, for example at one of the seafront restaurants with stunning sea views in the traffic-free centre of Jaffa, the oldest working port in the world, now part of Tel Aviv.
• Haggle and buy anything from bargain souvenirs to real gold jewellery at open-fronted Arab stores along the Street of the Chain, the main market street in Jerusalem's Old City. Side turnings lead into even more exotic market streets.
• Feel the power of the desert on a trip into the Negev. There are tours by jeep, on foot or on horseback from the desert town of Mitzpe Ramon and from the Red Sea resort of Eilat.
• Go underwater sightseeing in the coral-rich waters off Eilat. Scuba or snorkel on underwater trails, take a submarine tour, or just marvel at the scene through the windows of the Eilat's amazing Underwater Observatory.
• Post a prayer to God by pushing a note between the mighty stones of the Western Wall, worn smooth by millennia of devotional caresses. All around, a constant flow of people can always be found here.
• Go to a performance by the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, or the New Israel Opera, or one of several other great orchestras in Tel Aviv which draw audiences from all over the world.
• Enjoy the bustle of Tel Aviv's fascinating Shuk HaCarmel, or Carmel Market, as shoppers who came here from Eastern Europe or the Jewish quarters of Arab towns throng between stalls piled high with herbs and exotic fresh produce.
• Follow Jesus' footsteps along the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem's Old City. It traces the traditional path he walked from judgment to crucifixion. The nine 'stations' along the route lead to five more in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
• Become acquainted with kibbutz life by visiting, or perhaps staying in, one of these intriguing semi-communal communities that can be found all over the country. Many have good facilities for tourists.
• Get back to nature at Israel's 50+ national parks and nature reserves such as Hurshat Tal, Gamla Reserve and Ahziv National Park. As well as a wealth of flora and fauna, many are home to historic sites.
• Enjoy the sea at sandy well-equipped beach resorts where you can sail, surf, swim or waterski or just sunbathe either at Eilat on the Red Sea, along the Mediterranean or even in Tel Aviv minutes from the city centre.

Top Things To See

• Enter Jerusalem's Old City through impressively fortified Jaffa Gate. David's Tower (History of Jerusalem Museum; website: www.towerofdavid.org.il), on the right, is a must. Its brilliant displays vividly tell the history of the city. The rooftop gives a glorious vista towards Temple Mount.
• Explore the bustling market streets, shopping lanes and quiet back alleys of the four very different Old City Quarters - Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Armenian. Each has its own distinct character.
• Marvel at the intricate beauty of the glorious Dome of the Rock, standing high on Temple Mount (Har HaBayit in Hebrew, Haram esh-Sharif in Arabic), site of the ancient Temple, the centre of Jewish worship.
• Encounter Jewish faith and resilience in the immense, animated Western Wall Plaza, below Temple Mount. Extending all along one side is the Western Wall itself, 20.2m (67ft) high and 27.7m (91ft) long, the most revered site in Judaism.
• Climb the newly reconstructed Hulda Steps, once the main entrance to the Temple, in the Jerusalem Archaeological Park, a few paces from Western Wall Plaza. Its Davidson Center includes a virtual reconstruction of a visit to the Temple 2,000 years ago.
• Visit fascinating 2,000-year-old homes excavated at the Wohl Archaeological Museum - Herodian Quarter. Six cool, spacious villas and a mansion can be toured, each with a ritual bath decorated in ceramic tiles and collections of household antiquities on display.
• Experience Christianity at its most profound, at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, traditionally believed to be the site of the Crucifixion. A complex of different shrines, it is the heart of the Christian Quarter.
• Pay tribute to the 6 million Jewish people wiped out in the Holocaust, with a visit to Yad Vashem, Israel's official memorial. The extensive site contains many separate sights and museums - all are deeply moving.
• See some of the world's most impressive archaeological discoveries, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, at the Shrine of the Book, part of the Israel Museum, the country's principal collection of its archaeology and ancient art.
• Discover the cultural diversity of the Jewish people during the 2,000 years of worldwide diaspora, with music, textiles, reconstructions and film footage at the Museum of the Jewish Diaspora.
• Learn about the 3,000-year history of Jaffa (the world's oldest commercial port) and the city of Tel Aviv (one of the world's newest cities) at the small Jaffa Museum and the vast Eretz Israel Museum.
• Have fun while learning about Israel's kaleidoscope of history at the fascinating seafront ruins of Caesarea, once a great Roman city, with later Byzantine and Crusader sections. Wander marked paths or visit the Caesarea Experience multimedia presentation.
• Sense the inspiration of Jesus' day at Christian sites around the beautiful Sea of Galilee, such as Capernaum, Cana, and the Mount of Beatitudes. Nearby is his home town Nazareth, now the largest Arab city in Israel.
• Enjoy breathtaking views of the Dead Sea, the Negev Desert and the mountains of Moab from the ruins of the Palace of King Herod high on the ridge of Masada (Mezada), where Jews fighting Romans made their last stand.
• Imagine the Essene scribes of Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were written, at their enigmatic site among the caves where the scrolls were discovered by a Bedouin shepherd boy in ancient pottery jars in 1947.

Climate
Mediterranean, with a pleasant spring and autumn. Winters in the north can be cool. Occasional light rain in winter is possible, particularly in Jerusalem, though recent years have seen insufficient rain. Snow is rare. Summers can be very hot, especially in the south. The Red Sea resort of Eilat has a good climate for beach holidays all year round.

Required Clothing
Lightweight clothes for warmer months are required. Mediumweights are recommended for winters, although on the Red Sea coast they are unlikely to be necessary during the day.