Israel Things to Do Tips by freya_heaven

Tiberias

AIthough I visited Tiberias quite often, it was usually just to relax & soak up the atmosphere, not really to sight see. As well as the Sea of Galilee already mentioned other things to visit Tiberias are

Ancient Synagogue of Hammat
Hot Springs
Monastery and Church of the Apostles
Great Mosque
Old City Walls & Castle
Tomb of Rabbi Akiva
St Peters Church
Tomb of Rabbi Moshe Ben-Maimon & Rabbi Yohanan Ben-Zakkai.

I have to admit I didnt go or see any of these places! Just thought I would let you know they were there.

Directions:

Tiberias

Nazareth

Nazareth is believed to be the place where Mary (Jesus's Mother) was born and where She & her Husband, Joseph lived and Jesus grew up here. I suspect most people come here to visit the Basilica of the Annunciation.

Its now a big, mainly Arab town with many Christian Shrines and Churches.

The structure of the Basilica of the Annunciation had much bigger impact on me than what was inside the building and what it was there to commemorate. I was just surprised at the style and the huge size of the place.

The present building was built in 1969, this replaced an 18th century church. It is thought that this is the site of Marys house.

There are two churches within the site as well as many ruin remains, mosaics, murals

Admission is Free, unless you go on an organised trip be aware it is closed from 11.45 - 14:00 for lunch

I came here on my own from the Kibbutz one day. Got here & found the Basillica of the Announciation closed for lunch, so after a wander went to a local cafe to wait & bumped in to a Danish friend who worked on a nearby Moshav! Small world

I had no burning desire to visit Nazareth, but I had a spare day before leaving Israel. To be honest I wish I had not bothered, I cant put my finger on it but I felt very uncomfortable in the town & was quite disappointed with the Church of the Annunciation. I was glad to leave. Its very unusual for me to feel so down on a place with no good reason.

Nice to see Danish Peder though! (~_~)

Directions:

Just off Casa Nova Street

Hula Valley

The Hula Valley is a nature area in the north of Israel. Once being a malarial swamp, has now been drained and become fertile land.

The Hula Reserve is the most northern place wild Papyrus grows. It is a great place for tweeters as it is a migratory stopover for birds from Asia, Northern and Easter Europe.

Directions:

North Israel, the photo is of the Hula Valley looking over towards Jordan

BaHa'i Shrine Gardens & Views

The Shrine of the Bab, has the Tomb of Bab inside, who is the man who came up with the BaHa'i Faith, Baha'u'llah. Which means the Spendour of God.

Baha'u'llah founded the off shot of Islam faith in 1844, he was a Muslim Mystic. Their belief is that prophets will continue to come & teach us as they have done through history.
Prophets of the BaHa'i Faith include Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, Zoroaster, Baha'u'llah and even Buddha.

As well as the Shrine, there are also some beautiful Gardens to wander around, relax in and admire the Haifa views.

Address:

Yefe Nof Street or Via Ha'tzionut Ave

Directions:

Head upwards towards the Golden Dome, you can not miss it!

Hilarious Haifa!

Haifa is a pleasent coastal town, the 3rd largest in Israel.

It is Israels main port and also the centre point in the Baha'i Religion.

There are some nice beaches here & its a good base for exploring the North Israel Coast, such as Akko (Acre) Rosh Hanikra (Rosh HaNiqr), as we did.

Places to visit here include:
Railway museum
BaHa'i Shrine
Carmel National Park
National Museum of Science & Technology
Biet HaGafen Arab-Israeli Cultural Centre
Beaches
Chagali Artists House
Haifa Museum
Tikotin Museum Of Japanese art

To name a few!. There should be something here to keep everyone happy. (~_~)

The BaHa'i Shrine on Mount Carmel is beautiful, with commanding views over Haifa and the coast. It is the most noticable land mark in Haifa.

Helen & I walked up to the Shrine (Haifa is VERY hilly), Very hot day so stupidly we wore shorts. Got to the Shrine & understandably they would not let us in, having both forgotten to bring skirts & Helen refusing to return later suitably dressed. We went around the corner & pulled our shorts down as far was we decently could making sure our t-shirts were still just covering the tops of our shorts. By this time we were covered to just above the knee.
What we had not realised was, the guards had been watching our fiasco & when we returned to the entrance they were in stitches, as were we by this time.

Consequently they still did not let us in, but it was very amusing.

More about Haifa in my HAIFA Pages

Directions:

Mount Carmel

Upper Galilee & Golan

The Upper Galilee and Golan Heights is a lovely area, It also includes Israels only ski resort on Mount Hermon

The rolling hills of the Galilee build themselves up to the mountainous peaks of the Golan Heights. Horse riding, hiking, skiing, mountain biking, rafting, canoing are some of the activites which can be enjoyed in this area.

Its best to do off the road activites with an organised group, as some areas have still not been cleared from recent wars & disputes.

Directions:

Northern Israel

~Dead Sea Bobbing~

Another "must" on a visit to Israel is having a bob in the Dead Sea, due to the Sea's high salt density it is impossible to sink, it also quite amusing swimming. The salt density is 30% compared to 4% of normal sea water.

The Dead Sea is now big business with spas, health centres, and hotels opening up along the shores, also many health and beauty products are now made and exported with minerals from the Dead Sea.

The Dead Sea is much smaller than it used to be, mainly due to Israel & Jordan introducing a water carrier system, now 90 km long it used to be 115 km in length.

~En Gedi Oasis~

En Gedi is a beautiful oasis in an otherwise dry & seemingly barren area.

Spashing around in the water falls is a welcome relief from the heat of the Dead Sea area.

En Gedi translates as "Spring of the Kid". Not only is there a nature reserve there, but also beaches, which belong to a local kibbutz, vegetarian restaurant and a Spa.

Directions:

West Dead Sea Area

Masada Summit

There are still plenty of ruins up there to keep you busy,although I dont think this photo shows any actually though, sorry.

It is a huge flatish plateu area on the top, depending on your level of archeological interest one could have hours of fun up here.

Directions:

Masada, Dead Sea area

Masada Dead Sea Views

The views on all sides from Masada are gorgeous, but are particularly lovely on the Dead Sea side, which is the side the sun rises.

We did not have an amazing sunrise, but it was still definately worth the hike up to see it.

It was so peaceful & quiet.

Directions:

Masada, Dead Sea area