Walking
tours
1 enjoyable way to discover Tel Aviv is to follow its orange routes,
4 marked itineraries that can be walked (or in
1 case driven) with the aid of information plaques and a leaflet
for each route. The 4 orange routes are Little Tel Aviv
(which focuses on the early days of the city, including Bauhaus
architecture and homes of distinguished individuals), the City
Centre (which looks primarily at cultural and artistic
highlights), Old Jaffa, and North Tel Aviv
(which is a driving route taking in Eretz Israel Museum and the
Museum of the Jewish Diaspora).
Additional details, as well as the actual leaflets, are available
from the major tourist offices. Each routes takes about 3 to 4 hours
to complete, including time to visit museums and sights.
Bus Tours
United Tours, offers a half day city tour, costing US$ 30 (NIS 150)
and departing at 10.00 am on Sunday and Thursday from Ben
Yehuda Street and Hayarkon Street. It
takes about 4 hours and attractions include the Eretz Israel Museum,
Yitzhak Rabin Square, Oppenheimer Museum, Old Jaffa and the Shuk
Hapishshpeshim (Flea Market).
Address: 59 Ben Yehuda Street
Telephone: (03) 527 1212
Excursions
for half day
Caesarea
1 of the world’s greatest archaeological
sites lies beside the sea some 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of
Tel Aviv. It is a quick and simple drive on the coastal freeway.
Alternatively, frequent buses (number 921, generally every 15 minutes)
go from Tel Aviv to the bus station in the town of Hadera (the journey
time is 1 hour and 15 minutes). From here, bus 76 goes to Caesarea
(8 daily each way, the journey time is 40 minutes).
The site, administered as Caesarea National Park is extensive, inspiring
and makes an enjoyable and rewarding half day excursion.
Telephone: (06) 636 1358
Facsimile: (06) 626 2056
Opening hours: April to September, daily from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm,
October to March, daily from 8.00 am to 4.00 pm.
Admission: NIS 22
Caesarea was a main Phoenician port from the 4th
century BC onwards, conquered and taken over by Alexander the Great,
coming under the control of Herod in 22 BC and soon afterwards becoming
the Roman capital of Judea (as Israel was called then), which it
remained for 100's of years.
During the period of Roman rule, 1000's of Jews
lived here together with the Romans, the town representing the commercial,
secular and assimilationist Jewish world, as opposed to the religious
and traditional Jewish life being carried on in Jerusalem. The crushing
of the Jewish Revolt was masterminded from here and the great Jewish
scholar Rabbi Akiva was openly tortured to death here. Israel was
then re named Palestine and the Jews were expelled.
After the fall of Rome, the town continued important under Byzantine
rule. Following the 7th century Arab conquest of Palestine,
Caesarea was abandoned and fell into ruin but was partly rebuilt
by the Crusaders. A small 19th century mosque on the site was built
by Muslim refugees from Serbia.
Visiting today, it takes a few moments to understand what you are
seeing at the site, the area consists of the extensive ruins of
4 superimposed walled towns, Herodian, Roman, Byzantine
and the smaller Crusader enclosure. The most visible
are the Roman and the Crusader periods, which radically dominate
the site. The Roman city includes a huge horse racing track (or
hippodrome) and a refined theatre where concerts and opera performances
are now held, as well as the remains of the magnificent aqueduct
that brought drinking water into the city.
The greatest relic of the subsequent period is
the Byzantine Street, once lined with shops. In the 13th century,
French Crusaders constructed the Gothic defences on a small part
of the site, of which the superb walls and moat survive, along with
part of their cathedral.
The adjacent modern town of Caesarea (pronounced
Kessaria) is 1 of the country’s ‘smartest’, with
expensive homes, luxury restaurants and the Israel’s only
golf course.
Excursions for a
whole day
Jerusalem
It is possible to reach almost any part of Israel for a day trip
from Tel Aviv, except Golan and Eilat, but the 1 great unmissable
excursion is to Jerusalem, the capital of modern Israel
and historic capital of the Jewish people. It is best to choose
to explore either the Old City or the city centre (west Jerusalem)
and the great museums, although it would be possible to see both
all in 1 day momentarily.
United Tours,
offers a wide range of 1 and 2 day tours from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem,
some themed as Christian tours or art tours, many also including
other places such as Masada and the Dead Sea. The popular 1 day
excursion number 222 leaves at 8.00 am from Tel Aviv and costs US$
58.
Address: 59 Ben Yehuda Street
Telephone: (03) 527 1212
Website address: www.intournet.co.il/unitedtours
Alternatively, public buses, operated by the Egged
National Bus Co-operative (telephone: (03) 694 8888, English
speaking) from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem leave frequently throughout
the day and take about 1 hour.
Jaffa Road,
where Jerusalem’s Central Bus Station is situated, is a busy,
hectic narrow street lined with small old fashioned shops. It leads
to Jaffa Gate, the particularly fortified main entrance into the
Old City, via the centre of west Jerusalem. The major sights are
within the imposing Ottoman walls of the Old City and the Jerusalem
City Guide offers more information on all of these sights.
They include the Tower of David (or Citadel), which
houses the Museum of the History of Jerusalem, Temple Mount, on
which stands the glorious Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem’s most
famous landmark, and the Al Aqsa Mosque, the oldest mosque in Israel,
the Western Wall, a prayer site of supreme importance in Judaism,
and the Via Dolorosa, believed to have been walked by Jesus as he
carried the Cross to his crucifixion. It leads to the Calvary in
the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, 1 of the holiest sites in Christendom.
The major museums are on the western outskirts
of modern west Jerusalem, including The Israel Museum, the nation’s
leading showcase for its archaeology, anthropology and art, part
of which is The Shrine of the Book, which displays the Dead Sea
Scrolls. Close by is the extensive Yad VaShem, Israel’s principal
Holocaust memorial.
Located on an isolated flat mountain top in the Judean Desert
and overlooking the Dead Sea, Masada (pronounced matzada in Hebrew
and meaning fortress) was the scene of the final heroic Jewish conflict
against the Romans. The group of Jewish zealots
(as the resistance army were called) who had fled with their families
to Masada realised that they faced forthcoming defeat and, rather
than surrender to the Romans, all 967 men, women and children committed
suicide. The extensive ruins include:
Herod’s Palace
Telephone: (08) 658 4207
Facsimile: (08) 658 4464
The synagogue, the fortress, a sophisticated bathhouse and much
more. Guided tours are possible.
Masada is run as a National Park.
Telephone: (07) 658 4117/8
Website: www.parks.org.il
Opening hours: Saturday to Thursday 8.00 am to 5.00 pm (until 4.00
pm October to March) and Fridays 5.00 am to 3.00 pm (the cable car
operates from 8.00 am).
Admission: NIS 20 (NIS 56 with a cable car).
Masada lies on Route 90 close to the Dead Sea,
22 kilometres (14 miles) east of the desert town of Arad, and 20
kilometres (12 miles) south of Ein-Gedi. Approaching
from the east, the road ends at the parking lot which is at the
foot of the mountain. From there the ascent is either by the cable
car, or by walking up the Snake Path, which is
a tiring climb taking just under 1 hour.
From the west, the road ends at the western parking lot, from here
the easy climb to the top takes
from 15 to 20 minutes. Visitors should make an early start as the
site becomes very hot and crowded in the middle of the day and it
is worth allocating enough time to include a dip in the Dead Sea.
United Tours, run full day excursions to Masada from Tel Aviv, including
a dip in the Dead Sea, for US $74.
Address: 59 Ben Yehuda Street
Telephone: (03) 527 1212),
Masada can be reached by the bus numbers 444, 486 or 487 from west
Jerusalem, and there are normal non stop buses from Tel Aviv to
Jerusalem. |
