Shalom!
Welcome to Israel

   Israel is different than I expected, mostly because I expected more desert or vegetation. We're only in Tel Aviv now, in the suburbs. It looks old but not ancient, a lot of stone and cement buildings. The architecture is so odd, nothing like I've ever seen before. It's extremely low-built and flat, though the land is not flat everywhere. The vegetation is interesting, so much desert-like. I guess I'm just struck by how much I could imagine it as part of the Western U.S. or Mexico.

Israel contains all seven climates of the world, and as many cultures as there are people. Food, music, fashion, games, smells, it's all here. Come step in and look around, and find your virtual world. The next step is to get on a plane and enter the real Israel, the land of Milk and Honey, War & Peace. *All places are organized alphabetically.*

The Dead Sea

Ein Gedi

El Wad A Netufian site around 10,000 years old, located at the base of Mountt Carmel, next to the very famous Tabun Cave.

Gamla Destroyed by the Romans in 67? BCE, Gamla was the last city between the Romans and the destruction of Jerusalem.

Masada Site of a mass-suicide of 500 people who gave their lives rather than be taken as slaves by the Romans.

Haifa is the third largest city in Israel and the largest shipping port in the country. Mount Carmel, a large mountain range, is situated on a bay opening into the Mediterranean Sea. Haifa is home to abut 250,000 people and the world center of the Bahai religion. Several historic sites, such as Elijah's cave, can be found here. Come check us out!

Jerusalem The Holy City, home to three world religions.

Misliya Excavation of a Middle Paleolithic site (@ 200 to 400 thousand years before present) located 15 minutes south of Haifa and headed by the University of Haifa's Prehistoric Archaeology department. The site contains possibly the oldest hearth in the world. Check out photo section for Misliya Humor.

Ruhama Located in in between Sederot and the Negev Desert in the South of Israel, there is an archaeological site from around 800,000 to one million years old. We excavated here in the summer of 2005 while staying on Kibbutz Ruhama a few minutes away.

Nazareth Most known as the home of Jesus of Nazareth. The population in Nazareth is mostly Christian Arabs, and there are lots of ancient sites to see. I and some friends from overseas visited a reconstruction of an ancient village which was supposed to be similar to that of the one Jesus whould have lived in.

Tel Aviv City by the sea, the name literally means "City Spring".

Tzfat is a small artist's town/ community in the north of Israel. It is the only town in the area that has always maintained its Jewish Israeli population since its inception. Other towns went back and forth from Jewish to Arab over time. The town is full of all kinds of things to do, and many many art galleries and small shops. The landscape is beautiful. From the top of the city, at the Citadel, one can see from one side of Israel to the other, and there is a beautiful view of Mount Meron, the most important mount to the Israeli peoples. During my stay in Israel, we were lucky enough to arrive at the beginning of the annual Klezmer festival, where many music groups came to play all over the city and street vendors set up shop everywhere.

Area Maps Web Resources

My Israeli Adventure This is a log of all the things we did in Israel (2002) plus photos that other people took while we were there. I haven't uploaded many yet and it's a little jumbled but eventually will be integrated into my regular page.